Going nuts over a game in Arunachal Pradesh

A ‘procession’ breaks in, cheering and shouting, piercing through what might have been another quiet afternoon in this remote Buddhist hamlet of Maliama. Yes, it is October, but there are no pujos, no pandals. The ‘procession’ has eight to ten Monpa children between the ages of 2 and 11, who are at home as their schools have declared Durga Puja holidays.

On any other day the school bells would have announced their play time. The two private schools, and also the nearest government school are in Dirang about 7 to 10 kilometres away. And all – to which the children have to walk daily – are closed for almost ten days. But during this period of relative freedom, the children know intuitively when it’s playtime. That is 2 p.m., after lunch. A time when the dismal internet connectivity in this hamlet, more than 1,800 meters above sea level, will be at its worst and they will have to return their parents’ mobile phones to them. It’s time to gather on the main street for indefinite rounds of Mankha laida, (literally a ‘Walnut Game’).

Walnuts grow abundantly in the forests surrounding the hamlet. Arunachal Pradesh is the fourth largest producer of this dry fruit in India.  Walnuts from this district of West Kameng are especially known for their export quality. But no one in this hamlet cultivates them. The ones the children get are from the forest. The 17 to 20 Monpa families in Maliama, traditionally a community of pastoralists and hunter-gatherers from Tibet, collect forest produce for household consumption. “The villagers go in groups up into the forest every week and bring mushrooms, nuts, berries, firewood and other produce,” says 53-year-old Rinchin Jomba. Kids fill their fists and pockets with walnuts before descending on the streets every afternoon.

The walnuts are arranged in a single line on the street. Each player places three of them in that line. They then take turns at throwing one walnut they hold in their hands, aiming at those in the line. You win as many as you knock out. You get to eat the nuts as a reward! Once they have had enough of walnuts after countless rounds they move to another game, Tha Khyanda laida (Tug of war).

This one needs a prop – a piece of cloth in place to act as a rope. Here again, the children are at their innovative best.  These are remnants of the flags that go up on households after an annual puja offered for the longevity of their families.

The games keep changing every few hours. There is kho-kho, kabaddi, running or jumping in puddles. There are days when children play games with a JCB (excavator) toy, digging away just like their parents do, when they go for ‘job card work’ to MNREGA sites.

For some the day ends with a visit to a nearby small Chug monastery, while some others wind it up with a visit to the farms to lend a hand to their parents. By dusk, the ‘procession’ returns, plucking and eating oranges or persimmons off the trees on the way. And the day is done.