The chill after the heat!
It was quite an experience for Shillongites over the past fortnight. After experiencing a hot, humid and wet Durga Puja, the locals have been treated to some welcome chill in the air. A cool gentle breeze permeates throughout the day while the mercury dips marginally as the day gives way to night. This is an unmistakable sign. Winter is here.
While late night activities are still not permitted due to COVID-19 protocols and the night curfew in the city, the SJ team has been noticing a majority of the people draped in their winter wear towards the evening hours over the last few days. A number of bikers had worn balaclavas inside their helmets. The SJ members themselves were moving around wearing light jackets and sweatshirts.
Sale of winter clothes is picking up in the commercial hubs too, while a greater number of prospective customers were seen near the winter wear section at the premium shopping stores across the city.
Whether it is business in woollens or the chill in the air, the intensity is only going northward in the days to come.
The stirring run-up
The results of apparently the most-awaited cricket match of 2021 are out now. Social media sites are deluged with match-related memes — the wonted trend after almost every India-Pakistan cricket match, of course. But then, these are just modern-day clichés. What has actually stood the ravages of time is the public verve in the run-up to every India-Pakistan cricket match. The scene this year was no different. Many cancelled their Sunday get-togethers and decided to be confined to the four walls to watch the match. The SJ team, hours before the match, asked a cricket enthusiast, in his 50s, if he is excited. To this, he counter-questioned: “I am unable to figure out how to activate the channel that will broadcast the India-Pakistan cricket match on my set-top box. My son, who lives outside, has not been answering my calls since morning. Do you know someone who can help me out? I cannot afford to miss this match at any cost.” The question that the SJ team was posed with was itself an answer. He was later provided the help he needed.
A 29-year-old, who is working from home, seemed to be in a quandary. He said, “It’s going to be difficult focussing on my work today (Sunday). Plus, I don’t want to miss the match either. I don’t know how to balance both.”
Shillongites were also seen posting on their social media handles, venting their excitement prior to the match. One-day exchange of passwords of streaming platform accounts between some also took place during the day.
In hindsight, Indians continue to get an adrenaline rush prior to the India-Pakistan cricket matches, which doubles when the National Anthem of India reverberates in every household at the same time.
The game-changer!
In several city tournaments during the pre-pandemic period, the galleries and the whole venue would be thriving with supporters cheering for their team, which would give a fillip to 
sportspersons but the game now has changed.
The SJ team connected with players who competed in a basketball tournament in the city which concluded recently and the players explained their feelings about what they claim to be a “somewhat dull affair”.
Needless to mention, SOPs and strictures put in place to check the spread of COVID-19 made players and organisers bound by certain norms that were unfamiliar to sports until 2020. But apart from this, what players were particularly not all that happy about was the absence of audience.
“It was somewhat a dull affair, as a sporting event was supposed to be filled with enthusiastic people cheering and shouting,” says one of the players who competed at the First Veterans Basketball Tournament 2021.
“Coronavirus has changed the nature of every sporting event nationally and internationally. It’s like playing with strangers and it doesn’t feel right because the crowd’s cheering gives you instant motivation, especially when it’s a close game…and we as players would love to give our supporters a great game,” said W Kharshiing, a basketball player.
“There is no motivation, no energy playing without any supporter,” another player, A Sohtun, said.
Albeit all the matches of the tournament were live-streamed on Facebook, the missing thrill of a crowd’s chanting and cheering was what gnawed the players. “It is not nice playing without supporters. Felt so lonely in spite of the presence of other teammates,” says R Laloo.
Meanwhile, another player said: “I want to hear the cheering, see the crowd enjoying the matches. (It) was not fun at all”.
Regardless of the lows, the players appreciated the organisers and the game, putting their heart and soul in it.