Begrüßungen » came with the arrival of 11.Perhaps thats why

During the celebrations in one corner of the ground on the morning of Indias 500th Test, which were shown only on TV and the rest of the crowd had no clue what was happening, Indias current coach and former captain Anil Kumble was called up to the stage. He was felicitated. Perhaps given a shawl and a memento by the governor of the state. Being respectful, Kumble thought he shouldnt carry his mobile phone to the stage. So he left the phone, his shades and his cap behind where he was sitting. He got his memento but by the time he came back, his shades and cap were gone, in the presence of the governor, sports minister and principal sports secretary of the state, and the security arrangements the presence of such people brings with it.Welcome to Kanpur, the city hosting Indias 500th Test. There is a joke often told in the context of Kanpur. A visitor was once amazed at seeing a Kanpur pigeon flapping only one wing when it flew. So he paid the owner a hefty sum to buy it. When the new owner reached his home, the pigeon began using both wings. Perplexed and angry that he had been conned, he took the bird back to the seller in Kanpur. Now once again the pigeon began using one wing. The seller now explained, This is Kanpur, here even pigeons cover their backsides when they leave their home.Kanpur is a unique experience in watching Test cricket. There is of course the pedigree. The first turf pitch in India was laid in Kanpur. A local club even claims the first time Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly met was here during the nets for a domestic tournament. The second part is incidental just as the 500th Test coming to Kanpur is.It is a good coincidence though, because Kanpur is the India they wont show you in tourism brochures or Incredible India ad campaigns. This is the India governments dont want you to see too much. This is the India half of the modern India debating net neutrality on Twitter doesnt know about.To be in this India and to be able to watch a Test at the same time is a gift. There are structural inconveniences of a government stadium, but the different levels of asinine problems that a fan has to face in other venues in the name of security are non-existent here. You cant take a pen inside other grounds for you could use it as a missile to throw on the ground. This is the explanation many a cop has given me. In other grounds, you cant step out for a bite because your ticket allows you only a single entry. Green Park is a freer place.If you spend a week here, it might be worth starting a Twitter handle or a blog called Overheard in Kanpur.This is the home of Bollywood director Shaad Ali. His films are understated and delightful. It is hard to imagine his work doesnt draw from his experiences of having grown up in Kanpur. Bunty Aur Babli, about a lovable, charming couple who are also crooks, is based on real-life characters from this general area. Especially the screenplay, the language that is spoken in his films, comes straight from Kanpur.Another Bollywood act that borrows from Kanpur is the movie Tashan. The lead character Bachchan Pandey, as Uttar Pradesh a name as it gets, is a katiyabaaz, an electricity thief who steals with home-made wires from official power cables. This electricity theft in Kanpur costs the state millions of rupees every year, and results in long power cuts.There is no bigger compliment to the cleverness of the language of Kanpur than the great poet Gulzar using the tagline of a sweets shop in a lyric for the original soundtrack of Bunty Aur Babli. The shop in question is Thuggoo Ke Laddoo (Thugs Laddoos). Laddoo is a sweet made differently all over India, but in this case it is made with semolina, milk solids, a lot of ghee (clarified butter), nuts and sugar. The tagline for this shop is Aisa koi saga nahi jisko humne thaga nahi (There is no such close one that we havent thugged). The name, though, was just thought of as a clever way to attract eyeballs. The owner is a Gandhian. Gandhi used to tell Indians that sugar is white poison. So in a way, he says, I am thugging people by getting them addicted to my laddoos, which are made of white poison.The Company Bagh (Garden) of Kanpur is quite possibly the inspiration behind the immortal line in the film Omkara, directed by Vishal Bhardwaj, who is from UP too. A character taunted for not showing guts reminds the other about his moment of weakness. Tab kinge gaya tha gooda, Company Gaadden?(Where did the guts go then? On a walk in Company Garden)?Not just Gulzar or Shaad or Bhardwaj, you spend a week here and you will come back with an enriched language. Overheard In Twitter handles and blogs were made for this part of the world. Saha chhotey mein Bournvita nahi piya hai kya be? asks a policeman on duty at India nets. Wriddhiman Saha is small, and Bournvita is a popular brand of childrens health drink.Just outside the ground a man sells tea, paan and cigarettes in a cart that is caged on all sides. I ask him why. Monkeys, he says. Monkeys? There are two kinds of monkeys, he says. Ones that comes and destroy from behind. The others who walk on the street and steal.Talking of monkeys, one attacked the dressing room two days before the match. The possibility of a repeat attack was a big crisis among police forces. The prospects of getting a langur, genus Semnopithecus, to keep monkeys at bay was discussed. Then arose the problem of how the langur will be fed. One of the officers said that as long as you sat and ate peacefully with the langur, it is cool but once you make a sudden movement, it runs away. Thankfully, no monkeys showed up on match days, but as Harbhajan Singh has proved and Sachin Tendulkar has testified, the topic of monkeys made a natural progression towards colourful swearwords.If Nalanda in Bihar is the ancient seat of learning, Kanpur might as well be the ancient seat of swearing. It is almost like the rest of India has taken the swear words and bastardised them. Here they exist in their original and respectful form. When it is said respectfully and coldly, it loses the rhetoric that swearing has in the rest of India and gains an edge. More about it is obviously not publishable, but suffice to say the fourth umpire for this match, CK Nandan, will be well advised to not tell Kanpuriyas his name.So please visit Kanpur at least once for Test cricket, but the moment your train pulls into the station, the sights of the banks of Ganga and dudhiyas (milkmen carrying three massive containers each) around you, cover your backside, sharpen your one-liners and keep your ears open for the gems. In other words, do what Saif Ali Khans character in Tashan says he needs to do in a crisis: Mujhe akkalmand banna padega, khatarnaak banna padega, Kanpuriya banna padega (I will have to become clever. I will have to become dangerous. I will have to become a Kanpuriya). Nike Air Force 1 Low Pas Cher .com) - The Montreal Canadiens will try to halt their longest losing streak of the season when they host the struggling New York Islanders in tonights clash at the Bell Centre. Nike Air Force 1 Low Soldes .Y. - Nelson Mandela will be honoured by the New York Yankees with a plaque in Monument Park. http://www.siteairforce1pascher.fr/air-force-1-low-soldes/basket-basse-noir.html . The Cleveland Indians, Tampa Bay Rays, and Texas Rangers all won on Sunday meaning the Rangers will host the Rays in a play-in game on Monday. Nike Air Force 1 Just Do It Blanche Pas Cher . It was just business as usual for the Thunder at home. Durant scored 32 points and the Thunder beat the Bulls 107-95 on Thursday night for their eighth straight win. Nike Air Force One Low Pas Cher . The CFLs leading rusher kept adding to his gaudy numbers this season and scored the winning touchdown with just over two minutes to play. The New Westminster, B.C., native plowed three yards into the end zone for the last score of a heated, see-saw battle between the two teams with the best records in the CFL. Bruce Kamau has recovered from concussion and could start for Melbourne City against his former side Adelaide United in Friday nights A-League clash at AAMI Park.However, fellow City winger Nicolas Colazo will miss another match after coach John van t Schip revealed the Argentinian underwent surgery for a perforated ear drum on Wednesday.The Argentinian will be absent for a few weeks after going under the knife to treat his condition.Its less than ideal for van t Schip, who must re-shape his side for Adelaides visit just three days after their bruising FFA Cup win over Melbourne Victory.But the Dutch coach, who has overseen an impressive start to Citys season, says he has the cattle to cope with their rigorous schedule of three games in eight days.From the start weve said we have a strong group. We have competition, he said on Thursday.Were going to see how players feel and if we have to make changes to freshen up or because there are players that arent completely recovered, we know we can do that.Kamaus availability helps.The 21-year-old was the first of van t Schips off-season signings, agreeing a deal to move to Melbourne just days after Uniteds A-League triumph last May.A fierce knock against Perth Glory ruled him out of the Cup derby, and van t Schip said he was delighted to have him back.The team is developing and progressing as a whole, he said.The wingers are having a very important role. Theyre all giving us a lot so we can play a certain style.Many followed Kamau - both through Adelaides exit door, and in finding new homes at the Ciity Football Academy.dddddddddddd.Reds coach Guillermo Amor lost seven senior players in the weeks after breaking their title drought, while Citys transformation to title contenders came with the arrival of 11.Perhaps thats why, just three weeks into the season, its City that have that championship lustre, while United are yet to find their feet.Every team that has attempted to play a passing and possession game against City this season has been cut down, with Perths counter-attacking rearguard their only defeat in seven competitive matches.On Friday night, theres also a revenge element at play.It was Adelaide that stymied Citys bid to finish in the top two last season with a heated 2-0 round 27 win, and then knocked them out of the finals with a 4-1 humbling at Coopers Stadium.Other players that have moved between the two clubs - including Osama Malik, Ruon Tongyik (City), Michael Marrone, Ben Garuccio and Marc Marino (United) - add spice to what should be an attacking game.City sit third on the ladder with six points, while Adelaide have just one point from their opening three matches.STATS THAT MATTER* Adelaide dont fear coming to Melbourne - theyve won on their last two visits, and are yet to lose interstate in 2015.* City have kept just one clean sheet in 11 against United.* All-action midfielder Neil Kilkenny is the only A-League player to have picked up a yellow card in all three games so far this campaign. 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