Sudhir and Bashir, who have become national icons for their enthusiasm for cricket, can well sum up the essence of India-Pakistan sporting rivalry
You will struggle to find a pair of fans who can sum up the essence of India-Pakistan rivalry more emphatically than Sudhir Kumar Chaudhary and Mohammed Bashir.
You know of Sudhir — Muzaffarpur native, Sachin Tendulkar devotee, painted face, painted body, conch shell and all that. Bashir, on the other hand, is from Chicago. His family runs a very successful restaurant, Ghareeb Nawaz, on Devon Avenue. He has suffered three heart attacks. He is also diabetic and carries a plethora of medicines with him at all times.
Both made their presence felt at the Adelaide Oval on Saturday.
Sudhir was the first to arrive. No sooner than the Indian team started its match-eve preparations the 34-year-old made his way to the enclosure right below the Sir Donald Bradman pavilion. Within seconds, he took off his shirt
and revealed his extremely lean, well-toned physique replete with tri-colours and an emotional 'Miss-u Tendulkar 10' message on his back. Out came the flag and that conch shell too. Basically, Sudhir was in his element.
“India khele aur hum nahin aaye; kya kabhi aisa ho sakta hai? (India playing and me not coming; has it happened ever?)” he asks with a wink. The subject of dna’s JBM cover story (A decade of worship: Sachin Tendulkar’s biggest fan…) in October 2013, Sudhir then took out a letter from his bag. “See this! Boss wrote a letter on my behalf,” he said. The ‘boss’ in question was Tendulkar. And the letter was addressed to the visa officer of the Australian embassy in New Delhi.
“Dear Sir, I am writing to confirm that Mr Sudhir Kumar Chaudhary has been an ardent supporter of the Indian Cricket Team and has become a national icon due to his enthusiasm,” Tendulkar wrote. Providing details of Sudhir’s sponsors, he requested the officer to provide his biggest fan with a visa for the entire duration of the tournament. “I got visa in just one day,” Sudhir said. Soon, he was the most wanted man at the Adelaide Oval. The Indian team took a backseat.
About an hour later, Bashir appeared out of nowhere. Sporting a free-flowing green jubba with the words “Jis desh mein Ganga behti hai, us desh ki meri biwi hai (My wife hails from the land where river Ganga flows). Bashir took short, painful steps towards the practice area. “Has Dhoni arrived?” he enquired. When one answered in the affirmative, he said, “He is the one who gives me tickets. Everytime. He has been blessed with a baby girl. God willing he will win lead India to World Cup win again. Par kal toh jeetega bhai jeetaga, Pakistan jeetega (But tomorrow Pakistan will win),” It was a lesson in voice modulation.
Soon, the enclosure was brimming with fans of both countries. Mothers, grandmothers, children, grandchildren, boys, men… there was everyone. It was sloganeering at its intense best.
Luckily, no one was hurt.
Bashir then spoke about his wife, who hails from Hyderabad. “She is everything to me. But she keeps telling me “why do you get embarrassed. Every time India will win,” he said.
Bashir and Sudhir then joined the rest of the fans outside the stadium where they celebrated with dhols and what not. “This time there will be Diwali in Pakistan,” Bashir said.
“Yeah sure, but next year. Is baar toh jeetega bhai jeetega India jeetega (this time India will win),” Sudhir retorted.
A hug sealed the issue.
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