Cheering for Cheerleaders – Awe - inspiring tell tale

Forty Five days of complete action and entertainment is something that each one us wait for.  Cricket + Entertainment = ‘Criketainment’ is what ‘Indian Premier League’ is all about.  Amazing team (s) playing remarkable game with some awesome cheerleaders cheering for their respective team.  Entertainment, excitement, thrill, the joy and disheartenment all emotions are seen during the game of IPL. 

Whenever you go to the stadium to see a match for the team you are supporting, I am sure you would love to see the cheerleaders cheering for that team.  Isn’t it?  Of course, it’s natural because besides the matches, one thing which is associated intimately with IPL is the cheer girls.

Ever thought about ‘Behind the scenes’ action, the prepping of the girls that cheer for their team, where they stay, what they eat, who look after them etc.  I am sure all of you at some point in time think about it.  Well, this piece of mine that you are reading will tell you everything about it.

 I just thought to pen down my personal travel experience with these gorgeous ladies who come from across the nation and acclimatize themselves to the heat of India.  Why heat is because they come from an arctic region where they barely get to see the sun.

Last year I had an opportunity to travel and look after these lovely cheer girls.  You must be thinking why I am writing now.  Well, I have been thinking to pen down my feelings for quite long, please don’t kill me for this…but by the time I realized I must share my experience with all, the next season of IPL commenced. (Hands covering eyes *Can’t watch*)

So these twenty lovely girls landed on 1^st April.  Full of zest, these girls were completely geared up to cheer for their team.  We managed to bag two teams in Season 5 which were Delhi Daredevils (DD) and Kings Eleven Punjab (KXIP).  Ten girls required in each team to cheer for next 45 days.  The choreography began the next day followed by the dress fittings.  The entire day was packed due to rehearsals, fittings and other basic things that the girls had to do.

All these girls were tall, loveable and sexy that came from top dance schools across the nation.  Some were great dancers and few others were great gymnasts.  Let me tell you that the selection of the girls is no child’s play.  The selection process is extremely exhaustive and begins as early as two months before the commencement of IPL in the month of April.

The day the girls landed I started getting frantic calls from Media to cover them.  Everyone wanted to cover the girls first to get the maximum readership.  The paparazzi followed them everywhere.  Well, we all are in some sort of rat race always and try to grab points as much as we can at work.  Right! 

The girls were busy having their breakfast when I entered the hall of the hotel they were putting up in.  Few were busy on their iphone and others were just relaxing at a sofa placed nearby.  They all gave a beaming smile to me with a big hello.  I must say they were all very friendly and affectionate. 

The girls were all set for their first domestic flight to Kolkata for their first match performance.

During my flight with them, I came to know from one of the girls that she might leave early.  I was taken aback and asked her the reason.  She told me that she is studying in the university in Keiv and has her final exams scheduled that time.  She said she would be there for a month though.  

We reached Kolkata and after making them understand Indian cuisine for about 45minutes, the girls ordered food.  After trying some fine Indian delicacies, non spicy of course, all gathered in the lobby with their facetime/skype ids on to talk to their dear ones.  I was curious to know what does these girls do back home.  I enquired and came to know that few of the girls were studying in the university, few others were working and one or two ran their own dance schools.  I was impressed.  What made me more proud about hindi language specially was when one of the girls told me that she studies hindi as a subject in the university.  It came as a surprise to me.  To give us all a preview of what she knows little bit about hindi, she introduced herself to us in hindi.

The first match performance was scheduled.  The girls were nervous because they didn’t know the game.  Atul, my colleague Saurabh (who had to travel everywhere with the girls, on and off ground) and myself tried explicating the game to them.  They were told when to dance on the podium and when not to.  We told them about the ‘Fours and Sixes’ and few other basics about the game.  The announcement was made and before entering the ground, ‘The Eden Gardens’ they formed a circle and prayed.  It was new to me as I had only seen the players do that on TV before they begin with their game.

The crowd cheered for the girls and the girls cheered for their team.  They all understood the game in the first match itself and were glad cheering for their team.  The team won and the girls were proud to say that.  

There had been times when the team was defeated.  On that particular day, the disheartenment would encircle the girls.  The emotions would be distinctly visible and once again these girls would start with a new beginning, with a new ray of hope that the team will win.

The girls had a half day free and they wanted to shop around and explore the city.  The girls shopped few accessories like armlets, earrings etc and then we left for the airport.  On reaching New Delhi, the girls enquired if they could go shopping here as well.  I nodded and left with a promise of taking them to India Gate and Janpath.  The girls wanted to see the hustling-bustling markets of the city.  I asked them what two things they relate to the country when they hear the name ‘India’.  You know what answer did I get?  Elephants, Sarees and Taj Mahal.  Isn’t it great?  The girls wanted to drape a saree and asked me the various styles (the women adorned) they were seeing everywhere on the roads.

They all loved shopping at Janpath and Sarojini, the shopping hub of New Delhi. 

The girls used to take pictures of everything where ever they went.  Monkeys, cows, goats any kind of animal made them crazy.  They used to jump in excitement.  

After a long day of sightseeing we all came back to the hotel.  The food was laid.  They ate flavored yoghurt, mashed potatoes, fresh fruits, green salads, meat and chicken with zero spice.  They told me that they had never eaten spice and had always consumed boiled vegetables with salt and cheese in it.

They told me that they do not get fresh fruits in their country and that the fruits in India they were relishing upon are ‘luxury’ in their terms.  The match performance, After match parties performance the girls enjoyed every bit of their tour to India. 

All they wanted to see was Taj Mahal before leaving India.  The visit to Taj Mahal for all of them was like a dream come true for them.  They posed in front of Taj Mahal wearing sarees with hands folded (Namaste).  They said that Indian culture fascinates them a lot.  The bangles, the bindi, the tikka all seemed very unique to them.  They wanted to practice yoga every day.

We all have seen our mothers and grandmothers with a needle and thread in their hand sewing clothes etc.  Can you ever imagine a cheerleader with a needle and thread in her hand?  No, I guess you can’t.  

It so happened that on a bright sunny Sunday when it was a rest day for the girls, I went to the hotel to check if the girls were comfortable.  I knocked at one of the doors and Natalia opened the door.  Anna’s head was down and sitting on her bed she was busy doing something.  She invited me in and I saw a beautiful piece of bright colored cloth well decorated with sequins with needle and thread in her hands.  “What is it?” I asked.  “It’s a belly belt”, she answered.  “Can I see it”, I sought her permission.  “Of course, why not”, she happily handed me the piece of cloth.  I gave a close look to the cloth and enquired, ‘Did you do it?’She said, “Yes! I make belly belts for my friends who do belly dancing so that they could save on money.”  I was moved with this act of hers.  She was indeed talented and on humanitarian grounds she helped her friends to save on money which otherwise would cost a bomb to her friends if they would go out and buy for themselves.

The love, the affection, the zest to feel and explore other culture and country was purely and vividly visible on the faces of these girls.  All alone for the first time, these stunning girls gathered courage to come to India, of course for work leaving their dear ones behind with some vision in their minds.  They had come to India for work but they all mentioned that more than work, they wanted to explore India as they totally loved the culture, the food, the people almost everything about India.  They had a feeling of awe for India.

It was time to bid good bye.  The girls cried at the airport stating they would miss each one of us and would reminisce the great time they had in India.  It seemed as if ‘The Gala Night’ had come to an end with lots of music and action and it was time to wrap up.