Pictures of Kashmir using football as the theme and the youth taking to the game in the valley have been captured by noted photographer Prashant Godbole who has given a diferrent connotation to words like 'riots' and 'hostile environment' through his oeuvre.
"Three days I toured around the valley and this is what I noticed," Godbole told PTI showing the pictures of young boys and girls taking up football passionately.
A picture titled 'Training camp' is of youths at a football training camp on the outskirts of Srinagar.
'The Rioters' is a photo of boys playing football on the narrow street of Srinagar interrupting pedestrian movement.
A picture, 'Distracted youth', refers to boys focused on football and not attentive to other works.
"The lost cause' is a picture of a young shepherd holding a football lost in thoughts and forgetting to take care of a herd of sheep behind him.
An important picture is of 'civil war' where security personnel are seen playing football taken from a Kashmiri boy.
His work, titled 'Real Kashmir', is on display at the Rangoli Art Centre on the MG Road boulevard at a photo exhibition jointly sponsored by Adidas and Real Kashmir Football Club (RKFC).
"Football is picking up..." Afshan Ashiq, captain and goalkeeper of Jammu and Kashmir Womens Football team, said.
"After Adidas came to the RKFC, things have improved.
Now there is motivation and people eagerly wait for the scores whenever RKFC takes part in any event," Ashiq, a stone pelter-turned-footballer, told PTI after inaugurating the exhibition Thursday.
Asked if football will bring an end to the unrest in Kashmir, she said "I personally feel that sports is the best way to get rid of such things because it keeps you mentally and physically fit.
You will be able to differentiate between right and wrong."
She underlined the need to portray Kashmir in a positive light and not as a violence prone area.
"We want to show Kashmir positively and the Adidas is showing Kashmir positively," the footballer said.
Godbole too agreed that football is picking up in the valley.
"It is picking up there. Kashmir recently won a match against Mohun Bagan and suddenly it is inspiring all the youngsters to play football," Godbole added.
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