To those of you stuck here in this cricketless land with little live coverage, good news for the subscribers of XM radio.

ATN Channel 159 runs live commentary from IPL matches. I meant to post this long time back but kept postponing it. Over the last month or so, I’ve gotten my money’s worth listening to live cricket commentary from IPL games while driving to work and other long drives.

Point to be noted, XM does not stream this channel online. So unless you have a docking station at work or home, you’re stuck with listening to match coverage in your car exclusively. With the IPL season drawing to a close, don’t rush out yet to buy XM radios just for the sake of Channel 159. As discussed in previous posts their content is currently less than stellar. We will keep you posted if ATN Channel 159 also covers other cricketing events.

Other posts on XM ATN Channel 159

Text or email your candid snaps to our Flickr account at 1000words(at)uberdesi.com. If they’re of interest to us, we will feature them and/or blog about it. Do not forget to include a subject and message with your name in your text or email messages to 1000words(at)uberdesi.com.

Two black British cheerleaders in an interview to “The SUN” were quoted as saying that they were stopped from going on stage at an IPL pre-match show by a staff member from pre-match show organisers Wizcraft International Entertainment. The staff members allegedly told the two girls: “people here don’t want to see dark people“. The two cheerleaders also allege he used the “N” word was and told them people “only wanted beautiful white girls“. [TOI]

Cheerleaders face racial abuse
img: via Courier Mail Australia

Coming on the heels of the Shilpa Shetty-Big Brother fiasco [1,2,3,4], the British media has picked up the story and (rightfully) ran with it.

Truly disgraceful, if this transpired as reported in the SUN story. Knowing our culture, the way people think and the overall societal affinity towards fairer skinned people, it is hard to imagine some idiot might not have acted in such a despicable manner. However, the two cheerleaders have also said that overall, the crowd was very receptive to them. I can see why the crowd were so receptive. I concur.

Wizcraft International Entertainment has denied any knowledge of the incident. In case the name, Wizcraft, sounded familiar, they’re the same event organizers who brought Michael Jackson and the Miss World contest to India in the 90s.

From the chronicles of the obvious: Thackeray has claimed cheerleaders seduce the spectators in a stadium. [link]

“I am a lover of good sports and music. It is the secret of my cheerfulness. I have a special affinity towards cricket. But till now only cricket was played in the field.

Of course, there Thackeray has conveniently forgotten when his thugs dug up cricket pitches to prevent Pakistan from playing in India during the 90s, thereby disrupting, you guessed it, the game of cricket. So much for loving the game.

However, now things are changing with the bringing of cheergirls to seduce the crowd,”

He also claimed the stadium was being turned into a dance bar. The question for Thackeray is “so what?”. Assuming what he was saying was true, what is so wrong with a dance bar, since no one is being forced to do anything against their will?
The he resorts to arguments that would put Godwin to shame.

“At a time when farmers in Vidarbha and Marathwada region are committing suicide because they are burdened by debts, it is not clear what the people, who are pumping money to bring cheergirls, want to convey,”

Speaking of confusing apples with papayas. Or if we want to go by Thackeray’s warped logic, I’m not sure what the Thackeray sponsored Michael Jackson concert in the 90s achieved for these same farmers.
My entire reaction to cheerleaders in the IPL? Personally, I have no problem with cheerleaders being a part of any sport. Their purpose in cricket, besides being a novelty and buzz-creators, is unclear to me. Once the infatuation wears off, it will either be accepted or rejected by public opinion. If it stays, and that’s a big if, cheerleaders in the IPL will, over time, evolve into more Indianized versions. I highly doubt the economics of importing NFL cheerleaders will work over longer periods of time. If the cheerleading trend sticks, lets say over 2-3 years, then public demand and economics have worked themselves out and it would become an integral part of the game, and by some perverse default, a part of “Indian culture”.

Mumbai’s mamus (cops) are now out to defend us from evil cheerleaders. [BBC link]

Deliver us from this evil, oh almighty Mumbai Mamus
img: via BBC

Says Ram Rao Vagh, the police commissioner for New Mumbai:

….. organisers could be fined for violating the norms of the entertainment licence they had secured for allowing performances in the stadium.
Senior officers would decide whether the cheerleaders had crossed the “lines of decency”.

Senior officers will drop all important matters to be there first hand to protect innocent Mumbaikars from those slutty cheerleaders, rest assured.

Says Siddharam Mhetre, Maharashtra’s junior Interior Minister:

“We live in India where womanhood is worshipped. How can anything obscene like this be allowed? This thing is meant for foreigners and not for us. Mothers and daughters watch these matches on television. It does not look nice.”

“It does not look nice”??? Me thinks the cheerleaders look just fine. Also, at this point it is unclear what “womanhood” is it that minister Mhetre worships. If he means he worships women, perhaps he should protect those women from this (see next paragraph):

There have been reports in the Indian newspapers of cheerleaders complaining of sections of the crowd jeering at them and making lewd comments.

Yes, it is “Indian culture” to harass women minding their own business. Just travel on a Mumbai local train and you will experience first hand this aspect of “Indian culture” in all its glory. Where’s the protection for these women? Oh, that’s right. They are at the stadium policing cheerleaders.

The Vijay Mallya-owned, Bangalore Royal Challengers, have roped in cheerleaders from the NFL team, Washington Redskins, for it’s first four games. [link]

Note: This image is photoshopped
img via First Post

The Redskins cheerleaders troupe is also expected to train Indian cheerleaders for Mallya’s team. Predictably, Hindu extremists have gone nuts over this move, “as they believe their act damages Indian culture and tradition”.

Bangaloreans appear less enthusiastic about the cheerleaders …

“It is completely alien to our culture to have young skimpily clad Indian girls sporting pompoms on their derrieres dancing around furiously,” The Telegraph quoted Bangalore resident Roshin Varghese, as saying.

…. not so, the Punjabis, ………

In Punjab, however, people are less critical about the idea of cheerleaders.
“It will be pleasing to watch the cheerleaders in all their glory,” said dentist Gurpreet Singh, adding, “They will add colour and impudence to the game.”

On a related note, Michael Strahan of NFL champions, The New York Giants, was recently quoted as saying that the Washington Redskins cheerleaders were the hottest among all NFL cheerleaders [link]. One has to commend Mallya’s choice.

Update: Mallya’s Bangalore team lost by 140 runs in the first match against Kolkata. [Score]
We did warn Mallya on the Washington Redskins cheerleaders being the most distractive force in all of professional sports.