Bowled Over!

Last evening, My Darling persuaded (nay ordered) me to get dinner, homework etc sorted out early as we were going to 'the cricket'.  Anyone who has been in India more than five minutes knows that Cricket is one of the most important parts (or 'time pass' if you are in Chennai - used in a sentence: "cricket is a good time pass for children"!) of daily life.  In fact it is significantly more important than daily life as all activities come to a virtual standstill if India is playing... or worse still, with the advent of the IPL Twenty20, if the Chennai SuperKings team is playing.

I need to get something very straight here - my idea of a good time is definitely NOT being touched, pushed and shoved around in a crowd of the local people.  I do not want to queue outside a stadium, only to find that the 'queue' never moves because of the number of people cutting in at the front.  I do not want to raise my blood pressure or my hand because complete strangers feel it is their right to touch my daughter's face.  I do not want to go somewhere in order to have a fight (hopefully only verbal), to get angry and to (God forbid) lose one or both of my children in the teeming crowds. Not my idea of a good time. No No No!  I even hate going to the malls here for the same reasons.  I go alone, or with My Darling on a weekday morning when we know that most of the rest of the city is at work, school or home.  Much easier on everyone!

My idea of a good time is either to stay home, go to a friend's house, go to a restaurant or hotel where I know we will be treated well and in a clean and hygeinic environment and above all - the toilets are user friendly!  So Madras Cricket Stadium does not make the list of my top million favourite things to do in Chennai, never mind the top ten in my Chennai Champion list!

I begged, cajoled, pleaded and demanded to be let off this one very, very onerous and odious excursion.  To no avail.  My Darling was determined to make sure that the kids and  I got to at least one cricket match before we exit stage left.  Eventually I gave in very ungracefully and got myself organised to go - hand sanitizer, wet wipes, tissues, phone, camera and some money in my pocket.  Oh and another bottle of hand wash in case we used up the first one!

We had tickets on the Madras Cricket Club Terrace seats.  These were the better seats and instead of the hard bleacher style seating, we had individual plastic chairs.  We were seated about a dozen or so rows back from the pitch and I have to say that from the moment we got there, I was in awe.  I was struck by sights, sounds, few smells and just every sense went on high alert and sensory overload.  The crowd around us was well behaved, well mannered, seated (except when everyone jumped up - EVERYtime Chennai Superkings hit the ball!) and for the most part totally engrossed in the action on the field and only there to support the home side.

I was shocked at quite how many people were crammed into the stadium and spent the first five minutes trying to find our nearest fire-emergency exit and realised it was the one that absolutely everyone there would have to use (shock/horror) and ran through several gruesome scenarios in my mind to prepare myself for all eventualities!  After that, I forgot about everything except the cricket, the crowd and the cricketeers (as the players are now being addressed!!). 

The match was wonderful.  Fast paced, full of fumbles, finger-cracking catches and phenomenal bowling.  The crowd - well, how do you describe a humungous number of people, showing their love, adulation, admiration and loyalty for 22 men who have proved themselves on the cricket battlefield to be some of the best in the world.  Sachin Tendulkar - god of the cricket players, Dhoni - the King, Hayden - the gentle giant, Harbhajan - the long legged bowler, Malinga - incredible!  Just to be watching these guys strut their stuff was enough of a thrill.  Once they got into the game and started hammering fours and sixes towards our seating area - the intensity and excitement just got bigger and louder!  The people in the crowd, both Indian and non, were there for a common purpose - to see the teams in action in real life.  They did not disappoint.  These guys sweated their guts out - literally.  Sachin had to retire for a spell to the dressing rooms to recover from over heating and cramps.   He still came back out to support his team in their efforts and to try to finish the game.  The Chennai Lions were just on fire, and won by 24 runs. Wahoooo!

My over-riding thought all evening was that if there was some way to harness the sheer energy emmitted by the crowd, the electric atmosphere and the noise of the roars of approval and encouragement, I am certain we could power the city for days on end!  Move over solar and wind energy - here comes some wicket wattage!!

Fourteen and counting!

Here we are - fourteen years on.  It is our wedding anniversary again!  I think I said it all last year in 'unlucky for some' and I can't really add much to it!

We are still in Chennai but My Darling is travelling far more than he used to.  Most times he whips round the globe and tries to be back within a couple of weeks.  More recently it is taking a little longer!  I find that I still don't like to be without him.  Yes, the kids go to bed earlier.  Yes, I don't have to cook full meals for him.  Yes, we are a lot more relaxed about what time we come home from school and tend to linger longer and longer each day!  Yes, there is no-one mucking up the entire bed, turning over with Richter Scale rumpling and no- one snoring on my right!  But there is also no-one for me to tangle my legs with, no one to talk to in the quiet of the night, no-one to share my thoguhts and feelings with and no-one to depend upon when I hear funny noises (and in India, trust me there are many, many funny noises) in the rest of the house in the dead of night!

I find I sleep with my senses on alert, my cell phone on silent and the land line by my bed.  It is at times like this I think about how much he changed me and changed my life by sharing it with me.  Will I ever be the same again! 

There we were, he born in Bombay, India, me born in Kampala, Unganda.  He moving from city to city, me moving from country to country (Uganda to Kenya to England).  We spent time together in his summer holidays, as kids, in London. His family came there in May.  We tolerated each other, endured enforced time spent together (our parents were/are good friends).  We were defintiely not too keen on each other!

Years later, he returned to England as a grown man, took me out once (at my Dad's request for an escort to an event in the centre of town!); brought me home late at night, firing questions all the way back.  Proposed to me over the phone the next day (on my Dad's phone bill, I might add!!) and scared me to death!  Persisted and pestered by showing up at my classroom, helping out with the PE lessons, turning up unexpectedly to take me out to lunch or dinner, showing up on the doorstep at 6am on my birthday with an entire brand new outfit for me to wear and  the car boot full of red roses and lots of birthday cards!  Constantly surprising me and keeping me off balance!  Eventually, I gave in!!

Here we are nineteen years (add in a five year engagement!), two kids, five houses, too many cars to count and two countries and umpteen flights to many destinations later - still enjoying each other's company.  Still choosing to be with one another.  Still writing the intricate story that is our life together.  Still giggling together till we cry (much to Nikh's embarrassed disgust!!).  Still rough and tumbling with and without the kids.  Still looking forward and backward at our lives together.  He still teases me mercilessly. Still keeps me in the dark about everything until he is ready to spill the news!  Still tries to make most of the decisions (operative word there is 'tries'!!)  Still walks slowly when I am in a rush and speeds along when I am meandering!  Still holds my hand in public and in private, no matter which country, which city, which day, which hour!

Goodness knows why we fit the way we do... so very different! He is a neat freak, I don't really notice the mess till I trip up on it!  He knows exactly what he wants and will not settle for less, I am pretty easy going and will compromise!  He is all about getting the best - equipment, tv, music system, car etc.  I am all about getting what we can afford and getting a good deal!  He sees the massive, globally big picture with the details already added, I see a vision and try to make it a reality!  He reads one book at a time until it is finished, I have between four and eight books on the go (in the car, in the bathroom, in my handbag, in the bedroom etc) and dip in and out of each one until I finish them all at once.  He is pragmatic, I am romantic.  He is a realist, I am an idealist. he is a do-er, I am a dreamer!  And yet our principles, our beliefs, our ideals, so much the same!  Our fierce,touchpaper tempers, our intense love for our children, our love of music, theatre, good bargains, great deals and memorable trips, so much the same!  Our love and loyalty for our friends, old, new and the forever kind, our need to do what we can to help someone, our attempts to maintain and nurture friendships in spite of time zones and geography, so much the same.

I am just waiting for Friday to start writing a new chapter.... together!