My Sudden Liking for Cricket Explained

My last Blog surprised my brother a little bit, apparently a long cricket blog and from a girl at that, is quiet uncommon (at least among the people we know) and that got me to thinking... Why do I suddenly love Cricket enough to write about it?

I was never a cricket fan per se, yes, I used to follow the game when I was in India and yes I have seen a "live" one day match at Wankhede and totally enjoyed it, but the game I really remember watching with interest back then is Tennis. I was up and up on the rankings, the players and even had favourite tennis players who I was extremely passionate about..not so much with cricket though..

Best I can see, things changed when I came to the USofA. The further you go from your country, the more dearly you cling to the things you most associate with it. And this I find not just applies to sports but to everything.

So it was here that I found my mother tongue..yes, in India, I used to talk, think and even dream in English, my mother tongue (Gujarati) was my second language, and I admittedly was not very good at it. Now, while I still think and dream in English, I find myself talking more and more in Gujarati whenever i find a fellow Gujarati friend here and that as actually helped improve my command over that language as well!

It is here in the US that I understand the value of Mia Familia, where in India I respected my parents I also rebelled and threw tantrums to get my way, now I just listen to what they have to say and find it easier to admit what I always knew..that they are right about everything!

Festivals, which seemed to be just another social fling in India, here are sorely missed and hence celebrated as much / as closely as possible.I find I yearn to wear the Indian salwar kameez and eat Indian food here, more than I ever did while I was in India and could do these things more often.

And finally, move over Tennis, Cricket..the game loved by my 1 billion brothers and sisters is here to stay. It reminds me of Sunday afternoons spent in front of the TV set with the whole family, while mom's made hot nashta in the kitchen, it reminds me of the huge crowds that gather outside the local Electronics store showing the cricket matches on their TV Sets, it reminds me of the collective whoops and sighs that seem to rise out of the country with every boundary or wicket. Cricket therefore, has ceased to be just a game..but has become a symbol, a symbol of a country where I spent the Best Years of My Life so far..and so..I love cricket.

Its as simple as that..