Article 370

Srinagar

Mumbai

football

Alex Ferguson

The life of Kashmir’s only I-League team, Real Kashmir FC, can be summed up in this one instance – On August 5, the Govt of India revokedfrom the state of Jammu and Kashmir, and then introduced the ‘Reorganisation Bill’, downgrading the state’s status to a union territory.On that day, the team’s Kashmiri players were at theAirport trying to get to Kalyani, West Bengal, to participate in Durand Cup. Two days later, without any training or any practice, they beat the I-League champions Chennai City FC, thanks to a last-gasp 90th minute winner from Danish Farooq, an attacking midfielder who has grown up in downtown Srinagar – and who almost a month removed from that day in August – has yet to talk to his family, barring a two-minute phone call arranged by the owner of the team.“Nobody knew what was happening, but we had a general idea. One day before the announcement (August 4), we were asked to come to the hotel (team owner Sandeep Chattoo’s). The car was hotel’s. We could see how difficult it was for people to get to the airport. But we had a few people with us who helped,” midfielder Khalid Qayoom told Mirror yesterday in Mumbai. After their exit from the Durand Cup in the semi-finals to Mohun Bagan, Real Kashmir FC flew down tofor their pre-season training and are currently based in Navi Mumbai.He then added, “Once we reached the airport, we saw a few fights break out. There was a lot of noise and we had no idea whether we could stay there or come back. We even made sure our car was waiting for us. The situation was bad enough and we didn’t want to be stranded at the airport if we couldn’t leave Srinagar.”Just the idea of leaving Kashmir was something that all the local players mulled over. There were objections that some of them faced from their families. Rather than leaving the then state, sticking together because of the GOI’s move was sought to be the plan of action. But the players eventually decided to go because there was a fear that a prolonged curfew would mean not playingOn the other side of the coin, while these players were looking to board their flights, their Scottish coach David Robertson had already reached Kalyani for their Durand Cup tie.No pre-season, no training – straight into one of the oldest and most prestigious tournaments in Indian football. As the day wore on, RKFC’s north-eastern players also entered the Kalyani hotel in the evening. Their foreign quota of players was already there with Robertson.“With the situation in Kashmir, I didn’t even know if the players would make it to the game. We weren’t ready to play,” Robertson told this paper. The Scotsman eventually realised that the players were in Kalyani when he heard shouts from outside his room of other players welcoming their friends back. Friends who they were anxious to meet – an anxiety heightened by the lack of information about where these players were, whether they reached Srinagar Airport, whether they managed to board their flight and head out of Kashmir and whether they eventually made it out.“I heard a loud noise of cheers and everyone came out of their rooms and were hugging each other. There were tears. I’ve never seen that before. In all the clubs I’ve been in. Never,” said Robertson – shaking his head as if still in disbelief.A year earlier, Robertson had spoken to Mirror about how he had no idea about India and Kashmir before joining the club and believed that the northern union territory would be as hot as the rest of India normally gets. Imagine his surprise when Srinagar turned out to have much more in common with Scotland than he imagined.Ayear from then, after witnessing the full spectrum of life in Kashmir, the former Sirdisciple has nothing but admiration for his adopted home.“At the start of my time in Kashmir, I used to complain and moan. But there is no point moaning about this. These experiences have made me a better person,” said Robertson. “It is the story of Real Kashmir. There have been so many hurdles. All these things happening aren’t even a distraction anymore. All these players face whatever is thrown at them,” said Robertson.When the Chennai City FC game happened, this was exactly how the team felt. A sense of despair turned into determination. From not being in any state – mentally or physically – to play football, the team from Kashmir played their hearts out and it showed when they won that game at the death.“The first game we played against Chennai (in the Durand Cup) we won in the 90th minute. The emotions during and especially after the game – everyone was in tears. It felt okay knowing we were playing together and back together. It was one of the nicest things I’ve seen,” said Robertson.