Where Are All The Papare Bands?

• Strange Absence Of World Cup Hype

By Abdul H. Azeez

In a country famed for its almost fanatical craze for cricket, enthusiasm is strangely muted even though the mother of all cricket tournaments; the World Cup itself has hit our shores.
Public interest is strangely lax, but that could be because the cricket craze has not really reached its fever pitch yet. As Jessica, an ad executive, says ‘Sri Lankans are typically laid back, so even though they seem uninterested now I’m sure that when the matches start and the second round gets underway the world will see how Sri Lankan cricket fans party.’ She, having already started, has bought tickets for matches along with her friends and is all set for some hardcore cricketing fun.
Others are somewhat less enthusiastic. A conversation overheard at a gym in Mount Lavinia, where I was struggling to reach the high point of my third sit-up, was very pithy about the perceived arrogance of the Sri Lankan team. Apparently the posing and posturing of some of the team members was ill appreciated. Get on with the game boys or let someone else do the job seemed to be the sentiment.
Walking through the World Market in Pettah, I hardly saw any cricket related paraphernalia for sale. There are fake big brand rubber slippers retailing at 500 rupees, tight t shirts with designs printed in garish colors hung up for display and all other implements of the latest ‘in’ Colombo street fashion visible.  But when I ask a few stalls for cricket t-shirts, the traders gave me blank looks.
But they are in no way short on words about the ‘cricket situation’. Yes, it’s a situation. Sugath, a t’ shirt salesman, was adamant that middle order batsman Chamara Silva should have been swapped for a certain other top order young player who he claimed was one of the best around. He articulated vivid cricketing theories and brought out several points that I’m sure were very salient, holding the rapt attention of all his fellow traders who had obviously turned all authority on matters concerning cricket over to him. He is currently waiting for a word with Aravinda De Silva, chief selector, and I’m not sure De Silva is going to be happy with what he has to say.
A common grouse was the exclusion of Suraj Randiv, from the final line up. Many decried the inclusion of Dilhara ‘No-Ball’ Fernando. Who, in one fan’s opinion was a ‘sure fire way to lose a winning cricket match.’ ‘I think as long as anyone doesn’t do anything stupid, we should be ok’ says Ralston, an executive from Colombo speaking to me in his lunch break. ‘Sri Lankans have always been sore losers’ he says, getting contemplative. ‘We tend to lose not to others, but to ourselves. We just give the game away. As long as we don’t underestimate our opposition and stick to playing a solid game of cricket, we will win’.
We used to be positively insane about cricket. ‘Cricket crazy’ used to be a default state of mind for most of the Sri Lankan populace. Young boys would forever be playing dust-coated games of traffic hindering street cricket, and cricket would generally be competing only with politics for a favorite conversational topic amongst grown-ups.So has interest in cricket waned in the Paradise isle? Opinion varies. Shafiya, another ad executive thinks that people have a lot more things to preoccupy their minds and cricket has taken a backseat. Ralston thinks he has lost interest in cricket since 20-twenty and other ‘forms of nonsense’ entered the game. But still, both of them seem excited about the approaching World Cup.
Gloria, living abroad in a country ‘where in order to watch cricket I have to either pay ridiculous subscription or stream it online – which only means it will be a grainy picture and I won’t see Malinga hit the timber’ can barely contain her excitement about the upcoming games, and has already bought plane tickets to catch the last week of action. Huzeifa, a consultant working in Bahrain tells me that he is definitely hyped; ‘we are so hyped that we are getting a cable connection and a new TV for the office because most of the matches would be during work hours due to the time difference’.
Ranjan, an NGO worker who travels all over the country says that he can’t recall anyone who wasn’t at least a little excited about the World Cup. ‘I am totally hyped about it. We last won it in 1996 and I remember watching all the matches and when Ranatunga hit the winning four it was pure ecstasy.’
But what of this strange sense of dullness permeating the streets of Colombo, and I can only speculate; most other cities in the country? Is it a problem of visibility? Where is all the colour? Where are the posters, banners, pennants and massive cut-outs that can be seen 200 yards away? Where are all the newspaper advertisements? Where are all the brands clamoring for World Cup associations to sell more?
Advertising around the city of Colombo is strangely mute. But that also may be because of the strange sense of subversion that seems to be permeating the city. Cricket fever may not be visible. But it appears to be slowly waking up. Sri Lankans are already beginning to breathe it. They are slowly lifting their heads above the oppressive food prices, weather conditions and the dreariness of their jobs to start smelling the crisp smell of grass. They are already imagining the meaty thwack of a leather bat sending a ball to the stands, and they are already beginning to engage in that most Sri Lankan of pastimes; theorizing about the team.
Things can only get more intense from here. A lot will depend on the team’s performance. The simmering hype could either break out into all out madness if we manage to get through the first round with some decent wins, or can just flap about like a fish out of water and die in disgust if the team fails to deliver. Every cricket fan (read Sri Lankan) is hoping for the former; things have been far too dull for far too long over here.