After a sobering few days in Sarajevo, I leave for Serbia. I am headed toward Višegrad, a Bosnian town in close proximity to the Serbian border. Sound of the gushing Drina river keeps constant company, making the drive feel a little less lonely. As I approach the town, the thin layer of fog begins to lift up, as if raising the curtains after a play’s intermission.

As I get closer to the town, my eyes get fixated on this beautiful stone bridge. Is this the bridge over Drina that was the centerpiece of Ivo Andric’s novel?

Chronicled past

In his novel, the bridge over Drina, Ivo Andric portrayed through a collection of short stories how wars affected common people’s lives. This bridge was a silent witness to the everyday life of many Bosnians, Turks and Serbs. Ottomans had built this stone bridge in the 16th century – what is now a UNESCO heritage site. As chronicled by Andric in his 1945 novel, the wars had shaped the lives of people in this region to a great degree. Andric won a Nobel prize in literature in 1961, and subsequently achieved literary fame. Unfortunately, wars continued to ravage the lives of people in this town. Višegrad saw a lot of brutality and ethnic cleansing during the Bosnian War in the 1990s and this bridge was once again a key witness.

Višegrad seems to wear a lingering sadness – as if to protect itself from any further harm from the outside.

It is hard to imagine that some of these incidents happened in the not too distant past. Locals who lost their loved ones during Bosnian war still visit the bridge during the annual Remembrance Day. Hundreds gather on the bridge and throw roses into the river -as a symbol of remembering the lost human lives.

Lot of water has flown under the bridge, but it continues to act as a reminder for us to rise above our differences.

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About Praveen Maloo

Praveen is currently based out of Seattle, United States. He loves coffee, conversations, micro-brews, and intimate jazz music scenes. When its not raining in Seattle, he can be seen enjoying the beautiful outdoors of the Pacific North-West.

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