Garlands, not tilak to welcome Pak team

Respecting the sensitivities of Pakistani cricketers, India will welcome them not with the 'tilak' and 'aarti' but with flowers.

Respecting the sensitivities of Pakistani cricketers, India will welcome them not with the traditional tilak and aarti but with flowers as they land at the Indira Gandhi Airport on Monday.

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The Pakistanis will be garlanded and presented bouquets by a few top officials of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) at the airport before they are taken to a five-star hotel.

Keen that India reciprocates the same gestures that Pakistanis made towards the Indian players and fans when they toured Pakistan last year, the BCCI has decided to accord a similar reception everywhere the team goes.

"We have decided to welcome them with garlands, bouquets and light refreshments," said a source in BCCI.

"But we will not be applying tilak (vermilion) on their foreheads or making them stand for aarti (a Hindu ritual of welcoming guests with fire lamps)," he said.

He said the formal welcome - to be extended to the wives of the players as well - would be done in the VIP Lounge of the airport.

The Pakistani team will play three Tests and six One-Day Internationals (ODIs) during the 50-day series - the first full-fledged tour in six years.

The BCCI, trying hard to shed the tag of an unprofessional body, has also decided that the Pakistanis will not be secretly packed into a bus and whisked away to the hotel as was the case in 1999 when Wasim Akram's boys arrived.

"We realise that the media has a role to play as their job is to inform the public. We definitely want to give them access at the airport, but it would be limited in a sense," said the source.

"For instance, the television cameras would be placed at a designated spot and the print media will also get an opportunity to be present," he said.

The official said the first press conference, at which captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, coach Bob Woolmer and manager Salim Altaf would be present, would be held later in the team hotel.

"We want to give the visitors the same kind of reception and hospitality that the Pakistanis gave to the Indian players and fans last year when the team toured Pakistan for a Test series after almost 15 years," said the source.

The Indian cricketers received a tumultuous welcome in all five cities that they visited for matches last year.

After arriving at a jam-packed Allama Iqbal International Airport at Lahore March 10, they travelled to Karachi, Peshawar, the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi and Multan. Everywhere they were welcomed by fans and officials.

While in Rawalpindi, President Pervez Musharraf invited the entire team over for tea, gulab jamuns and pakoras.