Kanpur on a shoe string budget

A week in the city of Kanpur seems like a month! Depending on which guide book you read, this is either the most or the second most polluted city in the world! Six million people inhabit this industrial town which is considered the leather capital of India. It takes a brave soul to embark on an evening stroll through the main shopping district just outside the hotel we are staying in, as within seconds you realise your outing is not so much about seeking barganis as it is about dodging obstacles.

One foot into the dust bowl and immediately you must have your wits about you. Motorcycles, bicycles, cows, dogs and meandering goats block your path in all directions. Should they be safely negotiated, a whole new world opens up as you more than likely stumble across your first shoe shop. A quick peruse, and time to move on to the next stall made of a table, a make-shift canvas canopy and a goods-laden table. Another shoe shop! Move on some more and you will encounter yet another shoe shop!

Such is the attention shown to anyone remotely involved with international cricket that by now you have about ten people following you, simply staring, and you have signed about a hundred scraps of paper and shaken twice as many eagerly thrust hands.

This city, which is situated on the banks of the River Ganges, is a harsh, unforgiving place. The average daily wage for the population in Kanpur is a meager Fifteen rand a day! These paople don't have much to enthuse about, yet mention the word cricket and their faces light up. Mention the name Tendulkar and they go into a frenzy. Their lives have changed over the last week as 'Big Cricket' has entered their back yard, providing a welcome escape from their hard day-to-day existence. Their passion for the game is intense.

It will all be back to normal tomorrow as we trek to Kolkata...