Bonding over world (war) cup!

When India and Sri Lanka, clash for the World Cup on Saturday, the country will probably see a signifcant dip in production, lesser accidents owing to thin traffic on the roads, empty cinema halls  with people converging at different places to watch the BIG match.

That emotions rule the roost is no secret in a country like ours. And, combine this with a national mania of sorts called the ‘Cricket’ which has ceased to be a mere game, what you have is a heady concoction. In other words, coming together of many worlds seems to be the concomitant of this phenomenon called Cricket.

In the otherwise subdued city of Mysore, Cricket has its own set of fans who are planning to have a good time in their own way. And, everyone is beyond doubt that the occasion is apt, food is waiting and the fun is going to be manifold with friends and family around!

The D-day promises to be all fun and frolic for Chief Operating Officer of Cycle Pure Agarbathis, M R Suresh. He and his friends, some of whom are going to meet after a good two-and-half decades, will watch the match together!

“This is going to be a lot of fun. Being a cricket enthusiast, a player and an Umpire in the past, I do strongly hope that India wins. It is going to be a lot of noise and whole lot of cricket since more than 50 of us are going to meet!” says Suresh, with excitement clearly palpable in his voice.

Ask him if allegations of match fixing or cricket betting have robbed the sheen off the ‘gentleman’s game’ in the recent days, “Allegations could rest. It is not easy to fix a match or force a player to drop a catch. Those are impulsive things, and any player will want to be at his best on the field, especially when playing for the country. In any case, I would urge everyone to just focus on enjoying the game, than get into other issues,” he says.

For IT professional Neela G P, who is nearly in her mid twenties, Saturday is a perfect day to soak in the game. “I hope and pray, and I am even sure the history is going to repeat itself! Men in blue will bring home the cup and I am waiting to catch that moment,” she says. How does she plan to enjoy the game? “We are jamming up at a friend’s place. Cooking will go for a toss and it will be a day of takeaway. We cannot afford to miss even a single shot,” she says.

Hotelier Tina, who runs a cafe on Gokulam main road had ‘house full’ on the day when India beat Pakistan by 29 runs. She is sure Saturday is going to be busy and she better have adequate quantity of food prepared. “Youngsters usually jam up here to watch the game while savouring garam milk and snacks. We think Saturday is going to throw up a challenge since we do cater takeaways too, at a highly affordable price,” she adds.  

Excitement knows no bounds for techie Akash T P. “I will catch up the game at the mega amphitheatre at our global training centre. Me and my friends/colleagues have decided to pack food and drown fully in the game starting afternoon on Saturday,” he says. He and his team mates will start work early in the morning so that they can have a leisurely post-afternoon all for themselves.

Optimistic bunch as these men are, they are bleeding blue and have also gone as far as planning the ‘post-victory’ match too! However, busy finance experts don’t have it easy. Srinidhi, who works with a private finance company had to catch up on the match amidst loads of work with financial year coming to an end. “We have to balance both work and fun with equal attention, focus and passion. I am sure we will be good at it,” he says. Saturday’s match will pack a lot of punch, and Mysore is sure get a good high out of it; along with the rest of the nation!