Football At Mane Banjyang
| Our
campsite in Mane Banjyang was a flat area in the grounds
of a school for 6-10 year olds.
We soon began to attract myriads of children, very filthy, but with brilliant white teeth and big smiles. A few children got bored with us and began noisily kicking a scrunched up piece of plastic around. We soon had a full-scale game of football going on. There were perhaps 30 players, aged from about 6 to around 12 years old, all wearing flip-flops or maybe just with bare feet. |
Children at Mane Banjyang (I believe Joshan is the tall boy) |
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It was very unsophisticated stuff. If you played for the left-to-right team, you always kicked the ball to the right. If you were in the other team you always kicked the ball to the left. All 30 players followed the ball in a great screaming melee. There were goals at either end, marked out with pieces of clothing or shoes, but not many of the kicks were specifically aimed at them. Pity any boy who fell on the ball, however. He would be kicked with no mercy until he got up. |
One of the kids has fallen on the ball and is about to be kicked until he rolls over |
Pat decided to do a bit of refereeing. He saw an infringement and gave a furious blast on this whistle. Everybody stopped and turned around.
"Penalty", he shouted, "Penalty."
As one, all the kids jumped into the air.
"Penalty", they shouted, "Penalty, Penalty, Penalty, Penalty".
They began dancing and leaping around.
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As we watched the game, one of the teachers in the school came around asking for donations. We handed over the equivalent of £5. Beside the teacher was an extraordinarily gifted pupil, Joshan Neupane, aged only 14, who spoke perfect English and translated for us (See picture above). Steve and I were moved by the plight of this village school, but what could we do to really make a difference? "I could at least get you a proper football", I joked. "Please do", said Joshan and the teacher, to my surprise. After I got back to the UK, I posted off two footballs and a pump to Joshan and I was very proud to get his reply "The children who were playing scrunched up plastic as a ball are playing the ball sent by you happily." |
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The Tibetan
Hovering around our tents was this strange man of indeterminate age. He was only about 3 foot 6 inches tall, so he was small enough to be bullied by some of the kids.
He had Tibetan-style front pigtails and split moustache. He also had one perfectly symmetrical triangular tooth in his upper jaw. He also appeared to be deaf and dumb.
He would stare into your tent, silently begging, until you gave him something or angrily waved him away. Did he belong anywhere? Where did he go at night? No one knew, but next morning, when Pat opened the tent, the Tibetan was standing there.
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My slippered feet and Mike's booted foot |
Walking In Slippers What a relief to be able to walk today without every step being full of pain. I enjoyed the freedom of the slippers today, although there were some steep climbs over rough paths - necessitating the occasional muffled curse when sharp stones could be felt through the thin slipper soles. |
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The scenery has changed dramatically. We are now at 7000 feet on a ridge path through forests and beside cultivated terraces. We cannot see Mount Makalu or other high peaks because of haze. More worrying is that the Shipton Pass, which we have to negotiate in a few days, is said to be blocked by heavy snow. |
Intricate patterns of terraces |
