August 26, 2008

The party never stops

Posted by Jamie Alter, 1 week, 3 days ago in India in Sri Lanka 2008

	Sanath Jayasuriya and Harbhajan Singh catch up as it continues to pour © AFP

Never mind it had been raining before the toss, the covers had been on for hours, and that there was hardly any chance that play would happen. The Sri Lankan spectators in the stands at the Premadasa were here to have a good time.

Running an inventory of the cricket grounds across the globe I've been too, it was hard to rival the interactivity of the fans at the Premadasa. This wasn't up there in the pantheon of pre-game rituals - Liverpool fans singing their anthem in a match against Chelsea – or fan-to-fan banter – a Red Sox v Yankees game at Fenway Park – but in cricketing isolation it was something else, because not a ball was bowled. I imagine it can only be bettered in the Caribbean.
I've seen spectators in Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi and London leave when it rains. Fans are a part of any game, and the passionate ones at the Premadasa took plenty of attention off the lack of cricket. In a fantastic conglomeration of hip twists, knee jerks, claps and elbow shaking, the entire Premadasa came to life.

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August 21, 2008

The buff masters

Posted by Jamie Alter, 2 weeks, 1 day ago in India in Sri Lanka 2008

	When you're from India, 'Do you know Shah Rukh Khan?' features prominently on the most-asked-question list © AFP

Hindi films share pretty much equal space in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, and you won't have a hard time striking up a conversation about them. Whereas the language (Hindi or Urdu) is the common denominator in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh (to a lesser extent, though some people will understand you a little), in Sri Lanka it is impossible to strike up a conversation in that form. If you speak Tamil it's not that difficult, but there is not a trace of Hindi spoken anywhere.

Hindi films aren't as popular in Sri Lanka as in the rest of the subcontinent, but they are shown in select theatres. Wasantha, who works at a barbershop, said the fashionable clothes, beautiful leading men and women and catchy music are among the reasons he and his friends watch the odd Hindi film, even though they don't understand what is happening on screen.

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August 7, 2008

The travelling soldier

Posted by Jamie Alter, 4 weeks, 1 day ago in India in Sri Lanka 2008

	Some people like to go to resorts, others hiking, many more to the beaches, but for Abhishek Sudhir there's no better vacation than following India © Cricinfo Ltd

It was his first Test outside Bangalore.

"It wasn't cheap," he says, "but it was definitely worth it ... a good way to start. I had always dreamed of watching a series in England."

Abhishek has been watching live cricket since 1992, from the time Vinod Kambli 'brownwashed' England. That's when he caught the bug and it's been a passionate last 17 years, but one moment started a memorable journey.

After watching Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sreesanth salvage a draw in the first Test between India and England at Lord's last summer, on television with his father in Bangalore, Abhishek decided he had to go back to England for the rest of the series. The next morning he walked straight into the airlines office and bought himself a ticket back to London, cutting short his vacation in India by two-and-a-half months.

"My mom was disappointed about that, but she understood that I just needed to do that," he says. He landed in Birmingham a couple days later and hopped onto a train to Trent Bridge and didn't miss a ball of that gripping Test.

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