Cricket is for India as footbal is for us

My idea about cricket was very limited. I knew it was a bit similar to baseball but I didn't know any of its rules.

India received the world cup on February and it went till the beginning of April. So I had the opportunity to follow some of the games. The first thing I found very surprising was that the game would start just after lunch and end by the end of the night!!! It took so much time!! In fact, in Cricket there's no time rule instead there are different versions with different duration. Normally in the championship the game lasts for about three hours, which I find reasonable. But there's also the one-day and test version. In the one-day version the game lasts for about nine hours while in the test version it goes for five days!!! I found very impressive that so many people remained in stadiums for nine hours. They must really like this game. Cricket doesn't seem physically very demanding so the players can handle playing for so long. They have a break with food and tea! Awesome!

The rules are simple. In the center of the field there are two bases at a distance of twenty meters from each other. In each of these bases there are three wood sticks called wickets as you can see from the picture below



Additionally there is a batsman and a runner both from the same team and a bowler from the opposite team. The objective of the bowler is to make the ball touch the wickets while the batsman tries to avoid that by throwing the ball as far as possible. Then the game is a bit like baseball. Once the ball is up in the air the batsmen and the runner run back and forth between the wickets getting points called runs. If a player of the opposite team catches the ball before it touches the pitch then the batsman is out. If the ball goes straight outside of the field you get six runs while if it touches the pitch before leaving the field you get four runs. Once the ball is caught by a player of the opposite team he has to throw the ball towards the wicket before the batsman or the runner arrive. If this happens then the batsman or the runner is out.

The bowler has a limited number of balls to throw, and that number depends on the version of the game.

India was one of the favorite teams to win the world cup along with Australia, the current champion. They have been impressive along the championship but my friends were not so convinced of the final victory. The big first shot came when they defeated Australia in quarter finals and they started to believe. In semifinals they played against Pakistan, the all time rival. This was the big match perhaps more important than the final. It was a real fight but with no guns.

At the time I was already in Mumbai and I had the opportunity to follow the last part of the game. I really enjoyed. You feel compelled to support and follow the vibe of the game. It was a great victory for India and now they were going to play against Sri-Lanka in the final. This time I went to see the game in some bar in Colaba, Mumbai. The environment was awesome! The bar was full and people were making the party. With this fever for Cricket I stayed about four hours supporting India, shouting, jumping, dancing... It was a fantastic victory and India exploded of happiness.


Lots of people came to the streets to celebrate. They were really crazy!!... jumping over cars, dancing, shouting...





Ive also celebrated!!



Namaste!

Agra and Taj Mahal

In my way to Mumbai I decided to go first to Agra, famous for the majestic Taj Mahal. I went by train and it took me about eight hours from Allahabad. After a nice trip I arrived early in the morning. These days India is getting very hot so I thought it would be better to visit all those places when it is fresher and also because I had a train to Delhi in the evening.

As expected, there was already someone waiting for me. Not someone I knew but one of these guys that tries to sell you a guided visit. I had my luggage so I didn't want to walk around with it. After a short bargain he accepted my price. The deal was to carry me to the touristic places.

First stop: breakfast. I had a good continental breakfast, with some toasts, jam, coffee and juice. What happens next is the begining of the how to loose a considerable amount of money in a touristic place in India. I think I knew this but things happen in such a way that you don't notice. First thing, there is a new guy waiting for me outside. It's the guide that Ive never asked for. So now I have a driver and a guide.

He's always very nice. It seemed a really nice person even if he was just working. He became my personal photographer! I knew that every move had a price so I would have to pay him a nice ammount at the end of day.

Next stop: Taj Mahal. Ah! the place is crowded of foreign people, so Im not a star anymore. Anyway... The entrance is expensive. For a foreigner it is like 40 times the price for an indian. I paid 750 rupees!! which is like the price of a one day Louvre entrance. But it is worth the price. Taj Mahal is really a beautiful monument, of a very simple and harmonious architecture. Look at these pictures






This is me meditating!



With a personal phtographer you take a lot of photos.

He told me the story of the Taj Mahal. It was constructed by Shah Jahan, an emperor, to express his love from the deceased wife. She died after having her 14th child.

The Taj Mahal is smaller than what I was expecting and the mosque only contains the tombs of the emperor and his wife. The marble gives a sensation of simplicity and harmony that I like very much. Unfortunately people create all these silly stories like it was built by 22 thousand man during 22 years and the stairs have always 22 steps. This is unecessary. The funny part was that those 22 thousand man belonged to the same family!!

The next stop is the Agra fort few kilometers away.

The story tells that the emperor Shah Jahan was imprisioned there by his son. It is believed that he ended dying in one of the towers.

The fort is architecturally very similar to the Taj Mahal but it looks more like a walled city. It has many divisions. You can see the rooms, there is a library, and also a market place. I took some pictures





It was about lunch time and my guide was already stressing with the money. I could note that he was losing enthusiasm. So he said to me: "Now you have seen this and that, you will go for lunch and then you can go to a nice bazaar to buy souvenirs... You can now give me the money." Ok, I was thinking in giving you like 500. But he didn't like, he wanted more. So he showed me some card where it is stated that he is an official guide and the prices he does. For indian it was 500 and 750 for foreigner. I said: "Look 750 is too much, I think 500 is very reasonable for you. Im not giving you any more money" He kind of hesitated but he agreed. I really think he deserved less but It's fine. The thing is that you leave 500 here, 500 there and at the end of the day the money has flied away. I didn't mention but along the trip he took us to most of his friends that are local sellers. So you buy this and that, really nice things but for foreigners becomes expensive as you may think.

After lunch I went to the promised bazaar. I wouldn't call that a bazaar, it looked more like a commercial area. I was expecting a kind of street market. Anyway... I bought some souvenirs and than I went for a coffee. At this time of the day it makes very hot, so nothing better than a nice irish coffee in a fresh place.

It was time to leave so I asked my driver to leave me on the train station. I gave him a nice tip that he didn't complain, and than I walked towards the station. Some guy approaches me and asks me where I am going, "Im going to Delhi". Bingo!! thought the guy. He tells me that my train is very late, about 5 hours. This is normal in India, don't worry. And he tries to sell me some car trip for the beautiful price of 3000 rupees (50 euros). Of course I would never do it. First its very expensive and second is very dangerous to drive in highways here. So I tell him " calm down, Im going to check if there is a different train". But he insists and insists and he doesn't leave me, following me everywhere. I confirm that my train is very late, but they also tell me that there are other trains later. So I try to book a different train but this guy is becoming very annoying. He's trying to convince me that I won't probably get a place, that there will be a big waiting list. He's right, the guy at the desk tells me that Im in a +100 waiting list but he tells me not to worry, he will try to do the best he can. Im relieved! At this point I start to think that I will have to bribe him...

Fortunately I got rid of the other guy and now Ive to wait for 4 hours. It was a very long wait. It is very hot, you don't have a place to sit, I had to carry my luggage everywhere and you have to handle with the smell and all the beggars. This is the most difficult part because you have to say many times no, to kids mostly. Here it is not a question if they need or not. They really need money, that is obvious. The problem is that you cannot give to everyone even if it is just some rupees.

I was half hour for the train to come and I was waiting on the platform. It is already late evening so there are not so many people. You become more exposed to beggars. I have to say that I don't like to express myself this way, treating beggars as if they were some bugs. On the contrary. I hate seeing kids, babies badly fed and all dirty. They personify the most selfish part of ourselves and should make us sad. For an european is as if the world was cheating me. They sell me a life with best comfort possible and where I can do everything I want. But when you see this, that seems ridiculous and you feel shame. But after being hit by beggars like hundred times a day you become cold.

So I was waiting... I see some kids approaching. One of them doesn't have the lower part of the legs. It is shocking to see him creeping around. Having only ten rupees, I dumbly ask if they can share. Of course I don't do that. I stand up and buy two samussas for them and they nicely thank me. This is really a nice sensation being able to help truly. Even if it is like a drop in the ocean.

The train arrives. It looks more like an european train and it is very fast. My trip to Delhi is nice and calm.

Namaste