Between Floodlights and Footsteps

After many years, I found myself back in the stands of Jawahar stadium Kannur , watching the final match of the Kerala Super League. The moment I stepped into the stadium, I knew this was not just another game. The air itself felt charged with  floodlights slicing through the evening sky, drums pounding in the galleries, chants rolling like waves from one stand to another.

As the match unfolded, memories came rushing back, memories stitched into these same concrete steps and the painted  railings. This ground had been my window to football long before television and digital graphics took over. I had watched giants here. I still remember the first time I saw the great three of Calcutta,  Mohun Bagan, East Bengal  and Mohammadens play on this turf. Their  flags fluttered proudly, their supporters singing with a quiet confidence,.

 This was the place where I first saw  international stars like Jamshed Nassiri and Majid Bhaksar, Indian stalwarts such as Bikash Panji, Kishanu Dey , Bhatia , Inder Singh, Brahmanand and the whole lot of players representing different clubs from almost all the states in India.  They  brought grit and passion to every game. Malloos like  Thomas Sebastion ,  Xavier Pius,  play here filled us with pride, while every touch by I. M. Vijayan made the stadium hold its breath, and above all stood the local hero,former Indian Captain V. P. Sathyan. Well,  each and every player of those times still fresh in my memory.

Sitting in the Kerala Super League final surrounded by a new generation of fans with mobile phones glowing and flags waving, I felt a quiet bridge between past and present. The teams had changed, the tournament is different , but the soul of the stadium remained the same. The same roar after a goal, the same collective gasp after a missed chance, the same strangers hugging in celebration.

As the final whistle blew, I realised that while tournaments come and go, the emotions this ground holds are timeless. Jawahar Stadium s has watched football grow, and in doing so, it has watched all of us grow with it....