First day you actually not us! that will be Losar. Anyway this day we headed with the children to Godavari for a picnic. That was a surprise for them as the place’s name has been kept secret. Goda Valley is a natural reserve flanked of three mountains.
To present where we were, Mrs. B. noted that few people regularly disappear… due to the jungle’s inhabitants : tigers and leopards. Such words needed to be taken as a warning not to let our Mowglis being too adventurous on their own.
In this small paradise, we were not far from a buddhist monastery and its neighbour hindu pilgrimage place.
To explain what a picinic is in Nepal let me tell you how we departed in the early morning:
Sumitra, our gifted cook, prepared everything the day before. We just had to load the coach, first on its roof then we put some material in the alley. To carry pan, marmites, gaz containers, a cooker, blankets, oil, rice, jam. bread. etc. it took us half an hour. Plus a radio, Miss Tsultrim planned to hire a battery for it.
Now you start to understand how nepalese picnics are slightly different from our sandwich and salad meeting in a quiet place. In other words, the school’s kitchen went from fresh air.
As soon as we arrived on site children to spread around with their rackets and balls while Miss Pema and her radio made their way towards a plug between two trees.
Picnic areas are spread all along the central road of the park, all provided with electricity and a shelter only made with a tin roof. That’s where our kitchen settled.
To prepare the breakfast we sit at the sun, cutting tibetan bread into two, spreading chocolate and jam.
After breakfast the children went on with their game on the rythm of music, not with nature. That was all the same on the other picnic areas.
Not far, there were the national botanical gardens (no more royal). All of us went for a visit towards the greenhouses, their roses and cactii. As we passed along water, the students took pleasure in aquatic game, sometimes involving a teacher without her will. To rest, some of us didn’t get much sleep the night before, we settled on a lawn were throned a giant pine tree. For children it was playtime again, badminton and mimicry of catch fighting seen on TV. Girls were shouting and applauding at the young amateurs. The glistening happiness found soon its fireman, a warden with a rule: “It is forbidden to play on the grass”. The man, his pockets full of his hands, made the pointof his rule. The sleepy teachers listened. He went back, standing at the sun, his pockets still full. At the same four woman were struggling with their task, ploughing a soil stiffened by the cold nights and the dry season of winter. Welcome to Nepal, self-proclamed republique on her way to democracy.
So we moved towards an allowed lawn, brooks and trees ready to host children genuine entertainment. Hurra, take mother Nature in your arms !
Before more adventures, direction the blankets for lunch, our plates floaded with dhal, chicken, spinach and potatoes. Each of us could even get two plates… that’s there is no no sweet not starter is the reason.
Then games claimed their young souls and teachers set the carpets for cards and started to play money. 3 pupils asked for an expedition into the jungle, I agreed and our departure emptied the area of all their players but the reachers. Only Miss Bijaya nodded her head for the ascent.
If coats were needed on our arrival on site, now the sun was by too far generous to keep it our shoulders. The smaller ones kept on beside the olders, the slopes was a difficult one and we mainly went straight but helped with excitement everybody reached the top. I had to run after some of them, even too excited who were leading to the next summit. 2000 M is only jungle in Nepal. Some children were frightened, the forest growth were pressing on the path and the small aventurers.
On our way down we passed an impressive den, big enough for a tiger and reached quickly the coach. It was time to put the kitchen back on the roof’s top et to head towards Bouddha.
