The snow-laden mountains in the distant background appear in a haze. Up close, all around the TRC Turf Ground, the leaves of the chinar trees are drooping with the weight of frost. It’s 2° Celsius in Srinagar—damp, dark and brooding on a January morning in the picture-postcard capital of Kashmir. Ten kms away, the iconic Dal Lake, is frozen. Inside the stadium, there’s warmth as 10,000-plus people have packed into the stands for, perhaps, one their happiest moments in recent memory—the I-League match between Mohun Bagan and local heroes Real Kashmir.
Among the excited spectators are family members of Real Kashmir’s young defender Muhammad Hammad. His cousins have driven down 90 km from Pahalgam to watch the derby, a rare celebratory occasion in the Valley locked down since August 5 last year when Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated and its special status revoked. For the delirious fans, between seven to 70 years, it’s ninety minutes of pure joy when the adrenaline rush is triggered by goalmouth skirmishes, not bullets or grenades. It did not matter that Real Kashmir lost by two goals to the 100-year-old sporting behemoth.
Denne historien er fra January 20, 2020-utgaven av Outlook.
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Denne historien er fra January 20, 2020-utgaven av Outlook.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Layers Of Lear
Director Rajat Kapoor and actor Vinay Pathak's ode to Shakespeare is an experience to behold
Loss and Longing
Memories can be painful, but they also make life more meaningful
Suprabhatham Sub Judice
M.S. Subbulakshmi decided the fate of her memorials a long time ago
Fortress of Desire
A performance titled 'A Streetcart Named Desire', featuring Indian and international artists and performers, explored different desires through an unusual act on a full moon night at the Gwalior Fort
Of Hope and Hopelessness
The body appears as light in Payal Kapadia's film
Ruptured Lives
A visit to Bangladesh in 2010 shaped the author's novel, a sensitively sketched tale of migrants' struggles
The Big Book
The Big Book of Odia Literature is a groundbreaking work that provides readers with a comprehensive introduction to the rich and varied literary traditions of Odisha
How to Refuse the Generous Thief
The poet uses all the available arsenal in English to write the most anti-colonial poetry
The Freedom Compartment
#traindiaries is a photo journal shot in the ladies coaches of Mumbai locals. It explores how women engage and familiarise themselves with spaces by building relationships with complete strangers
Love, Up in the Clouds
Manikbabur Megh is an unusual love story about a man falling for a cloud. Amborish Roychoudhury discusses the process of Manikbabu's creation with actor Chandan Sen and director Abhinandan Banerjee
