First Time Spectator

They say, Cricket is a religion and I experienced it very well yesterday when I went to see the India Australia one day international match at the Ferozshah Kotla stadium in New Delhi. It was the first time I had got a chance to see a cricket match in a stadium. Although I am not a very die-hard fan of cricket, still being an Indian I have normal levels of cricket in my blood like any other Indian.

On Thursday, my roommate suddenly called and asked if I wanted to go and see the 3rd ODI at Delhi, I gave him an affirmative and so he bought the tickets for us. Later he told that the rush was so much on the ticket counter that it closed quite early and hence giving the illegal community to black market the tickets at their own will. The tickets he bought were officially for 500 bucks but it cost him 600. Far too nominal I’d say later on hearing from another fellow spectator from a nearby town who had bought the same ticket on the match day for 3000 bucks.

We started from home at 11 in the morning keeping in view the crunched parking availability in the nearby areas of the stadium. We were 6 people on 4 bikes and reached the Indraprastha metro station parking in about 40 minutes. We were quite relieved after learning that it was a 24 hour parking and kept the helmets too. Afterwards we took an auto rickshaw to the stadium which was not very far from the parking.

I was left completely shocked on landing out of the auto rickshaw and seeing the long queues for going inside the stadium. Immediately I thought that I won’t be able to enjoy here. We started moving towards the gates of the stadium. My gate number was 16 so I moved towards it where I’d be joined by another of my roommates later.
Small vendors were selling the 4 and 6 marked sheets, 3 sheets for 10 bucks or something like that. Painters were roaming around with colour bottles in their hands along with painting brushes to paint a tricolour where ever the customer liked. Mostly were getting it done on their faces, arms and foreheads.

As I reached towards gate 16 the crowd grew in number and similarly the policemen deployed to control them. I went through the barricades and was interrupted by the official there. On showing my ticket, he treated me cordially and gave me the instructions to go inside the gate. First there was a security check and thorough frisking of my jacket pockets. Unlike I had assumed, they allowed me to carry my mobile phone inside the premises.

On entering the premises I was stopped by the newly installed turnstiles which left me completely amazed. I entered the bar code printed on the ticket inside the prescribed slot and it let me go inside. This was quite a thing for a place like Delhi, I thought. I had to go to the TATA end, northwest stand level 2. As I climbed the stairs, I got a glimpse of the cricket stadium and simultaneously the pitch. I was elated to see it and couldn’t stop myself from smiling.

Then I found a seat in the third row from the bottom most in that level. I could see the whole stadium from there. The pitch and the inner circle were being painted with the crease demarcations and the indicating dots respectively. I was seated at around 12:15 which was way early the starting time of the match which was 14:30.

I kept on observing the surroundings and within a moment the whole stand was filled with people. I had kept the adjacent seat for my roommate who was on his way to join me there. He joined after an hour. Till that I enjoyed the crowd and clicked some pictures with my mobile phone camera. Two large screens were installed on either end of the stadium to show the replays and other important updates regarding the match.
Meanwhile, the Australian players came out to have a practice session and had a rigorous practice there. The crowd also had a rigorous practice of shouting and cheering. The moment Indian players came out to practice, the crowd went crazy. There was a big deafening noise especially when Sachin Tendulkar came out to practice with his kit. The crowd loved it.

Every time any player, whether Indian or Australian, came near the crowd, people would cheer him like anything and eventually compel him to wave to the crowd. Here I realised that the people are literally crazy about cricket. They could simply identify a cricketer from about 100 meters away sitting in the crowd.

At around 14:00 the pitch report started being telecasted and followed by the toss. India lost the toss and were put to bowl first. After half an hour, all players and umpires along with the match referee came out and paid tribute to David Shepherd, an umpiring legend who recently succumbed to cancer, by observing a 2 minutes silence.

The match started shortly after the same. Australians made a slow cautious start with their openers Ricky Ponting and Shane Watson. People were cheering each bowl being bowled by Indian bowlers. When the first wicket fell, the decibel level of the noise was immeasurable. Soon Foster’s (official drinks sponsors) trolley arrived in the ground for the drinks break. Surprisingly, they had young girls vending the drinks. The crowd cheered them too and may be passed many comments which were obviously indistinguishable.

The play resumed and after a slow second session, the crowd cheered whenever there was a fall of wicket or fifty partnerships or any personal fifty by the player. Amongst a big round of Mexican waves, we were enjoying ourselves too. Small vendors used to come around quite frequently selling eatables (obviously for a huge premium on the marked price). The floodlights were slowly being switched on because of diminishing sunlight.

Whenever a player would come near the crowd, they would shout his name and make him wave to the crowd. Every piece of fielding was cheered. Every appeal was followed by a huge roar. Final overs of the Australian innings were cheered a lot by the crowds because of some hard hitting and fall of wickets. The innings closed at 229 for the loss of 5 wickets leaving a target of 230 to be chased by Indians. The low score was more or less expected due to the tricky nature of the pitch.

In the innings break many people who were sitting tightly in their seats went away for relaxing and after coming back they’d find someone else sitting on their seats. This resulted in minor quarrels all over the place. The crowd was growing in number slowly. The visibility was getting reduced because of some smoke in the nearby areas and my eyes were getting irritated to some extent too.

Finally the Indian innings started and the moment, Sehwag and Tendulkar walked into the stadium, again there was a deafening roar. The play started and first over produced 12 runs followed by huge cheer from the crowd. Then came a lull period for the Indian innings, Sehwag got bowled at a brilliant delivery by Johnson and the crowd’s spirits were dampened. Soon Tendulkar also followed being run out. The crowd went pin drop silence for a while and rose again only when the new batsman came to the crease.

Dhoni’s arrival was highly cheered by the spectators who were anticipating some fireworks from him and Yuvraj. The game proceeded slowly and each single being cheered. The crowd was dying out to see boundaries. Suddenly then Yuvraj hit a four and a six which brought all on their feet. Then there were Mexican waves, hooting, whistling and every characteristic of a cheerful Indian cricket lover crowd. We were unable to figure out where the ball was travelling after being hit because of low visibility and shiny bright lights. I wondered how the cameramen followed the ball so closely.

Yuvraj finally departed at 78 when 29 more runs were needed to win. His departure was again followed by a great roar and clapping. Finally Raina came and steered India to victory along with Dhoni in the 48th over. We were very happy to see India victorious and thought that our money didn’t go waste.

We came out of the stadium after 5 minutes of the winning runs and saw the crowded roads and surroundings and utter chaos. Everyone was in a hurry to reach home. We also walked to parking and took our bike and drove to home. It was quite cold in the night.

This morning I read that the newly installed turnstiles had recorded 43,895 spectators which was quite a big number in itself. The whole experience was good and an amazing one. Only thing I didn’t like was the big crowd and some of the elements were quite rowdy and undisciplined. I don’t like to visit crowded places but this was a thrilling experience in all. Only time will tell whether I’d go there again for any other match or I’d prefer watching it at home on television itself.

My getaway to Kullu Manali (part 3)

My third day at Bhuntar was a bit lazy one as compared to previous two. I woke up at around 7 in the morning and had a look at the valley from the house’s balcony. It was simply amazing. After tea and some light moments with uncle and aunt, I asked my granduncle about Bijli Mahadev. He candidly told me that he had never been to that place but just pointed to a peak from the balcony (the peak in this picture) and told that was it.
It was now my job to learn how to go there. After breakfast, I started from home for Kullu and reached there at 10. There at the bus station, I inquired about Bijli Mahadev and got to know that there was a limited bus service to that place and there was a 3 km trek to the peak.

I boarded the next bus and started for the destination. The bus started the climb to the hill and slowly the whole valley looked tinier and tinier. We reached the village Chansari at around 11 from where I started for the peak after taking guidelines from the local driver itself.

The way up the peak was made up of rocky stairs and the village people had opened small tea shops for the tourists. I started climbing the stairs and after 10-15 minutes I saw groups to tourists ahead of me, which assured that I was on the right way. As I walked past them, I saw they were having difficulty climbing the stairs and after every minute or so of climb, they’d sit down and try to rest their heavy breath.After 15-20 minutes I too felt the grind and took rest for a minute or so. Then I remembered a technique of using only one step at a time while climbing, told to me by my dad. I used that technique and felt that the rate of exhaustion had reduced to a great extent and I started enjoying the trek.

I kept on clicking photos of the majestic scenery and the forest itself. At some points on the trek very loud sounds would echo and I was amazed later when a local villager told me that it was the sound of the river flowing in the valley. I kept on climbing and was enjoying the chilly winds as I moved higher amongst the high deodars.

Finally I reached the peak at around 12:30 and the view was breathtaking. The hill top was not covered with trees, instead it was a grassy meadow and all the four side gave the view of the surrounding mountains and the whole valley. I was lucky that that weather was sunny that day which allowed me a complete view of the surroundings.
I saw the gate to the temple of Bijli Mahadev and was excited. Then I went across the gate and saw the temple. It is completely a wooden structure and high lightening conductor stands in front of the main door of the temple.
Talking about the legend of Bijli Mahadev, there is a Shiva lingam in the temple which is struck by lightning every year in the Hindu calendar month of Magh (January-February). As a result of which the Shiva lingam is broken to pieces and then the local priests again join the pieces using butter and sattoo. This amazing practice is followed every year and the fable says that lord Shiva takes the lightening on his lingam (penis) to save world from peril.I was keen to see the Shiva lingam in the temple and after having seen it, I asked the local priest (who didn’t at all look like a common priest seen in urban temples) about the legend and its authenticity. He told me that it was completely true and the lightning strikes every year and does not harm anyone except the lingam there. I was amazed to see the burnt ceiling and the upper wall of the temples which proved the fact.

Afterwards I saw the view from the hill top which was amazing (the small strip in the pic below is Bhuntar Airport on the banks of Beas River) and roamed around for some time. Then I asked a tourist to click my photograph there and tried to click some on my own using the timer in the camera. The descending slope behind the temple was covered with yellow flowers, which was quite a rarer thing to see. I could easily see the Rohtang pass from there and the Parbati river too.After spending some time there, I started for the base village as I had to get a bus from there for Kullu. I reached the village at 3 and waited for the bus for half an hour there talking to the locals. The people were very cordial there and were very happy to learn that I was a himachali too as I talked to them in their local language.

I boarded the bus to Kullu and learnt the local school just had its day off so the bus was thronged with cute little children and beautiful teachers. I must admit here that the ladies there are one of the most beautiful ones I have ever seen.

The buses are like a lifeline in those villages and hence the drivers treat the children as their own. Otherwise one can’t imagine a 4 year old child travelling alone in a bus with hoards of unknown people. I wasn’t able to find any tree other than apples, peaches, pomegranates, pears and plums in the nearby surroundings. They would bear ripe fruits in the month of June and July.

I reached Kullu and boarded the bus back to Bhuntar and reached home at 5 in the evening. There I showed them pictures and they were also ready to go there the next day. This was the best part of my journey to Kullu Manali. The next day I had to return to Delhi so packed my bag and went for a stroll in the nearby apple orchard.

My getaway to Kullu Manali (part 2)

I had not at all imagined that the day 2 would be the most demanding of the whole trip. After coming back from ManiKaran the last night, I decided to go to Rohtang the next day. I took proper guidelines from my grand uncle there and was a bit baffled to hear that I’d have to start at 5 in the morning if I had to reach home timely in the evening.

Enthusiastically, I woke up at 5 in the morning and by 5:30 I was on the road to Bhuntar. As there was no transport at that time, i had to ask for a lift to Bhuntar bus stand in a tractor which was ferrying cauliflowers. The driver was an old man and was very cordial and told me the whole route very clearly. He dropped me at Bhuntar and luckily I didn’t have to wait very long for a bus, and that too i got a direct bus for Manali with a window seat offering me a majestic morning view of the Kullu valley.

Enjoying the view and travelling at a not very fast pace, we reached Manali at 8 AM in the morning. There I inquired about the ways to get to Rohtang and found out that the shared cab would be the best way out for me as I was alone. So I got a ticket in a 12 seater mini bus via a travel operator there itself.

We started from Manali at around 8:30 and once again I got a very unusual seat in the bus, that of the conductor near the driver. I had the fullest view of the surroundings, both from the front window and the side window. En route to Rohtang, we stopped by a winter clothes store and took some heavy woollens on rent for a day. Then we continued our journey on the banks of the river Beas. The view was so beautiful that I couldn’t resist myself from clicking pictures even from the moving bus.
The road was so rugged that some people were a bit scared of it. I was chatting with the driver about the place and nearby attractions, when another tourist requested me not to disturb the driver. LOL. The driver also had a laugh at him.

We reached Marhi, the base station to Rohtang at around 11:30 and took a tea break there. The moment I came out of the bus, my spine was chilled to the core by the chilly winds there. I immediately put on my rented fur jacket. I bought some chocolates there and ate them so as to get maximum calories in that cold weather.

We started from there and reached Rohtang at about 1 because of the massive traffic jam and some ongoing road maintenance by the Border Roads Organisation. There we got out of the bus and told the driver to collect us at exactly 3:30 PM.

It was a majestic view as I had never seen such a vast extent of snow in my entire life. I could only identify 3 colours in the surroundings, white, blue and a hint of black. I was with a group of young boys from Delhi and started climbing the snow to reach the Beas temple there. After about 15-20 minutes of trekking on the snow, we reached the Beas temple.
The temple was just like an igloo and half submerged under snow. On entering it we saw a small circular room in the middle of which was an aperture on the floor out of which water was flowing. There the priest told us that it was the originating point of the Beas River. I was a bit shocked to see how water could flow amidst sub zero temperatures which could freeze almost anything.

After that we came out and started having some fun in the snow. We took 2 rides and decided that we’d walk to the highest point visible. On reaching half way we were exhausted and laid down to rest there. After clicking some photographs, we retreated back to the main area where the people were enjoying.
At around the scheduled time, we reached the bus and after every passenger boarded it, we started back to Manali. On the way we again stopped at Marhi for some refreshments and afterwards we stopped at a big waterfall for some time. People got some photos clicked there and then we started back to Manali. On the way we returned our winter clothes. I kept chatting with the driver about the local lifestyle and surrounding areas etc and learnt a lot about the place and its rituals.

He dropped us all at the bus station at around 7 in the evening from where I took the bus to Bhuntar. I reached back home at 10 in the evening where I had a very pleasing dinner after the day long trek.