Go mighty All Blacks!

Of course I knew the world cup was happening in my home country while I'm halfway across the other side of the world. I didn't really keep up with the details too much - unless my rugby-mad brother asked about them - so I didn't even realise New Zealand was in the final until a couple of weeks ago. I checked the RWC website as soon as the semi-finals ended, and was super excited that NZ made it through to the finals. WOOHOO!!

So on Monday I was at the dob (coconut) shop buying a dob to drink the juice and some sugarcane juice too, and chatting away with my oh-so-strong kiwi accent. Someone overheard me, and asked where my home country was.

"New Zealand" I said

"Have you been following the rugby at the moment?" he said with a strong South African accent.

"Yeah I have in the past week, and yes I know we have a final this weekend! So proud to be a New Zealander right now"

"I'm getting sattelite tv at my place for the weekend and me and a few friends are going to watch the game.... if you want to join in with us maybe?"

Maybe? MAYBE?? Of course I want to join in! We swapped phone numbers and I arranged to find out the exact time of the game local time and get back to him with details.

So of course today was The Day. The end of the past 6 weeks of game after game, NZ coming out victorious each time. Surely they could win this one without a hitch right!? I prepared for the day - wore an all black sari to the temple in the morning and even put Ishaan in a black kurta with a white dhoti. We made signs saying "Go All Blacks" and "Go ABs" and (Ishaan's one) "TRY!". I even drew a creative bindi on my forehead (see below for photo) and wore it with proud all day long.

There were a few visiting Hare Krsnas from New Zealand who were staying with us for a few weeks so they joined with us in watching the game. It was nerve-wracking there for awhile... we were all sitting on the edge of our seats yelling and cheering and gripping the armrests of the chairs. It was nice to be associated with something from home.

All Blacks. Winners of Rugby World Cup 2011. Supporters all over the world. Including in a small house in a tiny village in Nadia, West Bengal, India.