Page 37 - IB January 2022

Sport and Fitness Sport and Fitness

(France), Chile and the United States. improved.
A large group of people and an unlimited quantity of beer “It’s healthy living, a healthy lifestyle,” she added. “I think
– the scene after completion of the course — could portend all the people who are present today, they are all are very fit.
disputes and altercations, but hash is a harmonic convergence They eat healthy. Yes, they do drink beer, but they are very
of good sports. The merriment includes playful needling of active. I mean they’re here because they want to be active.”
members by the leader, or grand master, and him or her issu- Grand Master Dr. Ram Raju, is credited with expanding the
ing penalties such as sitting on ice for shorting the course or health focus at Nadi Hash by influencing a ban on smoking at
past unexcused absences. events. Guests who feel the need for a smoke must leave the
The social gathering at the course end is called a circle, or circle and go off-premises before doing so.
in some chapters “religion,” and there is a reverence in hash A benefit beyond fitness and socialising is travel, said
which makes for a close-knit community that members leave Narayan, who is also the procurement manager at Kyronn Fiji.
only upon repatriation or the physical debilitation of old age. “We get to see the interior of Fiji, places many people living
In 2018, Fiji hosted some 2000 hashers from around the in Fiji do not get to see. Through hash I have explored so
world at the InterHash – an international assembly for a week- many places and had so many adventures.”
end of running, drinking and celebration held every two years. One of the youngest members of Nadi Hash is Shantel
Canceled due to COVID-19 in 2020, in April the event is to be Priyanka Prasad, 21, Nayaran’s daughter and a psychology
held in Trinidad and Tobago, and 20 members of Nadi Hash student at University of the South Pacific in Suva.
plan to participate. “I love hash, it has helped me a lot,” she said at the 6 De-
From its roots in colonialism, hash always has been a sport cember meet. “It makes me slim. It helps me and my grandma
of the petit bourgeoisie, much like tennis and golf, of which and my whole family. So, hash is a great thing.
“commoners” see only glimpses. Hash members typically are “I encourage my friends to come for hash,” said Shantel.
professionals and businesspeople who pay a fee of F$15 (US$7) “People think only chubby people can come for hash to lose
or more at each weekly gathering, with the host expending weight. Hash is not just about losing weight. Hash is about
hundreds of dollars for snacks, food and amenities. getting fit and being healthy.”
In Fiji, there are also hash chapters in Lautoka, Pacific Har- For the aspiring business psychologist, the socialising comes
bour and Suva. Across the South Pacific, there are chapters in a distant second to the running in hash. “Because when you
American Samoa, Cook Islands, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Papua start, you don’t know where you’re going and where this
New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu. adventure will lead you,” she said. “And you see so many new
One may ask whether hash is mere perpetuation of legacy things, that you didn’t even know existed.”
colonialism, or neo-colonialism in former colonies? Why adopt A river in her path does not faze the young woman with the
a sport of your colonisers? hash name “Garfield,” for the cartoon cat and chosen in asso-
Then the same question would have to be asked of rugby, ciation with her mother’s moniker “Black Cat.” “Oh, I get very
cricket, tennis, table tennis, badminton, water polo, netball excited,” she said. “Sometimes I get scared if it’s like tons of
and squash. And, while versions of football, or soccer, have water, but, like today we had to cross a river, we crossed the
been traced to ancient China as well as Greece and Central Nadi River. Not everyone likes water, but that’s the thing, it’s
America, England was the first nation to adopt the sport in its an adventure. You have to just go through it. It’s quite fun.”
current form. Another hasher, Rowie Lal, who describes herself as a mix
The sun may set on the British empire, but it never does on of Fijian, Tongan and Samoan, said she has enjoyed the fitness
the empire’s sports. break hashing in Suva provided from her busy schedule as a
bridal and fashion designer.
Meet the hashers The international diversity in Nadi Hash is largely attribut-
Rajinesh Prasad, 34, began hashing in 2019 and found it able to Grand Master Babu Singh, the immediate past presi-
an “exciting and adventurous” way to stay fit and see all of dent of the Nadi Rotary Club and a lawyer with the hash name
Fiji, including some outer islands. He participated in the 2019 “Hangman” from his days as a prosecutor. Singh is an ambas-
National Hash in which all Fiji chapters came to Nadi for a sador for hash, readily inviting business associates, expats and
weekend meet. Prasad said Fiji was scheduled to host a South visitors on extended stays into the circle.
Pacific Hash including Australia and New Zealand last year, but Singh has stated between Rotary and hash he has seen much
the pandemic forced its cancelation. of the world, and he seems determined to have Nadi Hash
Jamieson, 57, whose business formerly was branded Asia reflect it. “Hash is a crossroads of diversity, with an array of
Pacific Superyachts Fiji, extolled the virtues of hash at home ethnic and cultural backgrounds,” he said, rolling-off a dozen
and his wife, Julia Narayan, began participating. Soon, hash nationalities of the friends he has met through hashing.
was a family affair with the addition of her mother, brother In the universal language of hash, “on-on,” is a greeting, an
and a daughter to the ranks. affirmation and a “good-bye.”
“I was asthmatic,” Narayan said of a health condition
before hash. “It has changed my life, I would say. I have editor@islandsbusiness.com
kicked asthma, and I am more active now. My breathing has

Islands Business, January 2022 37