When a billion hearts of a frenzied nation were ignited

There was something unique about the landscape Wednesday night, I thought, the moment I peeked out of the descending Spicejet SG 894 Guwahati – Delhi flight at 10 30 pm. From amidst tiny masses of flickering lights came out oodles of sparkles – and before I could figure out what it was, the Captain exulted on the microphone, ‘India have won the match.’ The incessant firecrackers dotting the landscape below me filled my heart with joy, like billion others. We have beat Pakistan and the match had more than mere sporting significance.

A frenzied nation could sleep in solace, was my instant reaction.

A frenzy which gaped me across my journey from Shillong to Delhi! After a flurry of meetings in the morning I rushed to Shillong’s bustling Police Bazaar taxi stand to catch a shared taxi to Guwahati in my bid to save Rs 800. I was greeted with grim faces, unlike the routine scramble you see on such stands. A little surprised at not being heckled by the ever-keen drivers, I looked around and chased a man to ask if I could get a taxi to Guwahati. He said it was “impossible” sending chill down my spine. Frenetically I looked around to find a young boy, who had sensed my urgency to head out of the hilly city.

“While the rate is Rs 1600, you pay me Rs 2600 for I would be sacrificing my match,” he said with a straight face. Realising the criticality of time, I agreed.

Barely had we slipped out of the city that he pulled up at a small house, at the tip of the land, overlooking a racing stream below. “What happened,” I nervously asked for I was scared of the jams on way. “Let me figure out the score,” he said rushing inside. I waited.

At Shillong Circuit House, Laban

Through the way, and by now I knew his name in my bid to keep Litton in good humour, he would stop every 15 minutes to check the cricket alerts on his cell phone. My nerves kept swelling at the thought of missing my flight. Half-way through, however, I got an automated call from the airlines saying the flight was delayed by two hours.

Relaxed, I started engaging with Litton, wanting to know more of the Scotland of the East, as Shillong is famously known. “The best thing to happen is the widening of the NH 40 and the work is progressing at amazing speed. Next time you come it would be all four-lane,” Litton gleefully said, adding that would perhaps reduce his run time from 3-4 to 2-3 hours meaning few extra income. I was told at Shillong the current Meghalaya CM Dr Mukul Sangma is a progressive leader and hugely focused on development.

As we approached the end of Meghalaya, I saw a series of liquor shops, most of it crowded with curious spectators. Beer sips and cricket, I slurped at this mouth-watering idea. At one point, I came across over 50 dancing youngsters right there in the middle of the road, sending the traffic into a tizzy. Curious I got down of the car and walked across the crowd to inquire what had happened only to be told that Sachin had just escaped two successive balls – first he was given not out on a LBW appeal and next he managed to save his stumps.

Forty five minutes later, the frenzy subsided and we raced towards the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport. I was heaving a sigh of relief my ordeal was coming to an end. The airport was abuzz with noise and people watched with dismay the agonizing difficulty with which MS Dhoni and his teammates attempted to accelerate the score rate towards the end of the innings. Thanks to Suresh Raina some momentum came to the Indian score and amidst loud cheer and jumping enthusiasts the innings came to a decent 260.

Thankfully, one person seemed to be not swayed away by this inflated passion – Indian finance minister Pranab Mukherjee who was returning after a hectic campaign tour, not even glanced towards the television. Interestingly, CISF men, airlines ground staff, shopkeepers and airlines officials were all converging to the front lobby of the airport and they were soon joined in by passengers from the arrival lounge. Nothing excites, and unites Indians as much as cricket, I thought.

After check-in, the scene on the boarding lounge was no different. Tired when I got into the plane thinking to rest and relax for next two hours, a loud argument a row behind me jolted my attention. The plane has begun the roll on the runway and this gentleman was adamant on getting the latest updates on his phone – simple aviation norms notwithstanding and the pleas of the crew falling on deaf ears.

We took off yet the gentleman continued his barbs against the airlines and rued the fact why airplanes did not telecast lice cricket matches. He fell silent only after the cabin attendant made a passionate plea and said he would request Captain to get us the score at frequent intervals.

For a while, towards the end, the Captain had been quiet for he was negotiating with the ATC on clearing the heavy congestion in the sky. Anxious, we all kept waiting for an update till the plane started to descend.

The unusual brightness of the sky was igniting a billion hearts with joy!