Cricket. Okay, I may as well have written the word "passion" because the two words are synonymous at home.
During my childhood, I grew up with my Uncles who were crazy - nay - obsessed with the game. As if that weren't enough, the women they married were, too. The cherry on the cricket cake? My Grandmother listened to the commentary as enthusiastically as the others. She knew everyone's statistics by heart. And what a strong heart that was! She put some of the classiest expert commentators to shame.
The kitchen would be buzzing with activity busy preparing the next two meals so that no one had to go sweat at the stove when a crucial over was on. No, we couldn't order take out. The concept did not exist.
Even when there wasn't a series of matches on, a portion of Sunday afternoons were always dedicated to discussing "cricket" over coffee and snacks and sometimes they got so heated, I remember I used to be a little scared.
World Cup Cricket officially comes home
Fast forward to a couple of decades, we got our first TV during the iconic 1983 World Cup. It was also the year I graduated from college and the thought of it brings back warm memories. We had one of those crazy black and white TVs with those rolling shutters. There were programs only for fixed hours during the day from one national channel and we had envious neighbors coming over to watch with us.
Fast forward another twenty years, watching the game was a whole new...er...ball game. This time, the kitchen could actually take the day off except for beverages - tea and coffee. Some of the family members who were still studying and lived in hostels didn't even bother with that, because there was a new concept in town - pizza. The anticipation of that large pizza - ordered on the phone - that arrived, hot and yummy - was such an enticing thought. Soon, a cricket match wasn't fun unless there was pizza to celebrate with later - regardless of who won. In spite of taking sides with different teams, with food, everyone was on the same team.
Right now, the World Cup is on. The schedule is in a prominent place on the wall. There is a kind of frenzy in my house. Sury is a big fan and that's putting it mildly. Without actively watching the game with him, I am always up to date on the stats - who scored what, who mucked up what, who dropped a "laddu" catch and who was rocking the game. It is also my responsibility - thanks to an email I received two weeks ago from foodpanda about a promotion during the World Cup - to keep track of what is on and order it if it is exciting.
The choice is mind-bloggling and it is quite tempting to try the various options they offer. They have all the places we like listed there.
Also, who doesn't like to save money? Even though I don't budge from my diabetes diet, I find it absolutely okay for the others to enjoy home-delivery, especially when there are friends visiting as it adds to the fun. And with the phone app - arrrgh - it is a breeze. Never saw myself as someone using apps but what do I know!
That's World Cup Cricket!
