The celebratory cavalcade is currently inching along Mumbai's famed Marine Drive -- and the arterial road has come to a total standstill.
Inching is the operative word fans have taken over the road, and with cops in a mood to let the celebrations continue, the team bus is almost at a standstill.
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Fans in their thousands are lining the flyover, showering flowers and tiny Indian flags on the team bus as it crawls past; the roads are lined with celebrating fans dancing the bhangra and egging on the visibly tiring Indian players, on top oftheir bus, to shed their fatigue and dance along.
Yuvraj continues to exhibit incredible energy; he hasn't stopped dancing since he boarded the team bus. Sreesanth and Harbhajan have joined him as cheerleaders in chief, and are vying with each other to exhort the fans into more frenzied celebrations.
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The rains have prevented fans, by and large, from holding up posters and banners -- but as the cavalcade passed Wilson College, screaming girls were spotted holding up 'Marry Me' placards -- only the names changed, with Dhoni, Yuvraj, Mumbai lad Rohit Sharma and RP Singh clearly the favorites judging by the number of 'proposals' bearing their name.
Meanwhile, the team bus has begun to sport an incredibly long tail. As it moves past, fans in their hundreds are beginning to step off the curb and march in its wake. Currently, the team bus trails hundreds of marching, slogan-shouting fans who, judging by their demeanor, are hell bent on marching along all the way to the Wankhede Stadium, which for the past three hours has been packed full of dancing fans awaiting the team's arrival.
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The BCCI had planned the valedictory function for 10.30, At the time of writing this, it is 1.15 and at the current rate of progress, the team is not likely to get to the stadium any time before 2.30 pm, if that.
No one seems to mind. Not the waiting fans in the stadium, not the fans now marching with the team bus, not the thousands more lining the route from Marine Drive to the stadium. India is in an indulgent, celebratory mood, and the cares and concerns of everyday life have been put aside.
