Last February, as part of their chronic feud over the disputed region of Kashmir, their warplanes bombed each other’s territory, the first time two nuclear-armed powers had ever done that.

Since then, trade ties have been shelved and the governments routinely insult each other. Even the Friendship Express, a train that used to run between the two countries, has stopped.

The roots of the border ceremony go back to the late 1940s, when the border was first demarcated by Indian and Pakistani officers who had served in the same regiment in the colonial army. The two sides decided that each evening they would lower their flags at the same time.

Apparently, those military manners aren’t totally dead; officers today said that as they perform the drill, the soldiers speak to each other through the gates “down to the second” to get the performance just right.

“The idea behind this is,’’ explained N.K. Singh, a retired Indian border officer, “is that I understand you and you understand me. It’s not a confrontation. It’s a display of the best from both sides.”



“And,” he conceded, “this border is becoming a tourist spot.’'



As the crowds grow, they get rowdier. They often scream vulgarities and signal certain things with certain fingers.