I have fairly vivid memories of going on “hash weekends” with my parents when I was about 8.
Hashing is essentially a running club, or as the Madras Hash House Harriers describe themselves, “a drinking club with a running problem”.
The rules of this secret sport are that the “hares” lay a flour trail on a cross country / urban run. False trails are also laid to add to the general confusion.
A few weeks I hosted the pre and post Hash gathering at my house and laid the trail, along the beach, through the fishing villages and along the main road near me. Everyone meets at about 5 o’clock and sets off accompanied by the hares, complete with loud horns. The sight of 50 people running through the backstreets of Chennai is quite bewildering for any of the locals we pass but only adds to the amusement.
This weekend was my third run, so I have now been given my “Hash” name – “Blow my Pipe”
On On.
