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The Sector 11 "redi"(roadside) market

The Outsider

By The Outsider
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The Outsider

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The hope of a nation had just fallen to the occasion and pressure created by a cauldron of 60,000 vociferous spectators. The nondescript bowler's incutter had little to do with the ball evading the bat and crashing into the stumps. There was a sense of agony on his face, a sense of having let the nation down, all along his walk back to the pavilion. The rampant stadium went into a deathly silence and so did the TV room in my hostel which would have posed a new puzzle for the puzzle minded about the maximum number of people that can be fit into a room. A room which till then had felt as luxurious as sipping some Merlot while watching the sun set on a tropical beach suddenly became claustrophobic. I had to leave. I couldn't bear the sweaty, smelly bodies of my fellow students anymore. I had to go to some place where my mind would rid itself of the agony of watching my country's only hope of bringing joy to one billion people fade away. I sauntered out of the now gloomy TV room, through the empty, ugly red corridors of Hostel No. 3 and made my way to the telephone room. Where was the God damn chowkidaar? I needed to make a phone call, needed to shut off the clatter of the stumps I had just heard. I yelled out for Mewa Singh a few times before the turbanned figure appeared from behind the room with a transistor clamped to his ear, quizzingly looking at me. After talking to my girlfriend, we decided to meet up and walk around the deserted markets. Curiousity got the better of me when I reached her hostel and I inquired about the score. The Indian skipper had just got out. Another disaster. How could the fates be so cruel!! I needed that walk with my love even more. "Can you ever be ready on time?", came out the words without making an attempt to mask the irritation I felt. She understood, she felt my anguish, and started walking alongside me in her pink slippers on the deserted streets of Sector 11. We got on course our usual route through the markets of Sector 11, 10, and 9. The plan was to grab a beer in Sector 17 right across 9. We never made it. The noise emanating from the road side shops of Sector 11 were too deafening for me too proceed. Something had happened. What could be happening? Maybe, there was hope after all. I sauntered into the "redi"(roadside) market of Sector 11 and all I could see was a swarm of bodies in front of me yelling, shouting, and most importantly rejoicing. The army officer's daughter next to me grabbed my arm and whispered into my ear, "Shwetabh, lets go. I am not comfortable". I looked pleadingly into her eyes and she understood. We made our way threw the crowd inching closer to the 17 inch TV with a deafening surround sound accompanying our journey. And then Jadeja launched another Waqar delivery into the joyous crowd. I too leapt with 30 people sharing the TV. A glance at the tiny scoreline in the corner of the TV still didn't give much confidence. But it kept on happening for 20 more minutes. Was it only 20 minutes? Maybe, but they felt like an eternity of joy and celebration. The beer plans were thrown out of the window. I had 40 minutes to head back to the tropical beach where a new bottle of Merlot was waiting for me. We sauntered back to her hostel and I jogged back to find a spot in the packed and rejoicing TV room. And even though there was some more quiet, nervous scenes and feelings in the next hour while the ball was being clattered to all corners of the Chinnaswamy fence, there was belief in me that we are going to win after being part of an extraordinary experience in the Sector 11 "redi" market. Would love to hear from some great fans on board about their joys and agonies of watching cricket..

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The Outsider Newbie

The Outsider

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Re: The Sector 11 "redi"(roadside) market

Nice' date=' very nice. I love reading anecdotes like these. Everyone watches the same game, but the experiences are always unique. BTW, were you in Chandigarh or something ? Sector 11, 10, 17, etc. sounds very much like a Punjabi city[/quote'] Yup, Chandigarh, Predator. :wtg:
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Dhondy Newbie

Dhondy

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Re: The Sector 11 "redi"(roadside) market What a write-up...what a write-up, Shwetabh! It brought the memories of that game flooding back! :hail::hail: I have never quite seen you write like this...personal and powerful...I just loved it! More power to your pen!!

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Lurker Newbie

Lurker

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Re: The Sector 11 "redi"(roadside) market A good message board should have a nice mix of day to day critique of game/players and a liberal dose of original articles. This was good stuff Shwetabh and very original too. My perspective, from the same match. Have you ever tried to really hold back your piss? Well here is a tip if you ever run into that situation. Never sit cross legged on a table tennis table, which is what I was doing as this crunch game unfolded. The hostel common room that had about 25 odd chairs was now seating 100 plus easily. Long benches had been moved in and many people would sit on the ground. However the prized possession was the table tennis table since it was closed to the window and if a wicket fell or a six was hit you could hit the table and create a ruckus or just bellow out loudly through the window...dont know at whom or why? Plus of course if the situation was tense you could look outside the window and be taken some place else almost immediately. Only thing is that this match was as tough as it comes and even though I kept looking out my mind wouldnt wander anywhere else except where I was sat..which by all accounts was in the Chinnaswamy Stadium that day. India had posted a nice total thanks largely to a late innings blitzkreig by Jadeja...Tony Greig shouting "Waqar Younis is slaughtered here" would be perhaps remembered more by an Indian cricket fan that most Indians remember Nehrus "Long ago we made a tryst with destiny". Pakistan had come out swinging mightily thanks to Anwar and Sohail. When India play Pakistan it is tense as it is, plus this was quarter final of the World Cup. Doesnt get much better(or worse!). Srinath would come running, heave and let go only to be deposited on the boundary. Prasad would try his mix of bowling fastish straighters with late leg-cutters but the end result was the same. Even though Srinath was the senior bowler, and by most means the more deadlier one, he was also the first one to give-up. If the sight of watching our leading bowler get slaughtered was not enough the sight of a total discouraged Srinath with hands on his hips cut right through our heart. Pakistan were rolicking at well over the asking rate and it seemed the match would be over soon. But then Srinath pulled one back, the ball went to his good friend Kumble who made no mistake. Pakistan one down. Had Kumble missed the catch he would have lost his Indian passport too. The loss of Anwar only made Sohail mad it seems. He went completely nuts. With each of his shots our heart sank further, was Jadeja's innings just a case of a great innings only to lose? Was Anwar's wicket just a mirage. Prasad kept chugging away and did create some problems for Sohail but Sohail was a mad man today. He charged to a little short ball outside off-stump and cover drove to 4, the lifting his bat pointed to Prasad suggesting the latter to take note as all his deliveries would end up there. What pissed me(pun intentional here!) was how the "great" Imran giggled behind the commentary mike saying, "Now what do you say to Sohail"... I walked up from the prized seat..down the stairs when this huge roar practically brought down the entire hostel. Running back I saw every single person in the hostel room jumping up with hugs all around. Many eyes wet. Looking onto the tv screen I see umpire Shepperd chastising Prasad for saying things to Sohail as he went back. Who the f$ck cared? What cheered me up so much further was Ravis Shastri who said something of the order of "And the perfect answer there..." Even today I can not help but laugh at how Imran Khan must have felt...like an ass perhaps. Did not move away from my spot on the TT table until India was home. As for taking the piss....well told you sitting by the window has its benefits! xxxx

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Dhondy Newbie

Dhondy

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Re: The Sector 11 "redi"(roadside) market Lurker just continues to amaze me with his capacity for expression. He is a natural, that fellow. Another superlative read, to go with Shwetabh's. Ravi, can we start the blog facility again, please? There should be some means for authors to archive a selection of their personal posts.

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King Newbie

King

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Re: The Sector 11 "redi"(roadside) market

Lurker just continues to amaze me with his capacity for expression. He is a natural, that fellow. Another superlative read, to go with Shwetabh's. Ravi, can we start the blog facility again, please? There should be some means for authors to archive a selection of their personal posts.
Sure we can Dhondy. I think these sure should be tucked away in the BLogs and should be promoted to the main page automatically ala drupal.
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Holysmoke Newbie

Holysmoke

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Re: The Sector 11 "redi"(roadside) market I remember the natwest series final. That day, somehow, the radio commentry was 5 seconds faster than the tv pictures.. I felt gutted after SRT got out, switched off the tv.. and was about to go to sleep.. but i wasnt getting sleep, so i picked up my radio, and was listening to music on FM.. every few minutes checking the score.. and we kept on going... after a point, i was feeling wierd, I was optimistic, about how yuvraj and kaif were playing, but i didnt want to feel optimistic, because i knew that one wicket, and I'd feel like crap again.. then i thought to myself.. ill wait for 5 overs, and if we dont lose a wicket, ill put on the tv... 3 overs later, the tv was on.. my dad heard it, and he came and started watching too.. i wont ever forget how nervous i was.. even when we needed 2 runs.. and zaheer was on strike.. i was being haunted by the game against zimbabwe.. in the world cup.. when we needed 3 runs and prasad had got out.. i was completely elated after i won.. literally dancing around the whole house now for the game that got me into cricket.. i wasnt much of a cricket fan before this.. it was "just another game" for me.. but the sharjah "desert storm" games.. that got me started.. i remember, the games were late.. and my dad was watching the semi finals, so i was giving him company.. i was in the sixth grade i think.. and i could not believe what i saw.. never had i seen an innings like that... i had a newfound respect for SRT.. towards the end of the innings, specially when the inside out lofted cover drives started coming out.. i remember getting goosebumps.. ravi shastri, gavaskar, tony grieg, all of them going insane in the commentry box.. it was me, my grandmom, and my dad, who were discussing.. i distinctly remember the chumbawamba song.. after that, i saw the next game.. all 100 overs, even the pre-game show, the lunchtime show, and the presentations... i could not believe it.. it was his birthday, and coming off a splendid hundred in the previous innings, i expected him to do it again, but my dad said, no he cant do it again.. we had a bet.. if i won, i would get double the pocket money for the week.. Aus had won all the matches till the final, and even the earlier game, we had managed to qualify, by beating NZ, but we had lost the game.. in the break, the commentators were talking only about SRT, and Ian chappell was like.. australia have won this match, its a good score, now all they need to do, is wait for a mistake from the little master... that mistake never came :hail: we won the match, i was happy, carefree, and elated at getting double pocket money..

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