The Swami Army ready to fire in enemy territory

[SachDan]

SWAMIS are usually meditative and peaceful, having abandoned their worldly goods in an attempt to reach religious enlightenment. But the 1400 or so members of the Swami Army who will swamp Melbourne in coming days will be anything but spiritual. They will be loud and proud in support of their god, Sachin Tendulkar, and the rest of the Indian Test cricket team. The Swami Army is India's answer to England's Barmy Army, and they will be out in force at the MCG for the Australia-India Test series opener on Boxing Day. Although the group was formed seven years ago, it has only been this year that it has become fully established, creating a website, uniform, and calling on the thousands of Indian expats across Australia and the world to support their former home team. One of the group's founders, Sumit Grover, said the main aim was to attract more cricket tragics to Test matches, having a bit of fun along the way. ''As a Test cricket fan I get a little disappointed when we don't see sell-out matches. We hope to change that a bit.'' And the group is already succeeding in its goal, having sold out a 1400-seat section of the MCG. While they won't have the whistles that Indian cricket fans are notorious for, Grover said they would have a dhol drum, which would be loud enough to echo around the MCG, rising above the sea of Indian flags and chants. One of the chants will be an ode to Tendulkar, sung to the tune of Waltzing Matilda, to spur on the champion batsman to make his 100th international century. ''He should score his 100th century sometime during the series,'' Grover said. ''But we are hoping he can make it on Boxing Day. It will be a great start to the series.'' Grover said the army was disappointed by the absence of Mitchell Johnson, who became increasingly affected by the chanting of the Barmy Army while bowling during the fifth Test of the 2010-11 Ashes series. But they have another target, former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting, who has averaged 50 only once in his past seven series. Grover said the Swamis were determined to match the Poms when it comes to good-spirited heckling. ''The Barmy Army is the benchmark of any sporting group in the world,'' he said. ''But there are 1.2 billion of us, so we should have no trouble getting the numbers and making a bit of noise.'' http://m.theage.com.au/sport/cricket/the-swami-army-ready-to-fire-in-enemy-territory-20111221-1p5ot.html

[EnterTheVoid]

I will be going to back to back test matches in Sydney and Adelaide. Likely I will run into these guys again.

[Sir john]

:cleveland: its gonna creates more pressure on sachu to score his 100th ton.:bubblegum:

[gloryof83]

I will be going to back to back test matches in Sydney and Adelaide. Likely I will run into these guys again.

not going to melbourne?? I will be there for mel & sydney

[EnterTheVoid]

not going to melbourne?? I will be there for mel & sydney

Nope. I've been to Melbourne plenty of times before. Even did a backstage tour of the ground - http://www.indiancricketfans.com/showthread.php?t=268786

[Cricket Tragic]

:woot:

[gaurav92]

:nice:

[Blue Panther]

blaaady swamis:hysterical:

[carnish]

Great answer to Barmy Army.. I hope they travel everywhere where India goes... lets hope we see them in SRL next year...

[Andrew Peter]

I would like to join the Swami Army if Sachin is there only God .

[G_B_]

hmm wonder what % of the stadium will have indian fans.

[Sachinism]

Bharat Army Swami Army Sharabi Army Any others? I remember Swami Army from the last tour of Aus, where were they inbetween all of that?

[Vilander]

Actually this consistent aping of west from Indian fans is a great put off, why should we have any army since the brits have a barmy army ?? dont we have any originality. If there is a Hollywood then there has to be a bloody 'bollywood' without any geographical significance. If there is a Barmy army who are 'barmy' under the sun then there has to be an aping indian 'barath' 'swamy' army. Pathetically dimwitted.

[SachDan]

Waltzing Matilda to Kolaveri Di, Swami Army to hit the right notes Melbourne When Sachin Tendulkar walks in to bat during the Boxing Day Test, a familiar tune, with not so familiar lyrics, will assail Australian fielders from the square boundary. In the tune of the legendary Aussie bush ballad Waltzing Matilda, two bays full of Indian fans, totaling 1,400, will chant in unison, " Sachin Tendulkar, he is our god, and he bats and he bats and heÃÃl score another century". ŵhatÃÔ one of our chants, says Sumit Grover, a 28-year-old bank employee from Sydney who will be among that raucous group at the MCG. Ÿe also have one for Rahul Dravid, based on the Oasis song Wonderwall, since heÃÔ The Wall. During IndiaÃÔ 2003-04 tour of Australia, Grover and 20 other Indian fans from Sydney and Melbourne got together and formed the Swami Army, named in deference to the Barmy Army, the globetrotting England supporters group often seen in ludicrous wigs and superhero costumes. Eight years on, the Swami Army has 2,100 registered members. Ūn 2003-04, and during the last tour in 2007-08, around 20-25 of us would book our tickets together and make a lot of noise, says Grover. Å´eeing the fun we were having, others would join us and do our chants. That made us wonder, why not do it officially this time? With this in mind, the Swami Army created a website, started selling merchandise, and contacted Cricket Australia which bestowed official recognition upon them, and allowed them to pre-book entire sections at all grounds hosting the Indians this summer. ŵheyÃ×e also let us bring dhols into the stadium, so the atmosphere will be just like India, says Grover. It will also be very up-to-date. ŸeÃÓe going to have a new set of chants this time, and one of them is based on øhy This Kolaveri Di? says Baljit Singh Toki, a Sydney-based fashion designer and one of the original members who began the Swami Army. The increase in the Swami ArmyÃÔ numbers is just one reflection of the vibrant Indian diaspora in Australia. ŸeÃ×e always had great support for India here, whether itÃÔ from people born in Australia or those whoÃ×e come over from India, says Grover. Ū remember my father taking me to watch the Sydney Test in 1991-92, and Sachin scoring a century. That was how my love for Indian cricket began. The Australian fans in the crowd, drinking beer and tossing inflated kangaroos into the air, usually share a great rapport with the Swami Army. ŵhereÃÔ a lot of banter, but itÃÔ all in good spirit, Grover says. Å¢nd guys like Laxman are extremely popular here, so we often have Australian guys coming over and joining us. WeÃ×e also got a lot of non-Australians, fans of England, New Zealand or South Africa, for example, singing along with the Swami Army. They obviously want to see Australia lose. Even some Australians have signed up. Å®y business partner is an Aussie, but heÃÔ part of the Swami Army too, says Toki. Å©e doesnÃÕ really like the Australian team. He thinks theyÃÓe arrogant. The Swami Army hopes to become bigger. Å£y the end of the summer, we expect to have around 8,000 members. WeÃ×e got people signing up from the UK, USA, India, Singapore and so on, Grover says. ŵhe plan down the track is to have supporters travelling with the Indian team when they tour countries like England and South Africa. The only downer that the Swami Army have had amidst their recent successes is the fact that the BCCI turned down their request for official recognition. Å°ver this summer, weÃÃl show them how big we are, says Toki. Through all this, the Swami Army remain steadfastly not-for-profit. Ÿe support the LBW Trust (an organisation founded by Peter Roebuck, who died recently, that provides tertiary education to underprivileged students in cricket-playing countries), says Grover. Ÿhatever funds we manage to raise go to that.

[zen]

Actually this consistent aping of west from Indian fans is a great put off' date=' why should we have any army since the brits have a barmy army ?? dont we have any originality. If there is a Hollywood then there has to be a bloody 'bollywood' without any geographical significance. If there is a Barmy army who are 'barmy' under the sun then there has to be an aping indian 'barath' 'swamy' army. Pathetically dimwitted.[/quote'] +1 Alteast they could hv been original with the name

[Needforspeed]

Why not just call it Indian Cricket Fans? :winky:

[Sidhoni]

:woot:

[BeautifulGame]

Just attention seekers

[1983-2011]

why do we need an army of cricket fans when we have Indians living in Australia, New Zealand, England, West Indies Islands, South Africa etc...

[ViruRulez]

Aiyo Rama. Ye swamy army kab create ho gaya? I heard about bharat army a few years back. Now the swamy army .. we seem to be too much influenced by English cricket and barmy army