No Papare Bands At Cricket World Cup 2011 Matches?

February 21, 2011 | By Rakhitha | Filed in: Sri Lanka.

If you have subscribed for Ada-Derana news updates, you must have received  a message saying “Banners, parsals, musical instruments, glass bottles, crackers, laser lights, sharp instruments are not allowed in World Cup venues in SL”. And some time later you must have got the message “Following appeals by public IGP has allowed spectators to take posters & banners promoting cricket & players ….”.

This news item in Daily Mirror says that SLC will provide music so the bands are not needed. What the hell! At SL-Canada match there were some bongos that never fit in to the picture and some DJ music which were annoying. In Sri Lanka there is nothing that can boost a cricketing atmosphere like a papare band. It is something unique to Sri Lanka and a part of Sri Lankan Cricket identity. If we are to promote cricket and Sri Lanka that’s what we must promote. Not bongos.

Also as one commenter posted on island cricket blog, for SL players its a part of home field, and it makes them feel home and create a home field advantage for SL cricketers in any ware in the world. When you take papare out of Sri Lankan cricket. It’s not Sri Lankan Cricket any more.

If letting fans bring in bands going to create security risks, SLC could easily hire some bands and do proper security checks beforehand. Hope someone talk some sense in to the people who make decisions around world cup venues in the coming matches.

/Rakhitha


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2 comments on “No Papare Bands At Cricket World Cup 2011 Matches?

  1. Rakhitha says:

    Finally some good news! It looks like papare bands are allowed for coming matches says sports minister.

  2. Asela says:

    This pissed me off to no end when I first read about it. They can stick their DJ music where sun doesn’t shine.
    What Sri Lanka police need to do is let people make be themselves and do what they want to do. This are the the kind of things that make people feel like they don’t have freedom and always controlled by the police.

    Being away from the country sometimes I miss it. But when read things like this I remember why I left in the first place.

    If they are doing this to us, just imagine what they are making the people in the North do. I know we are supposed to pretend like we are very fair and square to the people in the North. But there, I said it.Just imagine how a Tamil speaking people would feel if a Sinhala police chief goes and tells them to not do something they always do at festival. And they just have to bend down and take it.