India’s Win at the Cricket World Cup

After India pulled an upset at the Cricket World Cup yesterday, hundreds of thousands of Indians shouted, “Bharat mata ki jai!” They were saying, “Glory for mother India!”

If watching the game with a group of singing dancing totally-out-of-control Indians in front of a large outdoor screen was fun, the celebration that followed the victory was epic. A substantial portion of Delhi showed up at India Gate, an Arc-de-Triomphe-like structure honoring India’s fallen soldiers. Pandemonium broke loose. On the road passing by India Gate, screaming fans with huge Indian flags climbed on top of their cars. At least thirty fans also climbed on any passing-by truck or bus. (The drivers didn’t seem to mind—they, too, were excited for the win!) People lit fireworks in the street as massive crowds danced to Bollywood music booming from nearby vehicles.

While flipping through my photos of the celebration, I found myself getting a bit emotional. (Disclaimer: It could be that having violent food poisoning twice in the past five days has left me fragile.) Indian pride was infectious last night, even for an American.