바카라śIndia, zindabad!바카라ť. 바카라śSouthall, zindabad!바카라ť. 바카라ťBacardi, zindabad!바카라ť. So went the chants in a west London pub, growing increasingly slurred, euphoric and surreal, as India pursued the World Cup title with a pugnacious run-chase. Thousands of Indian flags, colours and horns were waved, sported and blared into the night sky over London, as Southall celebrated the triumph of Dhoni바카라™s team.
No doubt Southall boasts a vibrant Indian community, but unprecedented scenes of celebration were also witnessed elsewhere in London바카라”in Hounslow and Wembley, for instance. It was a robust affirmation of Indian identity, of being brash, confident and unashamed of who they are바카라”and, more importantly, where they come from.
Yet, no place knows how to party quite like Southall. 바카라śYou don바카라™t get this kind of atmosphere바카라”even on Soho Road,바카라ť said one reveller from Birmingham, referring to a street rich with Indian flavour. But perhaps Southall바카라™s relative inaccessibility makes it the place to go to. After all, people from other areas don바카라™t have to pass through it unless they wish to.
That, and its plethora of Indian pubs and eateries, pretty much all showing the game바카라”all centres of joy. From the famous Glassy Junction pub, where you can pay for your drinks in rupees, to the sweet shop Jalebi Junction, or the Roxy tandoori restaurant, or the Himalaya cinema.
Waving the tricolour with abandon, people climbed onto the roofs of buses, atop bus stops and hung from street lamps. Elderly Indian men, born in Jalandhar and Ludhiana, embraced British-Indian men born in Croydon and Ealing. Young children on their parents바카라™ shoulders바카라”born in England, forever Indian. Bhangra blaring from every other shop window or car. Dhols heard with each step, like the thundering hooves of stampeding cattle, while carousers carried bottles of Bacardi and whiskey, colouring their joys with the infamous Punjabi reputation for enjoying a tipple.
After the game, India fans danced in the street outside the pub, humorously chanting, 바카라śAre you watching England?바카라ť It바카라™s a line one mouths to taunt vanquished rivals. It didn바카라™t matter that England had already been knocked out바카라”those listening got the message. The Metropolitan police officers on duty were carried on shoulders and handed food and drink. The Indians were not to be denied their day of national fervour, supremely confident about their identity and in themselves.
