The hot hot ladies of the Washington Redskins cheer squad are in India shaking their shapely hips in those short shorts, matching go-go boots and bikini tops. Needless to say male fans were left salivating for more, our culture guardians gasping at the "vulgarity", purists demanding that the "Indian" sport be spared of such cheap thrills, and some fence sitters (me included) wondering and analyzing to no end what this all means and if all this fuss is warranted.

Background:
The American squad is cheering for the Bangalore Royal Challengers, one of the eight cricket teams of the newly-formed , flush-with-funds, Indian Premier League. [The Royal Challengers, incidentally, is owned by Vijay 'King of Good Times' Mallya, the liquor baron who also owns Kingfisher Airlines of the "red skirt" fame that our very own Elana Centor blogged about.]
The IPL is similar to the American NFL or the British (soccer) Premier League, and is backed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India as well as the International Cricket Council.
Players are drawn from across the cricketing world through a bidding process -- a first for international cricket. The teams are owned by just about anyone with big bucks -- from Bollywood superstars to industrialists to media houses. The format follows the new, shorter version of the game, popularly called the Twenty20 or T20, and is packed with entertainment. It has appropriately been nicknamed "cricket on crack" :)

[I'd like to clarify the cliche about the game that repeatedly appears in the media here -- T20 is the shortest of the three popularly played versions of the game -- (i) the Test matches -- which are considered the real test of athleticism and tenacity by players and purists alike -- can run up to five days, (ii) the highly popular one-dayers, where the game wraps up in a six-hour day of play (the traditional World Cup is played in this format), and (iii) the latest fast-paced T20, that takes up half the time. So, cricket is NOT making a direct jump for the five-day format to T20. And for many of us who love the game, it does not put us to sleep, despite its length. Had it been so, cricket, a primarily British game, would have died in India a long time ago.]

And then the cheerleaders arrived.

They came from all over the world, but the American girls -- the first ones to take the field -- got the most press. They are only part of a glitzy, glamorous extravaganza that the tournament has turned out to be. The inauguration was a star-studded affair with performers flown in from all parts of the world, and Bollywood has turned up for the games in full force.

But when a group of glam girls -- showing more skin than most of the young predominantly male audience would've probably seen in their unmarried lives -- can the moral police be far behind?

Many young spectators could barely keep their eyes on the ball when the cheerleaders did their gig. Some even confessed the girls were the only reason they turned up to watch the games. That should please the organizers -- high turnout was absolutely essential for the world's most expensive cricket tournament to take off.

But not all were happy.

First the Indians -- The attack seemed two pronged: from traditional cricket enthusiasts who can't see their favorite sport being turned into a spectacle, and from our culture guardians who are shaken by the onslaught of skin-show on good Indian boys and girls and cricket.
I think the first kind are driven by a traditional idea that most of us have held about cricket (the only game India has a strong international presence in): that sport and entertainment are somehow different. I held that belief, too, as I guess many senior players of the game still do. I find the younger crop of players using the word "entertainment" to describe their jobs far more often now than older or retired players did. Which explains why some are uneasy with the mixing of entertainment and sport (what is sport, if not entertainment?).

Pakistani blogger Ammar headlines his post thus -- "The day Cricket died; IPL":

I am not against Indi masala films, neither I am against 20/20 or new exciting form of cricket for that matter. But people IPL is anything but cricket. I mean golden helmets and pads. Half naked cheerleaders cum bar dancers jumping/dancing on every boundary.
Okay I agree I am a bit conservative when it comes to this, but the fact that sex sells does not imply that every picture in the art gallery should have a naked woman. Go on call me a traditionalist but my point makes sense. The only reason of my displeasure is; I was expecting a league of EPL & UEFA standard and I am observing something like WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment). So the question is; will the real cricket survive?

Pr3rna at I love life...so I explore seems a bit shaken by the developments and can't figure where her loyalties lie:

There were acrobats and there were pom-pom girls. Cricket was one of the actions scheduled for the day, purely incidental.
[...]
My problem is-when Brett Lee is bowling to Mathew Hayden I don’t know whom to cheer for. I tried to be loyal to Delhi Dare Devils but it is difficult, there are few Delhiites in the team to cheer for. It might take me a few more tournaments to decide which team I want to support.
[...]
All this is fine and everybody is enjoying but the way slogging starts from the first ball, Cricket seems to be buried under the glamour and the noise. Players are boo-ed even when they take singles,forget the reaction on dot balls. When it comes to Cricket I think I still love the longer version of THE GAME.

And then the cheerleaders arrived. The "cultural invasion" happened.

Most of the youth seemed super-kicked about it. Others weren't so happy. Some politicians in Mumbai (ironically, home to Bollywood) wanted them banned for something or the other: either indecency or incorrect work permits, whatever it takes. Then they piped down and asked them cover up. The organizers toed the line. The girls covered up for Mumbai, the National Commission for Women gave a conditional nod to cheerleading, and the show went on, as did the debate.

A Hindustan Times article quotes India’s leading socio-historian and writer, Ramchandra Guha, as saying:

All the organisers are doing by making scantily-clad white women dance in front of huge crowds is to stoke the base, voyeuristic and sexual insecurities of the Indian male. It is revolting, appalling and shows the game in very poor light.[...]
Why we always have to borrow the worst of the western world is beyond me. I have nothing against the cheerleaders, they are only doing their jobs, but I'm against the very concept. It's revolting and crude. I hope people are watching cricket rather than the cheerleaders.

Well, it seems a good number of the audience actually feasted their eyes on the girls, rather than the ball. In fact, one of the players (from Pakistan) found them a distraction and wanted them removed during the game.

In his post (Sexing up cricket) on his blog South Asia Daily, Mayank Chhaya argues that the sexual appeal of the cheerleader is undeniable, and the Indian male was savoring it all:

They did not have cricket on their mind. They had the cheerleaders on their mind with their bright red pompoms, yellow bikini tops, shorts and white high-heeled boots. It was an erotic fantasy come true. Unless you are differently inclined, who does not like girls with taught bodies in tight outfits and high-heeled boots flailing their limbs? Vijay Mallya, the ever glad eye owner of the Royal Challengers team, has understood that in order for his latest business to be attractive he has to have attractive people selling it.

Cheerleading comes to India at a time when its movies have significantly demystified the female body with its many raunchy songs in which girls dress and dance far more provocatively than what was on display at the IPL game in Bangalore. A considerable number of the country’s 550 million under 25 population has been exposed to the oomph and style of entertainment in the West. Even ten years ago the presence of barely clad young women gyrating at a cricket stadium would have set off a firestorm of protests.
[...]
Although it may still offend the sensibilities of some, the changing trend of popular tastes suggests cheerleading could strike roots in India. Of course, like everything else it is bound to be Indianized, which might mean less skin than in the US.

Ipatrix finds the use of cheerleaders a lack of imagination, but is dead against moral policing:

Let us be clear, employing cheerleaders is less of entertainment and more of titillation; pun intended and just because NFL uses them to attract fans doesn’t mean the IPL has to literally cut-paste everything that NFL does. If they had put as much effort in coming up with creative ideas as they did in creating their media contracts, we would definitely have something that is both fun and enticing. After all, we are the country that remixed Bollywood golden oldies. Where is Himesh Reshammiya and the item girls when you need them? At the same time, I’m not with Bal Thackeray’s suggestion that bhangra should replace cheerleading because I know his suggestions come with an implicit lesson in dictating our morality; his role in organizing the Michael Jackson concert notwithstanding.

NYU business professor Tunku Varadarajan -- who like many of us Indians saw the protests coming -- probably rounded off the debate best in a New York Times op-ed:

With the Redskins cheerleaders on Indian soil, one can safely declare that the British cultural influence in India has been entirely replaced by an American one, cricket notwithstanding. India’s relationship with the United States — economic, strategic, diasporic and cultural — is now its primary external alliance, with a complex nuclear deal at one end of the spectrum and 12 cheerleaders and two choreographers at the other.

Now the girls: The media is full of stories about how the cheerleaders have become instant heartthrobs, and have landed gigs in music videos and even in a film as an "item number" (euphemism for a sexy music number in a film). The girls interviewed have been pretty upbeat and seem to be enjoying their place in the tropical sun. But this was the story that I was almost sure would emerge: girls being propositioned with lewd comments. Here's a taste of what some of them experienced in "leer country":

“It’s been horrendous,” a cheerleader told HT, echoing the point of many when saying the kind of comments they have “had to endure over the last week from the Indian public” had left them “disgusted and disturbed”.

Tabitha, who says she’s originally from Uzbekistan, added, “Wherever we go, we do expect people to pass lewd, snide remarks but I’m shocked by the nature and magnitude of the comments people pass here… Be it a 70-year-old oldie or a 15-year-old kid, they all letch at us and make amorous advances. I feel very threatened. We are here to entertain them, to add a bit of glamour, but we are living in constant fear (of someone attempting something).”

Another cheerleader, worried about revealing her name, said: “It’s tough to dance and keep smiling when the people behind are giving you hell. People here think we’re morally loose women just because they see us enjoying ourselves. We’re doing a job and all we want is a bit of respect, that’s all.”

What now? I think the debate is pretty much settled. The girls have found tremendous support. Check out some of the blogs and columns listed below.

Cheering is in India to stay. Music and dance are an integral part of the Indian lifestyle: an athletic dance form is an irresistible experiment. In fact, I think cheer leading could become the competitive sport that it is in the U.S.

The Washington Redskins girls are reportedly auditioning and training Indian cheerleaders. Now, that will be the real test: Will Indian male spectators be willing to see their own women gyrating in skimpy uniforms for the world to see?

It seems to me that it's the outfit that has rattled people, not so much the cheering itself. I absolutely loved Bring It On and I'll stop at any channel covering a cheerleading competition. But the cheering we see on the field are of a different kind, no? Not many boys with pompoms, a whole lot of cleavage and booty on display. I am not totally convinced it's just about athleticism on the field. After all, the girls from Washington had no idea about cricket (or what to expect of their spectators). So why were they flown in for a cricket match?

The sexy entertainment bit is fine by me, as long as we accept it for what it is and move on.

Personally, I don't see much use for cheerleaders at a game that is already so popular -- especially in India where people are so passionate about cricket and require little cheering to keep their spirits high.

But then again, how many forms of entertainment can we claim we really "need"?

Despite my opinion on the "need" for the girls, I say, bring it on. Let this "issue" resolve itself. If young girls in India like it and take to it, then so be it. In any case, the IPL is so fast-paced and packed with entertainment, I doubt that cheerleaders will hold court for too long.

Also, the ladies probably won a tiny battle for the organizers: Cricket found it's way back into the American media -- the ultimate frontier the cricketing world has been dying to conquer :)

Who's complaining?

And the IPL argument continues on...

Save the cheerleader, save the world

Will we ever get used to seeing flesh?

No boobs please, we are Indian

The Games Stupid People Play

Cheerleader's Diary

Strike When its Hot

Random Thoughts of a Demented Mind

[*The IPL came in retaliation to the Indian Cricket League, which was formed as a challenge to BCCI's hold over the game in India. The ICL is now fighting for recognition from the international council.]

Related Posts:

• The Cheerleaders Don't Want to Root for the Girls
• O behave -- Indian, Australian cricketers need to mind their manners, and more
• Celebrating Australia Day

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