Article January 28, 2002 Issue

Best friends—a Muslim and a Christian

with contributions from Roshan Khan, Onjolee Nair

They've been best friends since the third grade, when they met at the Auxilium Convent High School in Bombay. "We're like sisters," says 18-year-old Roshan Khan, a devoted Muslim. "There are things I don't share with my mother that I share with Onjolee." Seventeen-year-old Onjolee Nair, a Christian Scientist, feels the same about her relationship with Roshan. Although they now attend different schools as 12th graders, Onjolee and Roshan still get together regularly, usually at Onjolee's house, where they often meet for lunch. "We always have so much to catch up on that we don't go out anywhere, we just sit together and talk," says Onjolee. One of the things they have a lot to say about is the events of September 11, and how the humanity that holds their friendship together is what is needed more and more in the world today.

Roshan Khan: I was actually watching TV on the 11th of September when I heard about the attacks that had happened in America. It was about 9:00 p.m. here in India. At first I couldn't get what was actually happening. I thought it was some special effects on some movies, but later on, when I saw it on Star Plus and on BBC, it said it was breaking news. And we were completely shocked.

Onjolee Nair: We were sitting at home, and suddenly we got a call from one of my mother's friends saying, "Please put on the TV. There's some breaking news you have to watch." And ever since that moment, I think everyone's been hooked to the TV or to the newspaper, to know what's happening. I have an aunt who lives in New York, and, in fact, I have a cousin who works near the World Trade Center.

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