Cricket Meri Jaan!!!

Today was an experience of a life-time, not just for me but for everyone who watched the clash of the Titans in the second semi-final of World Cup 2011 between India & Pakistan. I was just lucky enough to be in India to witness history and realize one thing!!!! Cricket is the only and the single most unifying factor in a country riddled by corruption, inflation, terrorism and division. We may fight amongst ourselves over the silliest of things like which city should be named what or denizens of which state should work in which state, and whether a temple or a mosque once stood on the most disputed piece of land in Indian history, but when it comes to cricket, we are one nation and one voice. India..India..India!!!! Was the only war cry resounding, resonating, and echoing throughout the country on 30th March 2011 after India beat Pakistan.

Today’s traffic jam at 11.30 pm on NIBM Road was unusual in only one way, that it had nothing to do with bad road conditions, lack of traffic signals or road encroachment by street vendors and car parking. It was caused by the mob that had gathered on the streets to celebrate India’s victory over Pakistan. No sooner did Virat Kohli catch Misbah-Ul-Haq off Zaheer Khan’s bowling, did the fireworks start. They were bigger, brighter and seemed happier than Diwali itself, perhaps because this was the first time that not only Hindus, but Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Parsis et al came together to put up a brilliant show that lit up the dry, hot and lackluster March skies like a heavenly abode radiating with thousands of suns. I sincerely wonder if so many people just happened to have such expensive fire-crackers at hand or they had planned for this precise moment. But it felt like a planned series of events where one after the other people from all buildings around started the fiery visual displays. The entire universe seemed to echo with the go-India war cries. And soon after residents of my society started flooding the road shouting, screaming and cheering. Hundreds of bikers hit the roads, all carrying at least 2 to 3 pillions and waving flags of various sizes and heights. Following them were dozen odd cars with people reeling out of their windows and shouting, clapping and waving. After that on-lookers and passers-by also joined the celebrations along with the people from the other societies on our street. All were dancing, singing, cheering to a single tune. For almost an hour the police did little to curb the celebrations. But then many people started stopping passing cars and bikes and started dancing in front of them and lighting fire-crackers stark in the middle of the road. Some did not fall short of even rolling on the road to express their ecstasy. Seeing this, the police had to intervene and bring order. Not be discouraged though everyone then re-started the celebrations on the footpaths and inside the societies. The revelries continued well after mid-night and I can still hear some fire-crackers being burst.

It was a very very happy, jubilant and innocuously infectious atmosphere and I doubt anything but cricket would ever make the people of this country so happy and most importantly come together on such a platform and express their excitement and joy unabashedly, united in true spirit! Today’s match wasn’t important just because it was the semi-final, but more so because it was against a young and volatile Pakistan. It was the first Indo-Pak clash and any game between these two rivals is exciting, let alone a knock-out match as important as a semi-final. After 26/11 and the heavy human losses suffered by India and the following investigations seeming like flogging dead horses, the thirst of revenge and desperation to win had spiraled skywards. Add to it the diplomatic and strategic (read political) move of inviting the Pakistani Prime Minister by our own counterpart Manmohan Singh and Yousaf Raza Gilani accepting it, and we had The Perfect Recipe for a thrilling, edge-of-the-seat, gripping encounter and the Indian team didn’t let us down even once. The match was a perfect entertainment package with all the right ingredients of masala and chutzpah.

I too was a die-hard cricket fan once, long time back during my school days I didn’t miss a single match of Team India. Even when the matches were played abroad during our nighttime I used to sleep in front of the television, set an alarm and get up in the middle of the night to watch the matches. Me and my girl friends in school used to bet on which batsman would score more runs and who would take more wickets. I had a crush on Rahul Dravid and one of my dear friends on Saurav Ganguly (Tilo, if you’re reading this, yes I’m referring to you ) and we constantly argued over who’s better. We collected posters, photos, information, gossip on everything related to cricket and the then on-going World Cup. In those days India-Pakistan relations though not very cordial were not as strained as they are today either and liking Pakistani cricketers was not totally un-happening. We even teased one of my best friends with Wasim Akram just because they shared birth-dates (Not points for guessing that best friend is you Shef) and I know all you guys reading this are thinking we girls are hopeless. Yes hopeless we were, but not as hopeless as we became when all the match-fixing scandals came to light. It broke my heart. All our time, energy, enthusiasm wasted on cricketers who never deserved our admiration and hero-worshipping. The whole of India was let down and I somehow lost complete interest in the game, having practically stopped watching it. Team India has come a long way since then. Winning the first T-20 World Cup was a turning point in Indian cricketing history as well as my feelings towards Team India. After today’ match my interest in cricket has started re-kindling and I hope it never dwindles again.
I will never forget today's match and the events following it. Nor will I forget the smiles of unadulterated joy that lit up each and every Indian face I saw today, and the one and only reason for all those smiles, Cricket Meri Jaan!!!
Looking forward to the nail-biting Final on Saturday!!!