Football in Vadakancherry

06th May 2006
Day 6

Rahul and I were merrily bobbing down the road making our way past a playground that seemed to accommodate both cricket and football. A group of curious boys stopped playing and called out to us to come and join them. Earlier in the run we had climbed down a ditch and up and over the railway line to chat with another group of boys who had wanted us to come to their village to play cricket. Tempted as we were, we declined that offer as the sun was at its zenith and we had a long way to go. India, they say is, consumed by cricket, but here fate presented us with an opportunity to play football (we realised later that Kerala is more football crazy than cricket mad). It took no more than an exchange of head wiggles (Kerala style) between Rahul and I to take up the challenge.

The small group of ten grew to fifteen and then perhaps to twenty five. Tired and hot as we were, Rahul re-found his silky football skills bedazzling all and sundry. The penalty shoot out was followed by a sprinting competition which was followed by an exchange of dialogue that would not be unsimiliar to a park discussion amongst boys anywhere else in the world. The kids wanted to be football or cricket stars. Everyone supported Brazil, but knew about the English captain, David Beckham. They knew the football results and players better than we did. They teased one of the boys about being a rickshaw driver. Clearly their true aspirations were all quite high.

A slightly older guy wandered up to Rahul and I, calmly introducing himself as Suresh. He looked cool in the heat with his striking green shirt, necklace, ear-ring and long haired good looks. Suresh is twenty-two years old. He explained that he was unemployed (an epidemic that seemed to plague the youth of Kerala) and confronting the dilemma of whether to leave Kerala to follow others in his family working overseas (Dubai was his option) or stay on and look for work here. He seemed to loathe the idea of leaving Kerala in search of work. Reading between the lines he was perhaps even a little frustrated by his situation but determined to find a way out.

Should he follow the well-beaten path of so many other Keralites, or would it be possible to stay and work in Kerala? Suresh's zest for life and willingness to want to make it in Kerala were an indication of the spell this beautiful countryside and its quality of life has on its people.

Alas, we had to leave the team behind. We truly appreciated the vignette of fun and insight at the end of a hot and hilly run.

Pete