Indians and Pakistanis Get Together for Cricket

The cricket match between India and Pakistan was being broadcast live via satellite and expected to run early into the morning, so Aakin Patel showed up at the Lakewood theater in his hospital scrubs.

His job at a Santa Ana medical center started at 5 a.m., and he planned to go straight from the theater to work. Sleep? Not during cricket matches, especially one between two political rivals.

“It’s my passion,” said Patel, a native of India. “For cricket, I can stay up.”

Patel was one of hundreds of fans of Indian and Pakistani descent who crowded into the Naz8 cinemas last Friday night to cheer on their national cricket teams, who were competing in a series in India.

The six-game series, which ends Saturday, now stands at a 2-2 tie and comes as India and Pakistan are taking steps toward relieving political tensions. Last week, bus service began between the Pakistani and Indian capitals of Kashmir for the first time since a 1948 war that left the territory divided.

One thing that binds India and Pakistan is a love of cricket, which has similarities to baseball. More than 800 spectators who paid $10 each crowded into the theater last week focused on the game rather than politics.

“They call it cricket diplomacy,” said Deepak Nair, a software engineer from Foothill Ranch.

The match and the hoopla surrounding the series had all of the emotion but none of the volatility that colors the turbulent relationship between the two nations. Fans hooted, whistled and applauded at every turn.

“It’s a really passionate game,” said Aneja Raj, 33, who drove from Culver City to watch the televised match. “When India plays Pakistan, it’s even more passionate.”

When the Pakistani team’s captain was declared out, Indian fans stood and yelled, “Haarega Bhai Haarega, Pakistan Haarega,” which loosely translated means “Lose, lose, Pakistan will lose,” while Pakistanis responded with their own animated chant.

As they watched their teams battle it out on the field, fans snacked on samosas and hot tea. During breaks, women wearing bright saris chatted with neighbors. And young men in cricket jerseys shared memories of previous matches.

This cultural connection was what prompted businessman Shiraz Jivani to open the Naz8 cinemas three years ago in a shopping center on South Street.

The cinema draws expatriates from San Diego to Santa Monica, eager to see the colorful costumes and hear the lively songs that make Bollywood films famous. In addition to Indian movies, Jivani shows films from Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, Korea and the Philippines.

But to South Asian immigrants, Naz cinemas is more than a movie theater. It also serves as a sort of community center and social club. Here they can comfortably gather and gossip, reminisce and reconnect.

“It’s like a home away from home,” said Jivani, 49. “By serving them Indian tea, Indian samosas, Indian snacks, they feel like they are back home.”

Jivani, a Pakistani native with a degree from Stanford University, opened his first theater in the Bay Area city of Fremont in 1992, followed by another in nearby Sunnyvale in 1999 and the Lakewood theater in 2002.

With more than 60,000 Indians in Los Angeles County, news of the theater’s opening spread quickly through the temples, shops and restaurants in nearby Little India. Jivani estimates that 7,000 to 10,000 people visit the theater every week.

“It’s very different from an American theater,” said Farzana Fazelbhoy, who works part time at the cinema. “The younger generation brings the older generation. It’s a whole family outing.”

On cricket nights, fans line up early. For Friday’s game, fans began lining up at 8 p.m., half an hour before start time. One of the youngest fans at the theater was Zeeshan Dadabhoy, a ninth-grader from Sunny Hills High School in Fullerton. His father dropped him off before the game began and planned to pick him up afterward. The game ended after 4 a.m., and the final score was 319 for Pakistan and 213 for India. “If I don’t come here, I’ll be awake on my computer watching it anyway,” he said. “It’s my team spirit.”

Cal State Northridge student Abhemanyu Rajp said he doesn’t closely follow politics between India and Pakistan, but he does follow cricket religiously.

“Every match is like a little war because of the past of the countries,” said Rajp, who is from India.

Like many fans, Rajp could have watched the game at a friend’s house. But he prefers being surrounded by fellow fans. Just before 1 a.m., a friend tapped him on the shoulder and asked, “Another cup of tea?”

“Yeah,” he answered. It was his third cup.

Cricket, Rajp said, is in his blood.

“When an Indian or Pakistani is born,” he said, “they are born with the cricket spirit ... and it doesn’t go away until you die.”