World Cup diary: Terror-free journalists, Gujarati hospitality, and creative advertisements

By K.R. Nayar, from Narendra Modi Stadium

A media bus picked up journalists and photographers from different parts of the city at pre-announced pickup points. The luxurious bus, provided by the Gujarat Cricket Association, departed from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium at 11:30 am, making stops at some of the leading hotels where media personnel from England, New Zealand, and other parts of the country are staying. Despite the first match not featuring India, the bus was nearly full.

A mobile police van halted the media bus near the stadium's entrance, requesting everyone to pass their bags through a scanner. After everyone had lined up near the van and undergone security checks, they cleared us to reboard the bus. So after being declared as terror-free journalists, what was needed from us now was to be error- free in bringing the news of the World Cup. My seat in this bus automatically reclined without me having to press any buttons. Was it trying to signal me to relax, given that the World Cup is a long and extensive event with many miles to travel in the coming days?
Many cricket fans were sporting Team India T-shirts with Dhoni's name, while others were seen wearing Virat Kohli's, and Suryakumar Yadav's No. 63 as well. It was quite a challenge to spot an England or New Zealand fan in the crowd. The low turnout gave the 132,000-seater Narendra Modi Stadium a deserted appearance, leading some to comment that perhaps fans were primarily interested in witnessing an India-Pakistan match, deeming the rest of the World Cup matches relatively unimportant. Surely this was not the turn-out that should have been there for a clash between defending champions England and runners-up New Zealand.
People from Gujarat are well known for their hospitality, and this was evident in the arrangements made for the media. Before the captains' media meet commenced, an excellent spread of Gujarati food was served at the Gujarat Cricket Association Clubhouse. Jagat Patel, the Venue Media Manager, ensured that everything was in order. Everyone seemed to have enjoyed a dish called Surti Sev Khamand, which brought back memories of former Indian cricketer Russi Surti. Many from the media were also pleasantly surprised to taste a fusion dessert called Butter Scotch Chenna Payas served for lunch. Before the start of the NZ-Eng match, Jay Shah, secretary of the BCCI, paid a visit to the press box to inspect the facilities for the media.
Most Indian journalists here are looking forward to the India-Australia match in Chennai on October 8, and their thoughts are already focused on that event.
India is renowned today for its creative advertising, and evidence of this can be seen all around. Amul announced their sponsorship of the South African team through an interesting play of words around "Roti Kapada Aur Makan" (a slogan popularized by the late Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi ahead of the 1967 general elections, and which also inspired a famous Bollywood movie in 1974). The advert featuring the Amul girl and a South African cricketer was titled  ‘Protea, Cupda, aur Makhan’.
Given that food delivery is extremely popular in India post covid, one hotel caught people's attention by simply stating: "Not on Zomato."