The bigger is the milestone, bigger is the budget and obviously bigger the celebration. Thus, when one of the key milestones was achieved, the purse strings were loosened and party promptly ordered. And surprisingly, there was as much hurry in getting celebrations arranged as shown in many aspects of the software delivery.
The core team which was earlier involved in diverse project work was now given the single point agenda to hold gala celebrations. The options were not many. For starters, there was the plethora of weekend resorts around NCR where one could burn in the summer heat, playing cricket, table tennis and having buffet lunch. Another popular option was bowling, carting and lunch – with or without a movie thrown in. So the choices were not many. Discussions kept going on and on.
<< The project head, core team members and yours truly>>
Movie? No!
Resort? No!
IPL? No!
And then someone shouted Eureka! Eureka! Why not a live IPL visit? Rest they say is history!
But the milestone was a big one and the next IPL match was at least a week away – the celebrations had to start soon. The point was short and simple – movie and lunch for starters.
Now when it comes to movies, PVR had created a virtual monopoly. Our introduction to multiplexes was “PVR saket”, which about a decade back, happened to be the only multiplex in town. And as legend goes, the cinema hall was so far from my house that whenever I went there, I saw two or three movies and not one. This was obviously to optimize on the petrol costs. Over the years, the multiplex revolution caught up and soon there was no dearth of options. Number of movies per visit also fell down.
<< Our team that had stormed the mall and eagerly waiting for the lunch >>
The core team zeroed on the multiplexes at hand and one that was slightly away yet no less comfortable was chosen. The whole auditorium was booked and popcorns and colas soon started flowing in. While the occasion and the setting rose to the occasion, the movie Mr. Black and Mr. White was Bollywood at its worst. Even Times of India’s half-a-star rating out of five was possibly an act of sympathy. No adjectives, abuses or encomiums could encompass the beauty of the movie. The storyline was not worthy of mention; it seemed as if the single point agenda of the movie was to bore the audience till death. Someone thought it was more worthwhile to give the black, the white and the grey a slip. Promptly some of our friends left the movie hall and went around shopping. The shopping mall, with sky rocketing rentals, could only find half of its tenants. Nonetheless, the window shopping was by far a better option then indulging into the pyro-techniques of Sunil Shetty and Arshad Warsi and a few nameless and shameless beauties.
Movies, colas and corns over, the next stop was lunch at a restaurant that was famous for its tandoor delicacies. However, the booking at 3.00pm meant that the one o’clock finish of the movie still provided two hours for the gathering to break its head and mourn over what transpired for the previous three hours. The chit chat continued for two hours that eventually ended with a sumptuous lunch. Now, I am strictly a vegetarian and a teetotaler – as far my house and my family goes. At a hotel where the bills are not foot by my wallet, I am an omni-tarian and a drinker as the occasion may warrant. The on-the-house chicken tikka always attain my special attraction primarily because of their taste and the high costs when the bill is yours. Needless to say the tandoori chicken and paneer tikka were eaten with amazing alacrity. The hungry and bored crowd too had their pick and devoured whatever was on offer.
Now you see late afternoon lunches have their own set of challenges. Hungry fools eat so much (as though this was there last party) that it becomes nigh impossible to work. But these were party days and who cared of work. What if the Release 2 delivery was being celebrated when Release 3 team was still breaking its head over the requirements?
<< Red caps: supporters of Red daredevils as well as identity proof>>
With the lunch the first part of celebrations were over. But there was more and so the work could not start right away. The next part was the big one – very big one. It was the Delhi Daredevils versus Chennai Super Kings IPL match. And on the show were big names from India, Pakistan, Australia, South Africa including the likes of Virendra Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Glen Mcgrath, M. Ntini, M. Asif and our Indian ODI captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Even though it was peak summer time of May and the match was scheduled in the evening, the enthusiasm was enormous. A poll was conducted and majority of the team members gave their consent for the visit. Dress code was finalized and 4 buses promptly booked. And to top it, a red cap was given to everyone to protect from searing heat.
<< Glen Mcgrath: Aging yet agile and accurate as ever >>
As a concept, the IPL picked up when India won the T20 world cup last year. And when rival body Zee started the ICL or the Indian Cricket League under the aegis of Kapil Dev, the Indian cricket board BCCI thought it was time for action. While the ICL did not come anywhere close to the popularity of IPL, BCCI did not take any chances. To start off, they stripped Kapil Dev of his pension. The IPL was then conceptualized with Lalit Mode as the chairman that brought together two most popular themes of India: cricket and bollywood. Teams were named and auctioned (when even the players were not even chosen) and the bollywood stars were quick to gobble a few. So, you had Shahrukh picking Ganguly and his Kolkatta’s men, while Preity Zinta picked up dashing batsmen Yuvraj and his Punjabi men. The state or city loyalties were killed and anyone was allowed to pick any player (barring icons like Ganguly/Kolkatta, Tendulkar/Mumbai, Dravid/Bangalore, etc.) as long as total budget of the team did not cross about $5 million. Players, like art work, were put under the hammer, and the bollywood biggies, businessmen and mavericks including Vijaya Mallya picked up the loot. Teams brought, players brought, jerseys brought, sponsors brought, the team went out to fight, with or without the practice.
<< Core group, Senior Managers and a beleaguered spectacled gentleman named Chachu >>
On the fateful day, even though the match was supposed to start at 4.00pm, the project work did not see any sunlight. The buses were to leave at 12 and we had to be seated by about 2.00pm. The cafeteria which usually opens at 12.30 was specially opened for the IPL touring party one hour earlier. With lunch over, and official work given a slip, the buses were packed and off they went. Some of the smarter ones who were not seen in the bus, nor on their desktops doing work, had found a nice excuse to have official leave and to cool their heal at their houses. The bus journey too offered chips, juices and waters. The touring party was indeed was well served.
<< Our top boss in company t-shirt and other senior managers >
At the stadium, there were about 15 gates and long queues awaited each of them. Some of the street urchins were selling banners of 4s/6s. At the initial rate of 10Rs they came down to Re 1. While some felt happy with the bargain, few steps ahead saw various radio channels doling out banners for free. After about half an hour of wait, the gates were opened and after heavy security checks, we were allowed to get in. Once inside, some of us were offered cold drinks by our big boss because we were at the right place at right time with the right man. Others brought with their own money. The snacks and beverages inside the stadium was not on the house. When inside, the entire stadium was empty and we chose our seats. We thought it was smart to sit a few rows behind, but that proved to be a costly mistake. Soon we realized our folly because every delivery bowled led the crowd in front to standup resulting in complete blockage of cricket view. I had to use missiles of all kinds including empty plastic cans, stale and friend groundnuts, and even banners to keep the crowd seated.
<< Team members in full flow >>
Anyways, the entire touring party found their seats and friends and banners. Being on the eastern side, the sun was always on our heads. The caps, cold drinks, lemon juice (MRP of Rs 8 being sold at Rs 15) and water hardly provided any relief. Some people took to getting tattoos painted on their faces while some others went near the staircase to get some shade. Nonetheless, everyone eagerly waited for the match to start. The crowd too was pouring in thick and fast and soon the stadium was nearly full. There were no seat numbers associated with the tickets so those in minority found it very difficult to get empty seats. However, our touring party had the luxury of sitting on two or three seats.
Soon the match started and Delhi batted first. With the distance we were at, it took us considerably time to realize that the lean and thin right hander was none other than Virendra Sehwag. Thereafter, we found it more useful to see the Screens at the stadium rather than the live match itself. It was simpler and convenient, almost as good as seeing it on TV sans the commentary. With some good batting, especially by Gautam Gambhir, Delhi posted a healthy score of around 180 odd. When the match first started, every ball was cheered by the crowd as they stood up from the seats and waved their hands. The heat and the progress of the match soothed the nerves of the crowd and their standing also subsided. Now, since the game started at 4.00pm in the evening against the more common time of 8.00pm, it meant that the crowd was keener to avoid the searing heat as against watching the match. Thus, every now and then we went down to have a drink or snacks. The restrooms were surprisingly clean and usable.
<< The new and improved Feroj Shah Kotla grond >>
As the sun set, Chennai Superkings came to bat, and crowd also became more energetic. While most of them in crowd supported Delhi, those from South India had other ideas. They had painted their t-shirts and their choice of team was obvious. I was with the team that was going to win so my support oscillated with the fortunes of the team. In the last ball, Chennai won and the minority supporters had the last laugh. Soon, the red caps returned to the buses where they were ferried back to their homes. And the celebrations were over. Then we had to wait for some new milestones and another season of IPL for another bout of celebrations.
Chachu 14/06/2008
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Edited Comments on Chachu's Column #37: Of God’s own country
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** 1 ** Received your column and as usual it was a good read. (Courtesy Soni)
** 2 ** We had amazingly good time in Kerala last October. (Courtesy Gautam Goenka)
** 3 ** Good one. (Courtesy Smita)
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