Beyond the Blindness | Maiidan

KIRAN PANDAY

Saturday afternoons in Bhrikuti Mandap are abuzz with energy. It's not the amusement park with the rickety rides, but the cricketers on a nearby patch of green, grappling for a jingling ball and a batsman in dark shades taking energetic runs, which is the cause of all the vivacity. On the field, where the game is played closer to the ground than normally, all the players – from the fielder to the wicket-keeper, are visually impaired. Some retain more vision than others but a few are completely blind, their movements guided by the rattling and swishing sound of the special ball.

One of the players is Pawan Ghimire, president of the Cricket Association of the Blind, Nepal (CABN) who organises such practice games, and several other regional and inter-club games each year. An army captain, Pawan like his friend Jemadar Bikram Bahadur Rana, was completely blinded around five years ago in an ambush during the war. Along with Sugam Bhattarai, the trio formed the association three years ago when Pawan, having watched the third blind World Cup in Pakistan and trained there, was inspired to start a club in Nepal.

It wasn't just the spirit of cricket that appealed to Pawan. He saw that it was practical in terms of the number of people that could be included, the comparative space required and safety.

Being part of the club seems to increase the member's confidence as well. Most players start doing better at school once they join. One of the players, Kaushal Kumar Rayamajhi, who has the record of scoring the first century, is gleeful that he's part of the association: "It's great," he gleams.

Playing in the outdoors serves as a form of physical therapy as well. Within a few months of playing, cricketers find that even crossing the roads is less challenging.

But for most players, the achievement that comes with playing the game is important. They feel empowered. "Cricket makes us feel like we have a purpose again," says Pawan.

Since it was formed, the association has already come a long way. There are 400 registered members, and approximately 300 more that play informally. There are eight clubs running across the country including those in Kathmandu, Pokhara and Rupandehi.

Most of the players are college-going boys, but age, sex or creed is no barrier, says Pawan. Some of the members are coaching young students in school, and the Laboratory school already has its own junior club. Last year, the association's women got together and started the world's first all women's blind cricket team.

On the cricket field, the scorer is hearing impaired and the umpire is physically challenged. But Pawan is already thinking ahead. He has started preparing for the world's first wheelchair cricket club, too.

But while dreams are plenty, funds are low. "Potential investors are hesitant because they haven't heard about blind cricket," says Sugam Bhattarai. When they started, they had to award the players out of their own pockets. The situation is only a little better now.

But once people learn that they are cricketers, the players gain the acceptance and esteem they are proud of. A couple of players have gotten scholarships from the Pakistani government due to their skills and in 2010, Nepal will be participating in the 2010 Blind World Cup. Most players have come to believe in the words printed in big bold letters at the CABN office:"Blindness is a gift."