{"id":3767,"date":"2016-05-23T09:06:17","date_gmt":"2016-05-23T03:36:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=3767"},"modified":"2016-05-23T09:06:17","modified_gmt":"2016-05-23T03:36:17","slug":"world-soil-day-the-unadulterated-joy-of-keechad-football","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=3767","title":{"rendered":"The Unadulterated Joy of Keechad Football"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

W<\/span><\/p>hen I was 10, the first rains meant only one thing \u2013 football. That, and playing around in keechad. <\/span>\n\nThis was a time before building <\/span>WhatsApp<\/span><\/a> groups and intercoms, not that anyone needed a reminder. The smell of wet earth minutes after the first shower was enough to draw everyone \u2013 from the six year-old kaccha nimbu to the 60-year-old building <\/span>secretary<\/span><\/a>, also kaccha nimbu, sr \u2013 to the society garden. The whole affair was more \u201cChhai chhapa chhai\u201d and less <\/span>Champions League<\/span><\/a> with everyone splashing water at each other.<\/span>\n\nBut the real deal was when the rains got heavier and the garden turned into a swamp. That\u2019s when we football lovers would channel our inner <\/span>Neymar<\/span><\/a> and pointlessly slide around, throwing each other in the mud, and returning home only when we were covered in keechad from head to toe. And even after the <\/span>rains<\/span><\/a>, there were days when we\u2019d pour buckets of water on the field to get the keechad wala experience. <\/span>\n\nThis transforming experience was usually met with a slap from reality: \u201cAre you mad? What if you catch a cold? Who will clean your shoes and clothes?\u201d The barrage of questions from mum would begin when I\u2019d return home looking like a tattered gunny sack. There are days when she\u2019d stop me from entering the house. This is the same woman who now gets upset when I tell her I don\u2019t want to play <\/span>Holi<\/span><\/a> because it\u2019s too messy. <\/span>\n\nBut keechad football is not harmless fun like Holi \u2013 it\u2019s, in fact, a Herculean physical exercise, like having a Maharaja Mac. The field isn\u2019t smooth and your legs often get stuck in the muck, much like vehicles on <\/span>SV Road<\/span><\/a> during the monsoon. Keechad football is also a test of your mental strength. Your mind needs to be prepared for what\u2019s going to hit next \u2013 it\u2019s similar to how you prepare yourself before attempting to board a Virar <\/span>local<\/span><\/a>. And like the Surf Excel commercial taught us, we need to be convinced daag acche hai. <\/span>\n

Be it keechad-filled fields or swamp playgrounds, running around in mud is a significant part of every childhood.<\/blockquote>\nThis rough and tough game is a bit like watching <\/span>porn<\/span><\/a> \u2013 you get disgusted the first time but as time goes by you start enjoying it. There is great excitement in making the perfect sliding tackle. Or pointing out that your <\/span>friend<\/span><\/a> has dirt stuck in his teeth. From plastic bags to kulfi sticks to soft drink bottle caps, you never know what you are going to encounter next. And the ultimate climax comes when you kick a ball and also splash keechad on your opponents. It\u2019s only then that the adventure feels like it is worth it. <\/span>\n\nBut today keechad football is not as desirable as it used to be. Artificial turfs have sprung across cities and today\u2019s boys and girls who go to fancy IB <\/span>schools<\/span><\/a> prefer to rent out indoor stadiums. Back in the day, public parks and grounds were all we had and it didn\u2019t matter that they were more uneven than Mumbai\u2019s roads. <\/span>\n\nToday, children in the building cringe at the thought of playing in muddy fields and dusty grounds \u2013 \u201cEww, so gross. What if we catch an infection?\u201d And that is enough to make me slip into the \u201chamare zamaane mein toh…\u201d mode and instantly feel old. I tell them about the Swamp Football <\/span>World Cup<\/span><\/a>, the 19th edition of which was held in Finland earlier this year. And about the fun we\u2019d have stomping on a ground full of sludge. They all look at me the way I\u2019d look at my uncles when they\u2019d tell me about the time they\u2019d walk 15 kilometres, climb a hill, cross a river and a rainforest, just to get to school.<\/span>\n\nBe it keechad-filled fields or swamp playgrounds, running around in mud is a significant part of every <\/span>childhood<\/span><\/a>. No expensive turf can match that joy. I vote to bring keechad football back.<\/span>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today, children in the building cringe at the thought of playing in muddy fields and dusty grounds. But the joy of running around in the muck and making the perfect sliding tackle in the sludge is unmatched. I vote to bring keechad football back.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":164,"featured_media":3768,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[394],"tags":[495,202,2317,2042,396,319,7081,4609,7082],"class_list":["post-3767","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-doctor","tag-earth","tag-environment","tag-fitness","tag-football","tag-health","tag-mud","tag-science","tag-world-soil-day"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Unadulterated Joy of Keechad Football<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Today, children in the building cringe at the thought of playing in muddy fields and dusty grounds. 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I vote to bring keechad football back.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Hardik Rajgor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=3767#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=3767\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Hardik Rajgor\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e182d0f2221a33f1b6e7dc73de64ceec\"},\"headline\":\"The Unadulterated Joy of Keechad Football\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-05-23T03:36:17+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=3767\"},\"wordCount\":682,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=3767#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1544011741.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"doctor\",\"Earth\",\"Environment\",\"Fitness\",\"football\",\"health\",\"mud\",\"Science\",\"World Soil Day\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Sports\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=3767\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=3767\",\"name\":\"The Unadulterated Joy of Keechad Football\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=3767#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=3767#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1544011741.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-05-23T03:36:17+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e182d0f2221a33f1b6e7dc73de64ceec\"},\"description\":\"Today, children in the building cringe at the thought of playing in muddy fields and dusty grounds. 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