The story of Dharamsala cricket stadium's journey from rocky field

THERE'S THIS OLD hill lore about the scenic Dharamsala stadium. The narrator is the IPL chairman and Himachal Pradesh's seasoned cricket administrator Arun Dhumal.

- SANDEEP DWIVEDI

It's about former Test wicketkeeper Syed Kirmani's first visit here. While walking past the front porch and the reception area, Kirmani got busy answering a phone call. That is till he reached the stands. It's when he froze. Dhumal says Kirmani cut the call and exclaimed: "Kya mai jannat mein aa gaya hu? (Have I reached heaven?)" 

South Africa has Cape Town and the magnificent Table Mountain, Sri Lanka flaunts its historic Galle Fort, New Zealand's hidden gemis Queenstown next to Lake Wakatipu all famous for their screensaver-quality breathtaking beauty. But the competition gets unfair when Dharamsala points to its backdrop - the Himalayas. If stadiums had a beauty pageant, Dharamsala would be the popular choice to get the Miss World crown.

This week, like Kirmani, thousands will cut calls, slump in chairs at the first sight of the landscape-painting-like pinkish-red strawberry shade pavilion posing against the pristine white backdrop of the imposing Dhauladhar range, a part of the Middle Himalayas.

The 5th India-England Test, starting here from March 7, is a dead rubber but still a large group of fans, stuffed in their cars, will suffer traffic jams and undertake the long uphill trek. After two days of hail and thunderstorms, Monday was a dry day, the fragile sunlight frequently peeping through the crowd.