/> The five Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2007 contestants Wasi Effendi, Junaid Sheikh, Mussarrat Abbas, Sikander Ali and Amanat Ali are up in arms against the vegetarian food they are being served in their temporary residence in Mumbai.

Says a source from the Sa Re Ga Ma team "They are hard-core non-vegetarians and have to settle for green veggies since the cook is a Brahmin who refuses to cook any non-veg. So much was the frustration that some eggs were smuggled in and cooked when the bawarchi was away."

The Paki-quintet even thought up a prank to meet the meat on the dining table. "They got really inventive . They made up a story of how the channel has asked for a cookery competition and the best person to cook non-veg will win!! Everyday is a struggle to think up of appetizing ways to eat the greens they have come to dislike!"

Culininary setbacks notwithstanding, the Pakistani contestants are having a whale of a time in India.

Says the show's creative head Payaol Patel, "The whole idea of the vishwa-yudh started with the idea that the sargam and gayaki is the same in India as in Pakistan. While there are a lot of opportunities in India for talent to be showcased, in Pakistan, due to the controlled TV environment, not many shows are available for participation."

Now when at least a few of the Pakistani contestants stand a good chance of making it to the top there's a chance of the desi contestants getting hostile about outsiders stealing the march.

Patel disagrees. "Today, in India, Pak singers have been accepted very well, be it Junoon, Strings, Jal, Nazia Hassan, Hassan Jahangir, Ali Haider, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and the more recent Atif Aslam and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan.

So these guys definitely stand a very good chance. And as one of the mentors had said, "Pak singers ka gala bohut sadha hota hai kyonki woh riyaaz bohut karte hai"There is absolutely no resentment between the contestants on religious grounds.

There definitely is a lot of competition as participants of a common show. In fact a lot of Indian participants are trying to learn the Pak style ....mix of sufi, punjabi and folk.

Patel doesn't buy the belief that the desi contestants are restlful of their Pak counterparts. "The one thing I would like to mention is that the bahar ke log theory is a figment of the negative imagination. We are responsible for the borders that we have created. If it was true, then songs like Juda hoke bhi, Mitwaa, and Jiya dhadak dhadak would not have been such big hits."

As for who among the Pakistani contestants is the best, Patel shrugs. "Difficult to say. All are very good. Mussarat so far is getting the best response from the audience. But the Indian and Pakistani contestants are very comfortable together and they stay together. In fact the cookery competition was a team effort!!"

The five Pakistani team members have been seeing Mumbai in their free time. They have visited Gateway of India, Haji Ali, Siddhivinayak Temple, Juhu beach, Esselworld. And a special trip to eat Mumbai's vada pav!!

Laughs Patel, " How it was relished! And we had taken them on a special request by one of the Pak contestant, Wasi who called it Aloo bandh."