As a teenager, Hari Prasad
Agarwal was regaled with tales of Indian merchants leading weary mule caravans
loaded with everything from axles to shoes over the high Himalayan pass of Nathu
La for sale in nearby Tibet.
But the pass, part of the famed Silk Road, was shut when India and China went
to war in 1962. Now, in the wake of improved Indo-Chinese relations, the route
is set to reopen Thursday in a grand ceremony.
And when Agarwal heads to Tibet over the 4,300 meter-high (14,000-foot)
mountain pass to trade his own wares, it won't be with tired beasts of burden,
he'll be doing it in style with access to what is touted as the world's highest
Internet cafe and ATM.
"There were days when up to 5,000 mules used to cross the pass, carrying
anything from car parts, cycles, building materials and shoes," said Agarwal,
63, remembering stories told by his uncle.
"I am now dreaming of driving ... from Gangtok to Lhasa in a bus, enjoying
the sights in Tibet's capital, and exploring trade potential," he said, sitting
in his textile shop in Gangtok, the cloud-capped capital of the Indian state of
Sikkim, which borders Tibet.
Agarwal is one of the 100 Indian traders who will be bussed across the
barbed-wire border to a trade fair at Renqinggang on the Chinese side.
Similarly, 100 traders from the Chinese side will go to the Serethang fair in
India.
However, Thursday's visits by the Indian and Chinese businessmen will be
symbolic only and no one will carry goods.
"Traders from the two sides will try to familiarize themselves with the
possibilities of trade and business and check out the facilities available,"
said S.P. Subba, who heads Sikkim's Industries Directorate.
The opening of the pass is being hailed as another boost in relations between
the two Asian giants.
Sikkim's chief minister Pawan Kumar Chamling and the chairman of Tibet's
government Champa Phuntsok will cut the ribbon official opening the pass after a
44-year hiatus.
