It's a football binge at Ludhiana hotels, pubs

Thierry Henry, Ronaldinho, Juan Roman Riquelme, Pavel Nedved, Zlatan Ibrahimmovic and Cafu - these Greek and Roman names are rolling in the mouths of Ludhianvis.

Ever heard of drinking a red card, corner kick, header, off side, golden goal and eating Roberto Carlos' free kick, Luis Figo's sharp move or Totti taking corner?

It's all happening in the city, with almost all the big and small restaurants, five-star hotels and college canteens trying to get the maximum out of the World Cup and soccer fever engulfs the city.

Various hotels are offering lucrative offers, discounts and even free drinks during the match sessions. Ludhiana's first and best pub, Deochan Doris, has tied up with Fosters beer for providing a free pitcher of beer every 10 minutes on each table whenever any World Cup football match is going on.

"All the customers have to pay for is the food. The drinks are for free and we are not even charging any entry fee. For our customers, we have also installed a big plasma TV, a goal post and even our waiters are dressed as football players,'' adds Rinku Kahlon, owner of Deochan Doris.

Hotel Majestic Park Plaza, Ludhiana's only five-star hotel, has also come up with a unique idea. They have renamed their sports bar "Champs" as "Chalo Champs".

Hotel Majestic Park Plaza General Manager Arun Jaie says, "We have installed the biggest TV screen in town for our customers where they can see the football matches. Besides, we are also offering a 50 per cent discount on drinks and food at "Chalo Champs" from 2 pm to 7 30 pm everyday. For this World Cup, we have hired a new Filipino Band for regaling the crowd with Hindi and English songs six days a week. Even our menu is shaped as a football.''

It's not only hotels and pubs. Coffee shops are also luring people during this mega event. One Happy Bean (OHB), a coffee shop in the posh Sarabha Nagar locality, is wearing a World Cup look with footballs hanging all over its roof. Jagwant Singh Sandhu, owner of OHB, says the World Cup football is the biggest sports event after the Olympics.

"Almost everyone, whether he plays football or not, watches this event. So we want that whenever people come to OHB, they should not miss the action. We are offering discounts during match hours and have renamed our menu by adding a taste of football in it."