Nine grounds are ready to play, each with its own scenery, atmosphere and surface feel.
Village Playground
The field everyone grew up on. Loose dust, a leaning banyan, a handpump that never stops dripping and uncles watching from the wall.
Sparrows, cycle bells, distant temple chime
School Ground
Faded chalk boundaries, a rusted bell and forty pairs of eyes waiting for the recess whistle.
School bell, chatter, shoes on gravel
City Street
Hard concrete makes the gilli skip further, but every window is a hazard and every uncle a referee.
Horns, shutters, scooter engines
Temple Courtyard
Polished stone under bare feet, marigold strings overhead and a bell that rings on every clean strike.
Aarti bells, conch, pigeons
Farm
Cut stalks, soft soil and a tractor idling somewhere behind the hedge. The gilli disappears into the wheat.
Crickets, tractor hum, wind through stalks
Beach
Sand kills the roll, but the open salt wind rewards a clean lofted strike before the gilli settles.
Surf, gulls, distant vendors
Monsoon Ground
Every strike splashes. Heavy air shortens flight and mud kills the bounce, but the crowd never leaves.
Rain on tin, thunder, frogs
Snow Village
The gilli cracks against cold wood and the sound carries over the whole valley.
Wind, crunching snow, far-off dogs
Fair Ground
Lights, loudspeakers and a hundred strangers cheering a game they only half understand.
Loudspeaker songs, laughter, ride motors