Kashmir’s beautiful game: Same ground, different crowds
inam ul rehman On Saturday, July 19, I went to the Tourist Reception Centre ground to watch a soccer match played in the floodlights. Both the entry and parking are free. As I entered the ground, the stadium was packed with people of all ages, but only a few women and girls were present. People were cheering for their favourite teams, I could sense by their diction that the crowd consisted of people from rural areas as well. It was a different experience to see a huge number of people watching a local soccer match. Children as young as five to 10 years old were moving up and down the aisle, cheering and jubilant in their parents’ company. As my eyes scanned to spot a place to watch the match my mind went to the 2008 event, when thousands thronged to the same place, which at that time had not yet been bifurcated into two playgrounds. Then also it was called TRC ground . In 2008, as a rookie journalist I went to cover an event, where thousands of people cong...