Page 43 - CONTENTS

43
Taekwondo (martial art) contest run by Sagarmatha Club, including
traditional sports such as ‘Thelo Hanne baji’ (shot put) when people
from different community-based areas come and enjoy participating or
as spectators. The charity bhelas to raise funds and awareness for
different good causes, eg. Mayor’s Dinner Nights, Gurkha Youths
cycling from A to B, Trail Walker, etc.
There are local council and community bhelas too mainly to promote
cohesion and good community relations. It is said that there are
Gurkhas living in now over one hundred council areas across UK from
Land’s End in Cornwall right up to the Shetland Isles!
Some bhelas are associated with the Gurkha Army Ex-Servicemen’s
Organisation (GAESO), British Gurkha Welfare Society (BGWS),
United British Gurkha Ex-Servicemen’s Association (UBGESA) and
British Gurkha Association (BGA), National Ex-Services Association
(NESA) and Non-Residential Nepali (NRN UK) in relation to voicing
their concerns in the immigration, naturalisation and pension issues.
Then, of course, there are the Brigade and Regimental Association
bhelas consisting of periodic reunions, social and fund raising events,
e.g. 2 GR’s Sirmoor Saathis, Remembrance Day ceremony, AGMs,
themed dinner nights or curry bhat lunches, golf meetings, etc.
Amongst all the bhelas, the numbaree bhelas (of the same year’s intake)
seems to be most popular so far among the Gurkhas these days, both
serving and retired.
So, like everyone else and some thirty-six years later, we also decided
to hold our first numbaree bhela last summer in Plumstead, London. The
venue was in an old church converted into some kind of multi-purpose
community centre. Our bhela was very successful and thoroughly
enjoyed by all. Over 100 members came along with their wives and
children. It was a lovely day and a great opportunity to meet up with
old friends and catch up on news from around the country. The food
and drinks bandobast was excellent. Displayed prominently on a wall
behind the stage were the replicas of the original ex-regimental flags
evoking a warm feeling of nostalgia and fond memories of our purano
paltans. There were plenty of recollections of basic training days even
though the only facial memory we had was of thangroots (raw slang for