At Herat airport, instead of a conveyor belt, a cart brought all our suitcases. The airport personnel tipped the cart over and our suitcases tumbled onto the floor. Little boys pushing wheelbarrows, like porters, came running towards us.

In Herat, I was very keen on seeing the landscape. But my driver said that that was unlikely for security reasons. He explained to me that kidnappings occur regularly in Herat. Even the locals get kidnapped because it is such an economically vibrant town. I had a soldier accompanying me on my visit. My driver drove me as far as what he considered safe.

The only time I saw NATO soldiers was at Kabul airport. I couldn't identify their nationality because various military forces are stationed there.

The Afghan landscape is arid. Even Kabul is dry and desert-like. From time to time we would arrive at luscious bursts of greenery. It was wonderful to come across these green patches in the middle of such a parched countryside.

Along the way, I saw children playing football. I visited a huge mosque in Herat. Near the mosque, there was a large cemetery. At each grave there was a pocket carved into the ground where people would leave seeds for the birds. In the morning, the birds would flock to the cemetery and all you could see was birds all around.

Image: Astad Deboo, left, and the Afghan soldier who guarded the dancer during his stay in Afghanistan. They are at the great Musalla complex built by Queen Gawhar Shad in the late 1400s.

Also read: Why the Indian embassy in Kabul was attacked

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