Flags flying in Super 6 heaven

Cricket and nationalism seems to have reached a fever pitch. With the World Cup fever peaking, Girish Murudkar is on a roll. Murudkar of R.S...

Cricket and nationalism seems to have reached a fever pitch. With the World Cup fever peaking, Girish Murudkar is on a roll. Murudkar of R.S. Murudkar and Sons Jhandewale, one of the oldest flag-making shop in the city, is doing great business despite the elections being no where round the corner.

In Moti Chowk, one can certainly not miss this shabby, perhaps nondescript store made conspicuous by the display of flags of 14 participating nations of the ongoing ICC World Cup. Needless to say, the tricolour soars above all, a manifestation of Murudkar’s unbridled patriotism.

The store normally sees huge sales during elections when activists make a beeline for party flags and banners. But now cricket fans have replaced the political crowd. A week before India was to clash with Pakistan at Centurion, Murudkar was as busy as a bee.

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‘‘I was flooded with orders for the tricolour from people who were flying to South Africa a day before the match against Pakistan. We had to work day and night to complete the orders,’’ he says.‘‘That was just the beginning. After India won over Pakistan, the demand for the Indian flag increased even more,’’ he added.

Murudkar says: ‘‘This time the excitement is unrivalled. When we won the Prudential World Cup in 1983, there was a brisk sale of flags but nothing compared to what it is this time. Even on previous occasions when we won over Pakistan in the World Cup, there wasn’t such a demand.’’

And it’s not just the Indian flag that is in demand. ‘‘Last week I sold a Sri Lankan flag as well,’’ says Murudkar, adding that he has supplied a few sets of all the 14 flags.

Murudkar is bullish on India’s chances. ‘‘If India goes on to win the Cup, I’ve got a surprise lined up,’’ he says. Try persuading him to let the cat out of the bag and all he reveals is, ‘‘We’ve already started work on it.’’

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