From A Game of Polo

with a Headless Goat

Emma Levine travelled

throughout Asia researching and

filming unusual sports. In this

passage she writes about a

donkey race in Karachi.

We drove off to find the best viewing spot, which turned out to be the crest of the hill so we could see the approaching race. I asked the lads if we could join in the ‘Wacky Races’and follow the donkeys, and they loved the idea. ‘We'll open the car boot, you climb inside and point your camera towards the race. As the donkeys overtake us, we'll join the cars.’ ‘But will you try and get to the front?’ ‘Oh yes, that’s no problem.’

The two lads who had never been interested in this Karachi sport were suddenly fired up with enthusiasm. We waited for eternity on the brow of the hill, me perched in the bootwith a zoom lens pointing out. Nearly one hour later I was beginning to feel rather silly when the only action was a villager on a wobbly bicycle, who nearly fell off as he cycled past and gazed around at us.

Several vehicles went past, and some donkey-carts carrying spectators. ‘Are they coming?’ we called out to them. ‘Coming, coming,’ came the reply. I was beginning to lose faith in its happening, but the lads remained confident.

Just as I was assuming that the race had been cancelled, we spotted two approaching donkey-carts in front of a cloud of fumes and dust created by some fifty vehicles roaring up in their wake. As they drew nearer, Yaqoob revved up the engine and

!ooommmmmmeeennnttt      [[[MMMKKK111]]]:::      Title stands out, it is quirky, unusual and attention grabbing due to the unexpected and shocking imagery of a headless goat.Game of polo is once again something the British audience would know about but the headless goat is an unusual twist to it. Game of polo: stepping stone into the strange worldPolo and headless goat are juxtaposition- Polo has aristocratic, sophisticated and refined connotations.Headless goat has very barbaric, savage connotations.This piques the reader’s interest and causes the reader to wonder how this combination works.

!ooommmmmmeeennnttt      [[[MMMKKK222]]]:::      Karachi: A place in Pakistan

!ooommmmmmeeennnttt      [[[MMMKKK333]]]:::      Immediate high energy start to build up tension fast The paragraph in general is a promising paragraph although towards the end it does not quite deliver.This might suggest:-Tension management to build up to climax- Reinforces the sense of unpredictability of an Asian country compared to a Western country

!ooommmmmmeeennnttt      [[[MMMKKK444]]]:::      Wacky crazy and wild.‘Wacky races’ is the name of a cartoon show which allows us to:!Imagine the extent of anarchy and the complete lack of rules alike in a cartoon ! But also relate to what it might be like in the goat race

!ooommmmmmeeennnttt      [[[MMMKKK555]]]:::      Immediate agreement without any hesitation

!ooommmmmmeeennnttt      [[[MMMKKK666]]]:::      Something slightly dangerous and unaccepted in a Western country but comes across as something fun and exciting

!ooommmmmmeeennnttt      [[[MMMKKK777]]]:::      Fast paced, relatively short sentences. Alternating speech structure (Them to the author(us), author to them)

!ooommmmmmeeennnttt      [[[MMMKKK888]]]:::      Broken grammar rules- cannot normally start the sentence with a ‘But’, suggest a natural flow of conversation.Adventurous spirits are expressed by their desire to seek adventure (get to the front) in the midst of the action. Confidence at being able to be in the front their lack of worries or concern

!ooommmmmmeeennnttt      [[[MMMKKK999]]]:::      Hyperbole of time, which suggest that the wait is long because of their impatience and excitement

!ooommmmmmeeennnttt      [[[MMMKKK111000]]]:::      Lull in tension which allows for a more exciting climax. This lull in tension is also created by longer sentences

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began to inch the car out of the lay-by. The two donkeys were almost dwarfed by their entourage; but there was no denying their speed —the Kibla donkey is said to achieve speeds of up to 40 kph, and this looked close. The two were neck-and- neck, their jockeys perched on top of the tiny carts using their whips energetically, although not cruelly.

The noise of the approaching vehicles grew; horns tooting, bells ringing, and the special rattles used just for this purpose (like maracas, a metal container filled with dried beans). Men standing on top of their cars and vans, hanging out of taxisand perched on lorries, all cheeredand shouted, while the vehiclesjostled to get to the front of the convoy.

Yaqoob chose exactly the right moment to edge out of the road and swerve in front of the nearest car, finding the perfect place to see the two donkeys and at the front of the vehicles. This was Formula One without rules, or a city-centre rush hour gone anarchic; a complete flouting of every type of traffic rule and common sense.

Our young driver relished this unusual test of driving skills. It was survival of the fittest, and depended upon the ability to cut in front of a vehicle with a sharp flick of the steering wheel (no lane discipline here); quick reflexes to spot a gap in the traffic for a couple of seconds; nerves of steel, and an effective horn. There were two races — the motorized spectators at the back; in front, the two donkeys, still running close and amazingly not put off by the uproar just behind them. Ahead of the donkeys, oncoming traffic —for it was a main road — had to dive into the ditch and wait there until we had passed. Yaqoob loved it. We

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!ooommmmmmeeennnttt      [[[MMMKKK333555]]]:::      YYYooouuunnnggg      dddrrriiivvveeerrr      ttthhhooorrrooouuuggghhhlllyyy      eeennnjjjoooyyyeeesss      ttthhhiiisss      (((dddaaannngggeeerrrooouuusss+++aaadddvvveeennntttuuurrrooouuusss))),,,      aaa      ccchhhaaannnccceee      tttooo      dddeeemmmooonnnssstttrrraaattteee      hhhiiisss      ssskkkiiillllllsss      aaannnddd      aaalllmmmooosssttt      ppprrrooovvveee      hhhiiimmmssseeelllfff

!ooommmmmmeeennnttt      [[[MMMKKK333666]]]:::      DDDrrriiivvviiinnnggg      iiisss      iiinnnssstttiiinnnccctttiiivvveee...      SSSuuuggggggeeesssttt      aaa      ssseeennnssseee      ooofff      ppprrreeeccciiisssiiiooonnn      aaannnddd      aaaccccccuuurrraaacccyyy...      SSShhhaaarrrppp,,,      ssshhhooorrrtttsss,,,      cccllleeeaaarrr,,,      cccllleeeaaannn      cccooonnnsssooonnnaaannntttsss      rrreeefffllleeecccttt      ttthhhiiisss

!ooommmmmmeeennnttt      [[[MMMKKK333777]]]:::      QQQuuuiiiccckkk      rrreeefffllleeexxxeeesss      aaannnddd      rrreeessspppooonnnssseee

!ooommmmmmeeennnttt      [[[MMMKKK333888]]]:::      MMMeeetttaaappphhhooorrr!      sssuuuggggggeeesssttt      ttthhhaaattt      yyyooouuu      hhhaaavvveee      tttooo      bbbeee      bbbooolllddd      aaannnddd      dddaaarrriiinnnggg...      

!ooommmmmmeeennnttt      [[[MMMKKK333999]]]:::      TTTrrriiiaaaddd      ooonnnccceee      aaagggaaaiiinnn

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!ooommmmmmeeennnttt      [[[MMMKKK444333]]]:::      SSSiiimmmpppllliiissstttiiiccc      jjjoooyyy!      ssshhhooowwwsss      ttthhheee      sssiiimmmpppllliiissstttiiiccc      llliiifffeeessstttyyyllleee      ooofff      ttthhheee      pppeeeooopppllleee      ttthhheeerrreee...      SSShhhooorrrttt      ssseeennnttteeennnccceee      ssshhhooowwwsss      ttthhhaaattt      ttthhhiiisss      iiisss      ccceeerrrtttaaaiiinnn      nnnooottt      aaammmbbbiiiggguuuooouuusss      YYYaaaqqqoooooobbb      cccooommmeeesss      aaacccrrrooossssss      aaasss      aaa      fffrrreeeeee      ssspppiiirrriiittt,,,      hhheee’’’sss      hhhuuummmooouuurrrooouuusss      aaannnddd      ssseeeeeemmmiiinnnggglllyyy      eeeaaasssyyy      gggoooiiinnnggg

stayed near to the front, his hand permanently on the horn and his language growing more colourful with every vehicle that tried to cut in front. ...

The road straightened and levelled, and everyone picked up speed as we neared the end of the race. But just as they were reaching the finishing line, the hospital gate, there was a near pile-up as the leading donkey swerved, lost his footing and he and the cart tumbled over. The race was over.

And then the trouble began. I assumed the winner was the one who completed the race but it was not seen that way by everyone. Apart from the two jockeys and 'officials' (who, it turned out, were actually monitoring the race) there were over a hundred punters who had all staked money on the race, and therefore had strong opinions. Some were claiming that the donkey had fallen because the other one had been ridden too close to him. Voices were raised, fists were out and tempers rising. Everyonegathered around one jockey and official, while the bookmakers were trying to insist that the race should be re-run.

Yaqoob and Iqbal were nervous of hanging around a volatile situation. They agreed to find out for me what was happening ordering me to stay inside the car as they were swallowed up by the crowd. They emerged sometime later. ‘It’s still not resolved,’ said Iqbal, ‘but it's starting to get nasty. I think we should leave.’ As we drove away, Yaqoob reflected on his driving skills. ‘I really enjoyed that,’ he said as we drove off at a more sedate pace. ‘But I don't even have my licence yet because I'm underage!’

!ooommmmmmeeennnttt      [[[MMMKKK444444]]]:::      EEuupphheemmiissmm!      “““sssuuugggaaarrr      cccoooaaatttiiinnnggg      ttthhhiiinnngggsss”””...      “““CCCooolllooouuurrrfffuuulll”””      sssuuuggggggeeesssttt      ttthhhaaattt      ttthhheeeiiirrr      cccuuullltttuuurrreee      iiisss      uuunnniiiqqquuueee,,,      eeexxxoootttiiiccc,,,      aaa      dddaaassshhh      ooofff      lllooocccaaalll      cccooolllooouuurrr!      iiinnnsssttteeeaaaddd      ooofff      bbbeeeiiinnnggg      oooffffffeeennnsssiiivvveee      ooorrr      rrreeepppuuulllsssiiivvveee

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!ooommmmmmeeennnttt      [[[MMMKKK444666]]]:::      TTTrrriiiaaaddd      ooofff      aaaccctttiiiooonnn

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They both found this hilarious, but I was glad he hadn’t told me before; an inexperienced, underage driver causing a massive pile-up in the middle of the high- stakes donkey race could have caused problems.

Emma Levine

Genre: Travel writing – a recount of a personal experience, usually more anecdotal than factualAudience: Adult readersPurpose:

Recreate the experience of the donkey race

o New and unfamiliaro Excitement and energyo Chaotic anarchy (crazy

wildness)o Exotic, strange and

unusual aspects of the race

o However there is a sense of danger towards the end

The characters are free, adventurous and a little wild, however, their sensibility is shown at the end

General Notes: The structure that is often used in the extract is a combination of things that readers is familiar with + an unusual, exotic, quirky twist (Colour coded green in the text)

It draws out the parallels between

the Western world and the

Eastern world e.g. Polo is something the reader is familiar withbut the headless goat makes this seem unusual, exotic and different

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