Kolkata, March 15: At a time when Kashmiris are being targeted across the nation in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack, something different happened in West Bengal and people were appreciating it.
Afaq Shah is a Kashmiri shawl seller who came to Hind Motor in Hooghly district of Bengal at the age of 20. He got to meet a family by the surname of Adhikari in 2010 and since then, he has grown a bonding with it. Today, Shah is so close to the Bengali family that he has become just another member of the family and recently, as the daughter of the Adhikaris - Mimi - got married, Shah and his family received a special invitation, reported Bengali daily Anandabazar Patrika. Shah has grown in a Bengal man now after conducting his trade in the state for almost a decade now. He enjoyed the wedding at the Adhikaris as did his wife Asiya and one-and-half-year-old son Aadi. Speaking about Mim's wedding, Shah told ABP: "She is like my sister". Kashmiri traders and students were being attacked in various parts of the country after over 40 CRPF personnel were martyred in a suicide terror attack in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir on February 14. A suicide terrorist rammed his explosive-laden vehicle into the CRPF's convoy, blowing away one of the buses that was carrying the jawans. Shah also had his share of sour experiences. He told the daily that after the attack, he had gone to a client who owed him money but refused to give it back and called him a Pakistani and abused him.