"Swayambhu"

First of all, Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!! India won the World Cup!!! :D Though I am about 75% convinced that it was a fixed match, I will still be happy and celebrate India's victory!

But what I am happier and more kicked about, is the victory celebrations that I witnessed in the small suburb of Mumbai that I live in.People out on the streets, on foot, on bikes, in cars, with dhols, loud music systems, flags, the world cup look-alikes, screaming, cheering, dancing, celebrating, with anyone and everyone - friends and strangers alike. Truly, cricket is a religion in India - one that unites people instead of dividing them. ♥ I have never loved being an Indian more than today! :)

 Sorry for the poor quality pictures but father and I just went out for a walk to see things, like a tourist and we didn't realise that taking the camera would be totally worth it. So, phone camera it was. 

I don't care much about cricket and most definitely, have a few ideological issues with it as well. But, with this atmosphere that it has managed to create, I not just forgive it, I accept it open and whole heartedly. :) My father used a Gujarati word for it: "Swayambhu" meaning something that comes all by itself, from your heart and in a mob, not incited by any speech or anything.

Sigh, Leeds!

I cannot, cannot, canNOT believe I left Leeds and came back here!

JD, who is still in Leeds just put this on facebook as a reply to some "It wasn't really war" type comment for yesterday's match:

"Well it was in Leeds, people abusing left right and centre, people came with dhols and loud speaker to the old bar.. I got told off for dancing on the pool table! :P"

::wails loudly::

I want to go back to Leeds!!! Be it the massive student protests against the ConDem-ed Government's decision to raise the home student fees or celebrate an India-Pakistan cricket match, there is always some action happening at Leeds. Old Bar is one of the bars in our university famous for transforming itself into an awesome sports bar on important days. We all went there to watch the thakela America v/s England football match during FIFA earlier in the year and dude, the two rooms had 5 big TVs, lots of war paint and incomparable amounts of energy. It was great just to be there because the match was really the most boring football game I've eve seen. (Well, not that I have seen many but whatever. :P) And Leeds has many, many, many Indians and Pakistanis. I can just imagine what the atmosphere would have been like for yesterday's match. 


These are the moments, of course, where I miss Leeds like absolutely crazy. Here, even if such things might happen in some places, a) they will always be too far away from home to be realistically going there and b) parents will always interfere and forbid doing fun things. Sigh.

The Cricket Fever

"1 lakh for a 10k ticket, 17 lakhs for a 10 second advertisement, 22000 for a one way ticket to chandigarh on wednesday morning flights, Richest men in asia fighting for jet parking space at chandigarh airport, 1 billion hearts synchronized at the same level, 75% productivity of the most upcoming nation stopped on the final day of the financial year....No, this is not just a cricket match...Cheers!"

- Facebook update of a friend. 

It's amazing how this sport unites India everytime, especially when there is an India-Pakistan match. And if it's World Cup Semifinals, ooooh! I am never much bothered by cricket. I don't even know the difference between a wide and a no ball. But I do find it extremely fascinating that somehow, the whole country is talking about the match. That there is a certain buzz in the air, a cackling electricity brought on by this "It's War!!!!!" attitude amongst the people of both countries. That everywhere you go, everywhere you see, everywhere you turn, all you can see, hear, feel is the cricket fever! FB newsfeed, SMSes, Hoardings, TV, Radio, Internet, even random conversations between strangers on trains, bus-stops, everywhere. I find it absolutely charming. C'est passionant!! 

Today, even at Alliance Française, when they were doing the feedback session with us individually, the rest of us were huddled into the small peons' room, watching the match. And then, the director, who simply couldn't understand what's with everyone let us go early to watch the match. Almost everyone I know has either a half-day or an off or they are bunking lectures today. I don't understand it but I love it. And for some reason, I don't mind being a part of the masses going crazy for one day like this. :)

So, for this great quality of cricket to bring the whole country together and making a certain anticipation felt even in the hearts of people who generally couldn't care less, "De Ghuma Ke!!!" :)

* Images courtesy Google