Living the World Cup fever in India!

I missed being in India last night. There is no place like home to watch the World Cup- each palpitation is loud enough and the collective palpitation can be heard and felt all around- the sighs for a 'bad' one and the crackers for every four or sixes! I was there during the India -Pakistan semi-final and never before had I witnessed such madness for a sport. The streets, as predicted, started getting lonelier after 2.30pm. The women were busy preparing for the evening- "Men folk are going to be at home watching the match- they will need a constant supply of savouries...” told a lady i smiled at acknowledging her purchase of namkeens. From projector screens, large gatherings, constant inflow of tikkis, samosas, dahi-bhallas to chai and pakoras with a small group of friends, or just a drink with a close friend- you could see all varieties glued to their TV sets. This was a war without the traditional arms and ammunition, a war with a different and thankfully, lesser casualties. Nonetheless, this was a war for the national pride. The most exciting match for the Indians. When India won this one, people seemed content- they had won over their arch enemy, this was their World Cup. They went bonkers. Gathering at all the intersecting junctions in the town, waving the national tricolour, blowing trumpets, vuvuzelas and what not, beating the drums, hanging out of their car windows and sun roofs, dancing, bursting crackers, and above all, screaming- just one word- INDIA- everyone, literally everyone went bonkers. What a moment it was, to revel in that happiness, seeing people forget everything else and live that moment to the fullest. It was absolutely amazing being in the middle of that frenzy, and precisely why i missed being there last night!
In anticipation of the match, i was asked two questions that i thought were interesting. First was, if both India and UAE were playing this match, who would i cheer for? Honestly, it was a tough one and yet the obvious one. Tough because i love the country I am in and obvious because this country does not love me yet! So, my loyalty between this country and my own will be with India for sure- the country that i still call 'home' and the country that calls me its citizen and gives me  my rights and responsibilities. I think i would have been confused if I had the nationality of another country...

The second question was a bit shocking for me. Shocking because i had never thought that someone around me could think like this...
"Do you think the Muslims of this country will cheer for India or Pakistan?"
"Of course India!” was my instant reply. "You are confusing religion with national loyalty..."
"May be...but don’t you think people who moved from Pakistan after the partition still think of Pakistan as their home?"
"We too should be cheering for Pakistan then, no?” i said, referring to our roots in the then Punjab that became a part of Pakistan after the partition.
The discussion went on for just a little longer with the conclusion that any hardliner still finds it difficult to alienate religion from rest of what makes an individual. All a fundamentalist sees is who you were born as and not what you have learnt to become besides that.
Thankfully, the match started and the unpleasant discussion was drowned in the answers of  "Who won the toss???"