Team India out but Cup still survives on Indian music

Bridgetown, Barbados, Apr 17 (UNI) Cricket, it seems cannot survive without India.

The Local Organizing Committees (LOC) of the World Cup have now brought in Indian music to usher in the festive atmosphere inside the stadium after the traditional Calypso music failed to get the crowd on their feet.

Every time there is a boundary or a six, the famous ''Jai Jai shiv Shankar'' song of the sixties immortalized on screen by Rajesh Khanna chasing a young Mumtaz, is played much to the delight of the crowd who immediately gets into a hip dance of sorts.

The jingle has been mixed with local reggae music to make it fast paced and in fact, so popular is the song that majority of volunteers of the Cricket World Cup are using it as the ring tone in their mobile phones .

Another jingle -- ''Ole Ole'' from Gurinder Chadha's 'Bend it Like Beckham' is also a smash hit amongst the huge number of English supporters.

Such is the demand of the ''Ole Ole'' number that during all the matches featuring England, it has almost become mandatory to use it as the unofficial national anthem of the English cricket team.

Every single time it is played, thousands of stretched hands form a wave to the beat of Chadha's cult film on football.

The British just don't seem to have enough of this number.

In fact, the cheer leaders also learnt it by heart to give into the demands of the Barmy Army.

And if that is not enough, hold your nose. Himesh Reshamaiya's ''Ekbar Aja Aja'' also get the crowd to shake a leg during the longer breaks. During every drink and lunch break the remix version of the fast peppy hindi number is played to help the crowd digest their food better.

The organizing committee have also realised that Indian music sells more amongst the international crowd than the pure Calypso variety.

And although Daler Mahendi's ''Tunak Tunak Tun Ta Ra Ra Ra'' may have long been eroded from public memory in India, the song still reverberates in the Caribbean stadiums here.

For the puritan this may not be very good news but it is a fact that Calypso music have been subdued by the Hindi pop music even though the Indian team is cooling their heels back home.

UNI