Last year, sick on a weekend, feeling sorry for myself, I called two of my friends and demanded they come see me with flowers and chocolate. We ate our sweets, gossiped and had a convivial time. Then, one of them became pensive. "What is it?" I asked.

"Tomorrow's a big day. I'm tense." he said. "What day?" I asked. He looked shocked, no, disgusted. "Which world are you living in? It's India-Pakistan match. World Cup!" he exclaimed and left. My other friend had to persuade him not to unfriend me on Facebook.