Wayanad is captivating during the monsoons. The usually green landscape is even greener. The air is cool, and watching—and listening to—the steady drizzle can be a soothing experience on lazy afternoons.
But that particular July afternoon a week ago was anything but soothing and calm. There was no whiff of rain in rustic Kakkavayal. On the paddy field, the young men could not afford to laze around, as they readied for another game of mud football, a sport fast gaining popularity in Wayanad.
The tourism department in this northern Kerala district, which shares its borders with Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, has made mud football into a fascinating annual fixture. The tournament, which features teams from across the district, is reaching its climax, and as I write this, just two games remain.
In the first game, a play-off for the third place in the overall standings is taking place. YFC from Puthan Kunnu is taking on Pranavam from Kalpetta.
A bright green idea
The Puthan Kunnu team is dressed in violet, while its rivals are clad in blue. But the colours will hardly matter, as the players will soon be bathed in mud.
Right from the kick-off, it becomes obvious that these are fairly skilled footballers and the sport is no simple pastime for casual hobbyists. During the course of the 20-minute match, you see a bicycle kick that would hardly look out of place at Kolkata’s Salt Lake Stadium, powerful long-range shots, spectacular saves by the goalkeepers, and some solid tackles.
“All of them play regular football,” explains K. Ratheesh, coach of Tenants, Kolampetta, which will soon face Brothers, Thaloor, in the finals. “Many of the players have played in State championships.”
In an entertaining final, Ratheesh’s team falls by a couple of goals. Among the spectators is K. Raveendran, a resort owner, who introduced the game to Wayanad.
“It was after watching some kids playing football on the paddy fields near my home at Pozhuthana that I thought about making a proper game out of it,” he says. “I came up with some rules and regulations and began conducting tournaments.” The rules stipulate that a team should have five players, on a field measuring 25x15 metres, and with mud that is 1.5 feet deep.
Though mud football tournaments were held only as a part of the Wayanad District Tourism Promotion Council (WDTPC)’s monsoon festival earlier, now there are also competitions arranged by private organisers across the district.
“We have been conducting mud football events for the last eight years, right from the inaugural edition of Wayanad Splash, but this one is the biggest,” says Pradeep Murthy, managing director of Muddyboots, which organises the tournament. “This time around, we conducted qualifying events at four different venues, in which 50 teams took part. Tomorrow we will have a tournament featuring teams representing Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.”
Besides football matches, the next day also sees two other sports played out on the muddy paddy field—volleyball, with a particularly impressive bunch of players, and tug-of-war.
The tourists certainly seem to enjoy it. “I haven’t seen anything like this before,” says Delhi-based author and travel blogger Anamika Mishra. “I think it is a bright idea to promote tourism in Kerala during monsoon. This State is the greenest in the country.” Though she has been to Kerala before, this is her first trip to Wayanad. “I am glad I came here in the rainy season,” she says.
Swamp football
People like C.P. Shylesh, secretary, Wayanad Tourism Organisation, would be delighted to hear that. “We thought of Wayanad Splash because we felt there was potential to promote the monsoon,” he says.
There has been a steady increase in the number of tourists to Wayanad over the last six years, according to WDTPC. Over eight lakh people visited in the 2016-17 season—two lakh more than the previous year.
Like Europe’s swamp football, this could soon become a thing in the country’s rainy season calendar.
