Festivities and cricket go hand-in-hand as Guwahati gears up for WC opener

By the time your aircraft touches the tarmac in Guwahati, it's clear the city is gearing up for something big. Even before your luggage hits the conveyor belt, the bold aubergine-hued hoardings of Women's World Cup 2025 greet you at every nook and cranny of the terminal, echoing the region's favourite flavour.

Inviting billboards announce the match days in the city - including that of the semifinal which is only tentatively Guwahati's at the moment - and flank every entry and exit point of the airport. Even the National Highway into the city has advertisements aplenty. By now you grasp this isn't just Guwahati's Women's ODI debut, this is a cricket-crazy country's return to hosting a World Cup in over a decade. That a small city tucked away in the country's Northeastern periphery got the tournament opener is enough reason for Guwahati to shout about it.

Except, it doesn't quite shout - it hums.

There is buzz in the air, unmistakably. But the energy is different. It's Pujo season, and in Assam that usually means elaborate pandals, glittering streets, and devotional hymns echoing through well past midnight. This year, though, that festive noise has softened a bit. The city is in mourning.

Zubeen Garg, a noted Bollywood playback singer and Assam's own, passed away just 10 days ago. His absence is palpable, yet his presence lingers with tribute posters adorning even some of the pujo pandals.On the outer wall of the ACA Stadium, a running banner of Zubeen gazes out quietly, not too far from the celebratory hoarding congratulating Devajit Saikia on his appointment as the BCCI Honorary Secretary. The two hang side by side - a reminder of grief and glory - as if embodying the dual mood of Guwahati this September. The city is mourning and celebrating in the same breath.

Even so, cricket is beginning to make its way into the conversations that are usually centered around the Goddess and the festive feasts. Cricket and culture are collaborating, not competing for attention. The early footfall of the pujo pandalright opposite the Barsapara is beginning to seep into the cricket crowd. The shopkeeper selling pujo essentials is happy to offer shade to a hawker who has clearly done a few rounds of flag sales. It's hard to tell where one festival ends and the other begins.

Inside the stadium, the security forces move quickly. The usual last-minute scramble unfolds - instructions echo on loop, routines rehearsed for the big curtain-raiser, and anomalies are swiftly chased out. Amidst all this, the cricket remains unbothered.

In many ways, Guwahati's own contradictions were mirrored in the contrasting moods of the two captains. In a way, it also mirrored the dynamic of this opening fixture between India and Sri Lanka.

Chamari Athapaththu walked in first, radiating energy with the widest grin in the room that refused to leave her face, and not just when the questions alluded to her team's unusual advantage once they're done here. She's as new to Guwahati as Guwahati is to World Cup, and yet she recalls compatriot Dasun Shanaka's century from over than two years ago with pride in her eyes. The mention of Colombo - where Sri Lanka will now play five games thanks to a scheduling quirk - brought out an even brighter gleam. This is her first time leading Sri Lanka in a tournament of this magnitude on a familiar turf, and she wanted her team to draw fuel from the moment instead of burdening themselves with pressure.

There was a sense of freedom to each of her answers in those 15 minutes. The kind that comes from entering a tournament with little to lose and much to prove. Sri Lanka are coming into the World Cup on the back of an off-season but also armed with the practical experience that India aren't unbeatable. They're coming in perhaps undercooked, but also unburdened.

Harmanpreet Kaur, in contrast, entered like someone already deep in tournament trenches. Shoulders slightly hunched, face down till she occupied the seat on the dais, eyes shadowed with fatigue. She looked composed but weary, like she'd played matches before walking into the press conference. In a way, she has. India have clocked in the most games among all teams this year, and the weight of expectations shows - no matter how tactfully she tried to hide it with her words. She answered patiently, but without sparkle. Her vibe was a reminder that for hosts, and genuine title contenders, a home World Cup can be both a privilege and a burden.

Amid all this, the presence of the members of Afghanistan Women's team-in-exile, who continue to fight simply for their right to exist as athletes, will be a poignant reminder of just how fragile, and hard-fought, the right to play can be.

 Without diminishing the gravity of their situation, it's somewhat a feeling Sri Lanka know in their own way having missed out on qualification for the 2022 edition. For Athapaththu and her side, just being here now, walking out under the World Cup lights, is a form of redemption. India, too, gear up with that same fire in the belly albeit for a different reason. They were at the last World Cup in both white-ball formats, but the tearful league-stage exit is now fueling this campaign quietly.

When the lights go on in Guwahati, today's opener promises more than just a ceremonial start. For these two, it's the start of unfinished business.