The other girls are discussing the songs they dance to: Chak De India, Mauja Mauja and Halla Bol, a song by Ila Arun made especially for the Rajasthan Royals. “We need to get used to the different beats to dance correctly,” explains Yarysheva. Now they’re even familiar with the Royals’ cricket team and are beginning to understand the god like devotion that some of the team members inspire. “Shane Warne is the captain,” smiles Yarysheva.

It’s a hot and humid day in Bangalore and the city is gearing up for its first IPL match of the tournament at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. The area is cordoned off and is swarming with the police. Bangalore’s traffic, bad on a good day, is completely out of control. At four in the evening, the girls climb into a non-air conditioned bus to head to the venue for their practice session before the match.  At the stadium the girls are handed their passes and ushered into a small hall, bereft of a fan or any seating, forget air conditioning. Clearly, any luxury for their team’s mascots isn’t a priority for Emerging Media. However, the cheerleaders barely notice and are fully focused on their task, a grueling routine to Hindi music for the upcoming match. In a room lit with harsh tube lights, with posters of sponsors huddled in one corner, one of the girls yells out instructions in Russian and they begin a series of coordinated twists and turns, jumps and yells. It’s a high-energy performance that would be motivating to the most phlegmatic player on the field.

... contd.