Changing Trend In Nepali Sports

Growing up as a child in the Kathmandu Valley in the late sixties and seventies, sports for children used to be physical training (PT), mainly running, jumping and a lot of walking.  The favourite games for girls used to be skipping ropes, gatta (pebbles), which could be played with taking a few pebbles in the hand and throwing them in the air and catching them in different combinations. Then there was the hop scotch which was played by drawing lines and squares on the floor and jumping single legged or with both legs until a mistake was made. Then there was a game played with the fingers by making different shapes with strings and competing with each other for the longest period one could continue playing. 

The children did not have the luxury of riding tricycles and mini-cycles or driving in mini cars or mopeds that are taken for granted by children nowadays. From the Dakshina (money) received as gift during festivals, the parents rented cycles for their children and went for rides on Saturdays, which is the weekly holiday in Nepal. Then the favourite pass time of all children used to be singing with friends and cousins at the top of their voices and some dancing to the tunes of famous Nepali, Indian and English songs.  For boys, playing football and gullidanda together with kabaddi was popular. All of these sports were very physical and required interactions with friends, cousins and peers.

Open spaces

Children all over Nepal grew up with their elders and cousins at home and friends in schools. There were just a handful of private schools then and most were government schools. There were several open spaces and the streets in the Kathmandu Valley were mostly open where children in the neighbourhoods gathered and played most of these games. Playing badminton and volley ball in streets and roadsides were common practice those days. The elders in the communities kept vigilance of most of the children whom they treated as their own, as most of the houses around them belonged to their brothers, cousins and sisters, uncles and aunts. There was a lot of people-to-people connection between the children and the adults, too.

Sports competitions then were inter- or intra-school and the college events were held regularly. The most popular sports then were football and cricket. The Nepali football teams participated regularly in international events. Cricket was not very commonly played in the valley but when it was, it was mainly a male sport. Cricket was more popular in the Terai belt of the country. Most of the children growing up in that era remember the excitement of participation in the annual school sports events and getting awards or cheering for friends. Before the advent of the television in Kathmandu, cricket matches were broadcast on radio and the main listeners were men who crowded around a single radio set in the family and followed the 5-day test matches with great interest.

 In the early eighties when the centre-point of Nepali homes where family members gathered entered the television set and that gave some exposures to regional and international sport tournaments but mainly cricket and football matches. Nowadays, with the advancement of technology, the scenario is completely different. The open spaces in the Kathmandu Valley and other urban areas have slowly disappeared and the streets have become very dangerous because of vehicular traffic and frequent road accidents. Unplanned construction has made the Valley and most urban areas a concrete jungle. Health clubs have come up in different places but just a fraction of the population can access them. 

Apart from participating in the sporting activities conducted in schools these days, the children are now active on their mobiles as soon as they reach home and forget about their neighbours. But now as digital devices have become their friends, the numbers of couch potatoes are increasing both among the children and adults. On the other hand, Nepal has started entering the international sports competitions and is making headlines in cricket and to some extent in football. Sports, like medicine, has become more of a money-minting machine in today’s world. The football and cricket matches will soon become one of the few biggest money-making sports industries. Nepal has entered this sports arena too. 

Physical sports

However, sports as an industry are yet to be established here. Looking at last week’s media coverage and the glorifying tributes to the success of the Nepali men cricket team it shows that sports is now getting national and, to some extent, international attention. Nepali teams are progressing with the little financial and technical support they have. Fanfare and people cheering for national sports teams, especially football and cricket, are on the rise. The Nepali women’s cricket team and Nepali sports women have also shown exemplary feats in sports like Taekwondo, wrestling, swimming and badminton. However, the gender construct is such that the matches they have won do not get as much media coverage as the men’s games. The development of the country will go hand-in-hand with the development of sports and tourism.

It is important to capture the highlights of the success of Nepali cricket team and start encouraging youth and children to start being involved more in physical sports and interpersonal interaction with friends and neighbours. There has to be concerted efforts from Nepal government to create open spaces where children and adults have chances to start playing. In different places of Lalitpur there are some efforts to install exercising equipment, swings and see-saws which can be used by community members by the municipalities. This is positive steps which need to be continued and increased. As technology advances, it is important for people to learn those skills. However, it is now equally important to start a movement of going back to physical sports which will not only keep people fit, but will also help them in improving their communication skills. 

 (Sharma is a senior journalist and women rights advocate namrata1964@yahoo.com Twitter handle: @NamrataSharmaP)