The Gilly’nam Experience Amidst the Himalayas !!

Being a diehard cricket fan, I planned my trip to Himachal Pradesh keeping in mind the IPL matches that were scheduled at Dharamshala. It was raining a week before. In anxiety, I called up the hotel management to ask about what they think about the weather, but only to hear a shaky response like “The weather here is like London, totally unpredictable”. The official statement of the local grounds man was very positive stating the ground would be ready in place for action, and no need for any rescheduling of the fixtures at the vital business end of the tournament. Luckily it all went off just perfectly. 

After a long drive from Dalhousie, we (my wife, Ankita and me) reached Dharamshala a day prior to the match. The entire town was packed; the crowd was maddening at McLeod Ganj. In the Punjabi excitement and since it turned out to be a dead rubber contest for Mumbai, I bought myself a Kings XI Jersey to support the home team. Ankita, a diehard MI fan was always going to support Mumbai.



The Husband-Wife Rivalry

On the match day we decided to leave 2 hours prior, since our hotel was just about 7-8 km from the stadium. We thought we’d reach well in time. But well the small town seemed packed more than ever and coming from Mumbai my definition of traffic jams was challenged!! Outside cars were not allowed within about 5km range of the stadium. So we were left all that distance to walk with time ticking close to game time. Luckily for us, a local couple stood by and gave us a lift, leaving us just about 1.5 km to walk. And we reached the stadium just in time, much like the close finishes this year at IPL. 

Despite the loss of two early wickets for KXIP, the Punjabi music was beating and the beer glasses were flowing. Soon Shaun Marsh & Azhar Mahmood joined in the party atmosphere and the dance moves got crazier. A guy in front of us got a call from his friend and was happily saying he is just 200 meters from the charming Preity Zinta and he could also give her the phone if he insisted. The variety of pagdi colours grooving to the music made a vibrant party amidst the mountains.

Wearing that Kings XI jersey, I had a wicked smile on my face and Ankita was keenly looking at opportunities to wave the MI flag. 

Kings XI Punjab posted a mammoth score of 183 runs on the board. With wickets falling at regular intervals, Mumbai Indians were never in the hunt for the chase. The rays of the sun glistered off the snow on the peaks, and the sunset was a cinematographer’s delight. Often I found myself looking at the mountains rather than the cricket.

In the dull one-sided contest, came a big surprise, Gilly was going to bowl the last over. And what more, he got a wicket and that too of Bhajji. The evolution of “Gangnam -Bhangnam -Gilly’nam”. What a fitting farewell!!

For the grandeur of its setting and the simplicity of its people, I’d rate the Dharamshala experience among my most memorable. But only if you can keep away the rude, loud 4 x 4 gang that comes from Delhi honking away into the serenity of mountains.