Ahmedabad: It’s just 9 am and the build-up for the biggest match of the World Cup has already begun. Activity is frenetic, the pavements leading to the imposing Narendra Modi stadium have already been taken up by sundry sellers doing brisk business and the fans are trooping in unchecked.
The moment is so big that even Gautam Adani has deployed his staff to make his presence felt by giving away 25000 free white caps with the Adani imprint on them. “So far, we have distributed close to 20000 and only some are left. It is our CSR, we also do schoolbags and other stuff under our giveaway policy,” one of the staffers refusing to give his name said.
Yes, Motera gets to sizzle under 34 to 36 degrees on a common day, so caps come in handy but it is more about serving the presence of Adani than dealing with the heat that these caps will come in handy.
"Healthy" route- Forget Adani, you can’t keep a Gujarati away from entrepreneurship and the ingenuity of it all takes you by surprise. Just a furlong from Gate No 2, Praveen and Namrata have set up their “Healthy” stall to sell wheat puffs, popcorn and lentil chaat. While Praveen is an established Chartered Accountant, his partner Namrata is a qualified and working engineer. “This is our very first time. We are trying our luck to see if our business strategy works. We live nearby and are working individuals but we thought of testing our skills in sales,” Praveen said.
The two are all sorted on boardroom statistics and marketing numbers. “Close to 30000 spectators will pass by us to get into the stadium through this lane. Even if 300 of them buy our eats, we will be in profit,” Namrata said.
Kohlis everywhere- Meanwhile, the Kohli T-shirts outnumber any other while the vuvuzelas in all their psychedelic colours stand upright in their quaint baskets, going for Rs 50 a piece. Then there are Team India caps, Tricolour face painters, flags, masks, food sellers, soda makers and a sea of blue, mostly because the Kohli army is on its way, peppered with some Rohit and Hardik foot soldiers.
In this swelling blue wave, there is not a speck of green in any of the lanes or bylanes leading to the stadium gates set to open at 10.30 am to let in a sea of 132000 spectators for an Arijit show and then the real big one when India plays Pakistan at 2 pm.
Kohli sells like hotcakes- Meet Rahul, originally a Ganpati murti maker. He went to the Kalupur market to buy 100 Kohli T-shirts to make some money on the side. “I sold 80 yesterday for Rs 200 each, around 20 by now and 60 are left. It is early but I will sell the entire lot,” he said even as his traditional partner in saree and a dazzling nosepin posed for a picture.
Wares have come from as far Rajkot, Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi. “I bought 100 peepni (vuvuzelas) from Gandhinagar in Delhi for Rs 20 each. I have sold half of them till now and they are priced at Rs 50,” Sunita said. She sits under one of the pillars of Motera Metro station. The only green in the area is the fluorescent vuvuzelas she is hawking.
The setting- The stadium is surrounded by temples, mansions, slum areas and LIG housing. People living here are the silent spectators of this mega event even as they refuse to have their life disrupted on the last Saturday of pitrapaksh. The women offering water to the peepal tree, the pandits doing a quick pooja and people rushing to the mandir at Gate No 2 with their pooja thalis mix up well with the cricket enthusiasts invading their space.
Fifteen-year-old Ashwin took the train from Rajkot to Motera along with his consignment of the Tricolour in three sizes. “Rs 10, Rs 30, Rs 50 and Rs 100 size ke hisaab se(as per size),” he tells you even as his brother carries tricolour paint bottles and is busy painting the tricolour on the cheeks of fans.
The security scene- Inside, the activity is no less frenetic with the police, the Rapid Action Force and the private security people taking a quick drill to tackle the ocean of people thumping the gates to seek entry.
In the middle, the pitch is being spruced up. A clutch of ground staff are busy spraying the outfield with the non-toxic farm pesticide which also works as a dew cutter. Though the Indian skipper had said on match even that he does not expect too much dew, the curator is taking no chances. The spray dries up the grass to an extent that when dew falls, it gets absorbed quickly and wets the ball minimally.
Performance- Droves of performers at the pavilion end of the stadium have been brought in under high security to practice for the 12.30 pm show which will open the match with some inspiring and foot-tapping songs from Arijit, Sukhwinder and Shankar Mahadevan even as the 1.32 lakh spectators, rock and roll to music, excitement and anticipation of the upcoming bigger than usual match.
Meri shaadi mein bhi itni photo nahi kicheen- Two young guys from Houston in Texas came all the way from the US to cheer for the Pakistan team at Motera and instantly became the toast of the stands. Hosted by a diehard Team India supporter Rahul, Uzroh and Asif are the only two Pakistani supporters in a sea of blue at Motera.
“Though originally from Rampur UP, I am here to support Pakistan for this match. I am not following the team and will be back to work in four days,” Uzroh said. Both Uzroh and Asif are techies from Houston. The crowd of mediapersons who spotted them in Pakistan team colour clicked so many photos that Asif said: “Meri shaadi mein bhi itni photo nahi kicheen (Even in my wedding so many photographs of mine were not clicked).” Are they scared to be in green? “Not at all, our host is Indian and he supports Team India so it is all good,” Uzroh said.
