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Photo. Bhagya Prakash K

Gala time Entertainment has been taken to a new level now thanks to IPL

Right now the hair is blonde and the eyes are blue as the girls in hotpants and tank tops do their pom-pom routines being the eyecandy for ticket paying audiences at Indian Premier League cricket matches. But soon the skin will turn a shade tan as the outsourced Washington Redskins girls make way for the Indian cheergirls.

For young girls it is Archie Comics come alive with an opportunity to turn into either Betty and Veronica. The all-time American teenagers’ dream is taking birth in India too. Wasn’t being part of cheerleading their life’s mission, apart from wooing Archie?

The ongoing IPL tournament has taken entertainment to a new level. Television watchers in the last five days have been intrigued by the role of cheerleaders during the matches, a new experience for India and cricket. Their ‘performance’, glamorous clothes and high-powered movements are as exciting as the shots of the players. Is there a new opportunity for aspiring models and young girls who wish to be part of show-biz? Is professional cheerleading a career option for young girls?

“As a career? I don’t think so. Inter-college sports and competitions give us a good excuse to scream our lungs out and do a jig on the field. But out there at such a huge platform, I won’t be comfortable,” says Asha M. from St. Francis.

“We do it all the time at college functions and competitions… but personally to be a part of the squad and entertain the audience in the name of cheering is not my cup of tea,” says Swetha, a third year Architecture student.

Sharing a similar view, 19-year-old Madhu says, “I like this concept of having entertainment blended with sport, and feel thrilled that it’s there in India now. But that’s about it, beyond college premises, I’ll not be tempted to take part.”

The nay-sayers might be a majority right now, but once the IPL circus rolls into town, then things certainly would change.

According to the Redskins website, a national audition of Indian women for cheerleaders is already on. Once the squads are identified, only the choreographer of the Redskins will remain with the Royal Challengers until the end of the season in mid-June and conduct clinics throughout India. And two weeks after India’s first-ever cheerleading team is announced, the group will be on the field dancing side by side with Redskins Cheerleaders.

The lolly that lures the cheergirls isn’t just the performance on the ground that might appear like momentary fame but there’s more to cheerleading. There’s money, it’s glamorous and there’s lure of travel. At the auditions of Washington Redskins in the U.S., the promise is that of travelling to Caribbean and a swimsuit calendar. But cheerleading seems to be meeting with little cheer from the youngsters in city. Are we just happy to be entertained than to entertain?

Asmita Khanna, a school psychology counsellor says: “It is the concept of performing live which might be an issue here. Youngsters who’d otherwise do not mind a career in films and television or even modelling can be apprehensive here. It is but natural to fear the new. For all we know a little more exposure might have our youngsters checking it out very soon.”

When more of the good cheer of cheerleading and the charm of cricket gets unleashed in the next few weeks, it’s to be seen whether aspiring cricketers will outnumber the aspiring cheerleaders or vice versa!

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