Lankan vibe to a Indo-Pak affair

Even the magnitude of an India-Pakistan clash couldn’t shake off the perpetual sleep in Pallekele’s eyes. Though it remained largely untouched by the ‘nuisance’, at least that’s what one senior citizen reckoned the marginal spike in traffic to be, the stadium premises did come somewhat alive to an interesting array of fans and their complicated affiliations. 

Should this game have been played even in Colombo, the experience would have arguably been closer to the ones felt in India, but this serene suburb, about three hours from the country’s capital, provided an encounter more subtle. 

While the hospitality boxes had their share of celebrities, the stands didn’t have many jostling for seats or even struggling to accommodate the others who arrived later in the evening. The story on the grass banks was much the same, but the vibe was vastly different, better. 

Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis and Sri Lankans were painted and dressed in their country’s colours and moved about without restraint while practicing respect for each other’s allegiances. 

As cliched as it sounds, cricket won. But, things were particularly peculiar as Sri Lankan Tamils were supporting India, while a sizeable population of Sinhala-speaking Sri Lankans were rooting for Pakistan. 

This particular scenario did make your skin crawl for a moment or two given the country’s history, but even that situation was tackled with an impressive level of consideration, even if judgemental looks were shared.

There was evidence of hostility, and it was sparked mostly because the Sri Lankan Tamils engaged in shouting matches with Pakistan fans, not so much the Indians.  

Indians, outnumbered for once, were mostly just there to support their side without needing to go at the ‘opponents’. Even the copious amounts of beer sold at the counters didn’t deter them from this stance. 

Of course, they would occasionally get inspired by the numerous Bollywood numbers doled out, but even the Pakistanis were in on that so there was no real friction. 

Frankly, it was the most unlikely of India-Pakistan matches, and that’s how it should be for it was cricket that held sway, not the politics between states nor the bigotry of people. Well, not entirely at least.