India-Pakistan ‘war’ breaks out in Adelaide
ADELAIDE: For seven hours on Sunday, Simar Paul Singh and Khurram Ahemad will cease to be friends and business partners. And Indo-Pak Cuisine, the restaurant they jointly run in Salisbury, 25km from the Adelaide Oval — the venue of Sunday’s prize fight between India and Pakistan — will stay closed for a little more than that.
But once the hurly burly’s done and the battle lost and won, the 26-year-old Singh, who comes from Chandigarh, and the 30-year-old Ahemad, from Karachi, will go home together.
The ‘Indo-Pak war’ in this small South Australian city of parks and restaurants started on Saturday itself with rival crowds jeering each other at the Oval. The city is over-run with Indian and Pakistani fans not just from across Australia but from the subcontinent and elsewhere too. They’ve taken over the streets and restaurants, the blue of India and Pakistan’s green mixing freely.
With cricket fever in the air, among the many things in short supply here could be taxis since most drivers are of Indian or Pakistani origin.
Many who work in Australia have planned an extended weekend of fun and game. “I have taken leave on Friday and Monday. World Cup mein itna toh banta hai (all worth it for the World Cup),” says Prashant, who came from Melbourne.
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