A Game of Polo with a Headless Goat notes

A Game of Polo with a Headless Goat

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 boot with 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 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 taxis and 

perched on lorries, all cheered and shouted, while the vehicles jostled 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 

30 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 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. 

Everyone gathered 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!’ 

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

First Paragraph:

"Wacky Races"
- reference to a kids cartoon show to emphasise how ridiculous it is

"I asked the lads"
-informal language makes the story more personal and fits the humorous nature of the story

"'But will you try and get to the front'"
- use of direct speech to make the reader feel like we're there

Second Paragraph:

"We waited for eternity"
- hyperbole emphasises how long the wait was and creates anticipation

Fourth Paragraph:

"revved up the engine"
- prominent "v" makes the scene more vivid as it creates sound

"roaring"
- use of onomatopoeia helps create a vivid picture of the scene

"speeds of up to 40 kph" 
- use of numbers gives the reader a clear idea of the speed

Fifth Paragraph:

"horns tooting, bells ringing and the special rattles"
- triplet adds emphasis to the excitement
- lots of description of sound to create a vivid scene

"(like maracas, a metal container filled with dried beans")
- use of brackets to change the tone to give information
- comparison to something familiar so that reader understands

"Men standing on top of their cars... and perched on lorries."
- parallel to "Jockeys perched on top of tiny carts" in paragraph four
- this shows a parallel between the race that the jockeys are taking part in and the race of the crowds to get to the event

Sixth Paragraph:

"This was Formula One without rules."
- comparison to a familiar event that the reader will know to create a better idea of her experience
- emphasises how fast and dangerous it was

Seventh Paragraph:

"It was survival of the fittest"
- reference to Charles Darwin, which reader will understand
- exaggeration brings across a comic tone

"-for it was a main road-"
-use of parenthesis to add in extra information and change the tone

-use of long sentences to create the sense that a lot was going on at once

"The race was over"
- contrast to the rest of the paragraph which was made up of long sentences so draws attention to the race being over
- very short and dramatic so adds emphasis to how suddenly it was over

Last Paragraphs:

"Voices were raised, fists were out and tempers rising"
- use of triplet to emphasise the chaos

"Yaquoob and Iqbal"
- use of names to make it more personal so the reader gets to know the people too

"swallowed up by the crowd"
- metaphor to put emphasis on the huge size of the crowd
- personification - gives the reader a sense of danger and how the crowd moved as a whole in an almost animalistic manner