Sharmistha Gooptu in London
Pret A Manger near the Vauxhall Underground station. The Indian lady charging her phone next to me was speaking to somebody, and I couldn’t but help overhear. “We’re going to be here for some time,” she said. “Dad’s at the Oval.”
“Are you going for the cricket?” I asked her. It just didn’t seem as awkward to speak to a stranger if it was about cricket.
“No, we didn’t get tickets, just one, so we sent my dad,” said Ritwika Ghatak, from Barrakpore. Ritwika works in London, and her father, Debashis Ghatak, and mother, Lily Ghatak, are here to visit her. And what better treat for Ritwika’s father than the chance to see India in action at The Oval for the first time.
This is not an area where there are many friendly cafés, or places to just hang around. A few bars, and I spotted only one Starbucks after walking for more than 20 minutes. Lots of condos and offices, including the building housing MI6. And so this particular cafe near Vauxhall bridge, with its friendly vibes, is buzzing now with the families of cricket-crazy Indians, who are just hanging around and hanging on to updates from the game as well!
I could hear snatches of Hindi, and lots of familiar-looking faces who’re focussed on the nearby stadium, even if they did not get a ticket to enter, or if they’re just waiting for family members watching India take on Australia in this keenly contested encounter. So a group of ladies chattering and, from the snatches, waiting for husbands and friends who are at The Oval. A kid doing her homework.
Oval vibes here across the bridge.