Balls

The Srinagar polo grounds are right opposite my hotel. After meeting some people I was walking back with a friend and we were passing the polo ground when we saw a bunch of kids kicking around a soccer ball. Now I know how to kick balls, so my friend asked in Kashmiri if we could play with them.

They said yes.

So we walked past security guards, policemen and soldiers – all with guns – and under the watchful eyes of armed men stationed in turrets along the wall of the Chief Minister’s residence we played a game of football.

My team lost. We had a kid who refused to pass. He either thought he could do a Maradona run from the half line every single time or he is just plain stupid.

I felt like picking him up and shaking him by the collar but all the guns had me a little spooked.

Anyway, it felt good to be running around.

Though the best bit had to be the white capped mountains in the distance. This is picture postcard country …

Originally published on ] t h i n k [ (tootb.blogspot.com); recovered from the Wayback Machine.