Small town, big game

The frenzy around a cricket match played in a small town is unlike that in a big city. From my experiences of watching ODIs in Jamshedpur and later an IPL match at the shiny new JSCA stadium at Ranchi, what I loved most about them was the carnival-like atmosphere around these events.

So when the India-Australia series was announced, my mailbox was buzzing with plans and counter-plans made by a group of my childhood friends, who wanted to assemble and witness a historic first Test match in their own backyard, apart from squeezing in as many sightseeing and culinary experiences into this time as possible. It was almost a desi recreation of American Graffiti, with the binding thread being cricket chatter.

Before a game, a sizeable crowd waits at the airport for hours to catch a glimpse of their heroes, and chant names of whoever is the flavour of the season. Obviously when our very own Mahi was around, he was the centre of all attention. Everything he does makes news - right from who came to the airport to receive him, to the brand of car he drove off in. The procession follows till the team buses reach the hotel, then people wait outside chanting, taking pictures, and hoping to get a sneak peek of the stars.

My friends and I will, unlike those hordes, take an early-morning road trip to one of the many waterfalls around town. After debating between the gorgeous Jonha and Hundru falls, we will most likely decide on Dassam Falls, the nearest and the most popular during peak season. Our drive will follow a scenic route, with winding roads, flanked by small hills and picturesque valleys. Once we've soaked in the view and the spray of the magnificent waterfall, we will notice a picnic group hastily packing their stuff up to be on time for the start of the match; this will probably include a kid tugging on his father's arm, complaining that he doesn't want to be late to watch the historic first ball. We ourselves will wind up soon, but not before sampling the local aloo-chop with tea.

Someone from our group will insist on an alternative itinerary - that we stay within the city and trot up the famous Tagore Hill, where, as urban legend, goes, national poet Rabindranath Tagore sought solace and drew inspiration while writing Gitanjali. He did not, but a bird's eye-view of the city and surrounding hills might stoke some creativity.

All of us will be hungry from the excursion, and a rare consensus will be reached: "Let's go to Kaveri for brunch!" The restaurant, located in GEL Church Complex on the Main Road, is an institution in itself, favorably reviewed by famous chefs. But we don't need a Gordon Ramsay to tell us that the paneer chilly there is out of the world, or to tell us to gorge on the stuffed kulcha with vegetable Akbari. At peak hours, the queues outside the eatery could rival the ones outside the stadium.

The ones with a sweet tooth will insist on stopping by Punjab Sweet House nearby, another culinary institution. As we relish a plate of gulab jamun, plans for dinner (or even lunch the next day) will be discussed. India Hotel (not to be confused with New India Hotel or other such misleading variants) is bound to emerge with the most voted. It is housed inside a crumbling edifice reminiscent of the days of the Raj, and serves mutton or sarson-based rohu fish delicacies.

On our way to the stadium, we will drive by a quirkily named intersection called Hot Lips Chowk, a delightful pop-culture throwback for M*A*S*H fans in the unlikeliest of places. The intersection actually gets its name from a famous restaurant, which has since moved to the outskirts of the city.

For most of us, it will be our first visit to the JSCA Stadium, the pride of the state. The structure, marked by beautiful canopies, deep seats and grass banks on either side (a rare sight in an Indian ground), will spell a radical change from watching ODIs in the cramped setting of the Keenan Stadium in nearby Jamshedpur.

We will revert to our vocal, carefree heydays, shouting along with the crowd and clamouring for the attention of a nearby fielder. A Bengali gentleman nearby will scoff at our juvenile attempts, but will soon share stories of local cricketers, beaming with pride on how one of his "finds" made it big. Another group nearby will exchange notes on how they are connected to the town hero Mahi, and reminisce about the days when they played tennis-ball cricket with him. Dhoni himself, during Ranchi's inaugural ODI, against England in 2013, said, "I have grown up here, played a lot of cricket, and of the 40,000 people [here], I must have played tennis-ball cricket with at least 15,000." One of the members of our group, who went to the same school as him, will be tempted to join in with anecdotes.

After an enthralling day's action, we will make a beeline for the famous street-food joints that fed our memories. The first pit stop in our street food journey will most certainly be Sadhu Litti in Doranda, or Bhola Litti around Kutchery. The latter is royalty when it comes to the local delicacy of litti-chokha. Chief ministers have patted his back, film stars have raved about his food, and Dhoni himself is an alleged fan. People around us will be discussing what happened in the match, and our first-person accounts may get us some attention. The owner of the place might indulge us by recounting some of his anecdotes that feature celebrities. After the sumptuous ghee infused litti-chokha, we will head out to the surroundings of Loreto Convent School for a dose of our favorite golgappas.

We will most likely skip dinner, and burn a small portion of the calories accumulated by taking a walk on Main Road, the nerve centre of the city. Near the end of the road, a couple of us might stop by the now swank Bharat Bakery to savour the pastries we craved growing up. The religiously inclined among us will bring up plans for visiting the Jagannath Temple, one of the earliest replicas of the one in Puri, or the Deori Temple, Dhoni's go-to shrine. They are most likely to be dismissed, in favour of focusing on cricket, our more dominant religion.

Ranchi may not measure up in terms of a travel holiday - especially in a series that involves a match in Dharamsala - but it does have its own charm, especially when the cricket carnival is around. So if you'd like to experience the passion first-hand, put Ranchi on your cricketing vacation shortlist.