SUNDAY FEATURE | Bollywood and Cricket, the Mystery Behind the ‘Indian-ness’ of Afghans in Delhi

India's mini-Afghan colony is a mix - a coming together of cultures to create a blend that is both familiar and foreign.

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India's mini-Afghan colony is a mix - a coming together of cultures to create a blend that is both familiar and foreign.

An extremely familiar waft draws you to the by lanes of the Afghan colony. But you can’t place it. The sign says Al Naseeb, first in English, then in Persian. Inside the restaurant is a glass display case of dry fruits — cashews, walnuts and dried pineapple which put an image and name to the familiar smell outside.

At one end of the restaurant is a middle-aged Afghani man — following a live cricket match on his phone.

“Mirwais, what’s the score?” the owner, sitting behind the counter asks.

“Afghanistan won,” a customer replies in clear Hindi. The owner laughs. The match is far from over.

Ameeri, who is there to grab lunch, has been in India for a little over two years now, but his Hindi doesn’t have much of an accent or hesitation. Back home in Kabul, Ameeri was a huge fan of Bollywood movies, which was his primary source of learning Hindi. Living in Malviya Nagar in New Delhi, the skill has come to much use now.

“I don’t really follow cricket,” Ameeri states, sipping a blend of Afghani green tea.

Afghanistan played its first ever Test match against India on June 14 in Bangalore. India may have won by a huge margin but the match was a historic landmark of sorts for Afghanistan. The country had achieved full-member status of the International Cricket Council last year, becoming the 12th Test team. All of this despite conflict at home which has forced them to train in India since 2015. And while this may be big in the field of cricket, the Afghanis residing in New Delhi’s Afghan Colony in Lajpat Nagar remain unperturbed.

“If I go to a restaurant and the TV is playing some cricket match of Afghanistan, then I watch it,” Ameeri said. “But usually there is no TV. And usually, there is no time.”

For Ameeri, who was been in India waiting for a visa for Germany for two years now, cricket doesn’t always factor into his busy life.

“My wife is in Germany. I am waiting to join her. As much as I want to be supportive of my country and that they are finally getting to play cricket, I don’t have the time. I have more work than spare time nowadays,” Ameeri stretches, pays his bill and leaves.

Ameeri may have stated that Afghanistan had won, but he didn't even know who was playing.

The owner of Al Naseeb, Massiullah Hazrat, follows cricket with a little more passion. Although unsure when the Test was supposed to be held, he said, “Rashid Khan is very popular now. We are proud of him."

Massiullah, who is also from Kabul, has been in India for several years now. For him too, Bollywood is a predominant factor for his improved Hindi. He also said that most theatres are houseful when Hindi films release in Kabul. “It’s not the same with Pashto films,” he said.

Massiullah’s interest in sports has dwindled with time — back when he was in Kabul, he followed football a lot more. As a young boy, it was football stars like Ronaldo that he looked up to. He mentions how his friends call him ‘Messi’ —short for his name Massiullah.