The ceremony, established in 1959—about a decade after the Partition of India—has long driven tens of thousands of spectators to Amritsar, India and Lahore, Pakistan, where they fill stadium-like bleachers with cheers and high-flying flags in wait for sunset. It begins with bugle calls and concludes with the lowering of both countries’ flags and the closing of their respective border gates. Here, where the land and people of India and Pakistan meet, a crowd of soldiers clad in khaki and red gathers in Amritsar; another in all-black gathers in Lahore. They march toward one another, gesturing and parading as mirror images of one another in a symbolic moment of union before they separate until the next day’s meeting. The Wagah-Attari border ceremony has captivated Ahmed for years—not just for its grandeur, but for its embodied choreography, which veers between fury and restraint, pride and grief. Through tightly scripted movements and postures that verge on dance, the ceremony becomes a form of art in itself; a ritualized performance where two nations, divided by history, stand face-to-face in a moment of shared understanding and camaraderie. For a moment, nearly every day for over half a century, there has been the promise of a united effort—this recognition of coexistence, even if temporary, would return again tomorrow. The ceremony includes a symbolic handshake between the two sides, further underscoring this delicate balance between rivalry and mutual respect. Paradox dances at its core, where throughout this highly dramatized confrontation, there is also an attempt to share space, to be seen, and to perform peace.