The Shillong archery lottery

Shillong is in Meghalaya state in the North East of India. I went there on my trip to the Khasi Hills region to see the living root bridges. As a town, there is not much of interest for the foreign tourist. Indian visitors come here in ever increasing numbers, seeking out shopping, cool air and to 'discover' an area that is still fairly detached from the rest of India, but otherwise, it doesn't have too much of interest.

However, there is one curious, and rather intriguing spectacle that occurs here, and I went to find out about it.

The archers get ready for 2nd shoot of the day.

All over Shillong there are thousands of little stalls, selling lottery tickets. These ticket sellers are licensed and it seems that most people have a flutter. The principal is simple; you select a number between 1 - 100 and decide how much you want to put down, usually between five and 50 rupees. If you get the winning number, you win 60 X your stake. So you have a one in a hundred chance to win 60 rupees for each one rupee you put down.

One of the many ticket counters where you can place your bet.

Each day, first at 4pm and then again at 4.30pm, groups of archers meet at the Shillong Archery shooting ground for what must be the most unique lottery draw anywhere in the world. I spoke to many people and got a variety of accounts as to what exactly happens (as is the norm in India), but it seems that there are number of different clubs that take turns to come and shoot. At each session, 20 archers from three different clubs line up to shoot their arrows at a target. So there are 60 archers in total.

Once the word is given, they all fire in rapid succession in to the target.

An archer lines up, ready to fire in to the target.

The shooting is over quickly and finishes when a group of men lift a large hessian type cover in front of the target so that no more arrows can land in it.

This is how the target looks after they have finished shooting. The gentleman on the right was officiating proceedings.

It seemed that each club had different coloured flights on their arrows. Once the shooting was over, the crowd rushed up to inspect the result. Some think they can guess the outcome accurately and dash back to place last minute bets. A couple of elders, or officials, stood over the target while preparations were made for the next stage.

Now the business end of the event. The arrows are counted.

All arrows were removed from the target and were counted in to groups of ten. The chap in the middle is counting and bunching them up. Then each group of ten was handed to another official (seen on the left of the picture) who mounted each group of arrows in to a kind of rack.

The final act. The last arrows are thrown back in to the arena.

Finally, the counting official throws the last of the arrows, ceremoniously, back in to the centre of the field. Once the finally tally is made, the hundreds are ignored and the final winning number for the lottery is arrived at. So, for example, if a total of 318 arrows are counted. The winning number is 18.

It was a fascinating event. Although it was taken seriously everyone there was good natured and incredibly friendly. Most of them don't ever remember seeing a foreign tourist. If you are in Shillong it's well worth going down and joining in the fun. However, it is tricky to find, as most locals only seem to have a vague idea where it is. Confusingly, it's often referred to as the Polo ground, but Polo is the name of the area and it doesn't seem to refer to a ground where they play Polo!

From Police Bazar or Bara Bazar, a taxi will cost 100 IRS. The entrance is down a little side alley off the main street. If you get to the general area and can't see it just keep asking, eventually someone will point you the right way. Persevere, it's worth it.

No, I didn't win but if willpower could have made any difference I probably would have, everyone was genuinely hoping I was going to pick the winning number! They all wanted me to have a good momento of the event but it wasn't necessary.

This is the sign over the entrance.

Wild West in Spain

You may know that what are often called "Spaghetti Westerns" were actually filmed in Spain. What you might not know is that a lot of the original film sets are still there, and easy to visit.

Some of the sets, created by Sergio Leone, are open to the public complete with shows, shops, and all manner of enticements, for visitors, to re-enact their cowboy fantasies. 

A coach rides in to Fort Bravo.

Fort Bravo seems to have the most original and best preserved sets, and was used for shooting 

"The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" while the nearby Mini Hollywood (Oasys) - which was created as El Paso in "For a Few Dollars More" - is larger and more commercialised.

Strolling along main street, past the saloon, bank, and general store your mind tells you that you are in a fake western town created only for making movies. Your heart tells you, watch your back and check the dingy doorways, because Lee Van Cleef is somewhere here, watching, and waiting.

It's hard not to walk into the saloon without kicking the swing doors wide open then standing in the doorway while the music stops, and card players spin around, hands poised over their colts 45's. That's not what actually happened when I was there. I walked in, and ordered a beer. The Mexican bandit who followed me in, asked for a glass of milk. Nonetheless, if you have a good imagination, it's easy to overlook a bit of reality and stick to the script.

A bandit takes a siesta, with rifle at the ready.

A couple of times a day, the organisers put on an 'espectaculo', at both of the sites, and these shows plays out some classic scenes, with gunfights, a hanging and a few street brawls. The most impressive was a horse galloping into the main square dragging a man on a rope. There is no doubt, most of the actors know what they are doing, and all of them claim to have been in numerous movies, some in the original Leone trilogy.

The Wild West way of bringing someone to justice.

The haunting music of Eric Morricone is continually pumped out of loud speakers, although it often builds to a climax of operatic drama with nothing more going on than a horse standing around outside the bank. On the set called Oayses, or Mini Hollywood, they had an excellent 'Can Can' show complete with a musical turn by a couple playing guitars.

The Wild West wouldn't be wild without a bit of music.

Walking around the streets it's easy to feel like you are on a movie set. Which of course, you are. The difference is, no one is shouting "cut" when you finish taking a photograph, but you can shout it in your head. It adds an extra dimension to the overall feel. Or, if you really want to get right in to it, just imagine you are in the wild west of the 1,800's!

After a day in the saddle, there can only be one place to head.

Many of the performers wile away the day chatting and practising looking mean, which they are pretty good at. There is a similar feeling that you get in old gold rush towns, that one day, the good times are going to be rolling in again, and those that have waited, will be first in line for some action.

"I ain't saying much, so don't ask."

It's not just the sets/towns that you give you a familiar feeling of deja vue, the parched hills and dusty tracks in this desert region often look like a place you have visited before. Most likely you have. Hundreds of movies have been made in and around Tabernas, the dramatic yet nondescript backdrop of the desert makes a perfect location for story telling. Despite all the famous names - Once Upon a Time In The West, Patton, Lawrence of Arabia and many more - it's Sergio Leones creativity that was, and still is, the biggest influence on this area. It's a surreal experience to get out of the car and gaze across the landscape, feeling that you know the place.

No bad language, there are ladies around.

Both locations are near Tabernas, about 30kms inland from Almeria. They are easy to get to and I stayed at the excellent El Puente Hostal in Tabernas, for a few nights. It has an attached restaurant that does huge meals, just what you need after a hard day in the desert and the staff are friendly and helpful.

So if you fancy indulging in a bit of wild west fantasy, and capturing some unique images while you're at, I recommend a trip here.

There is a third location, called Western Leone, but my time ran out before I got a chance to visit that one.

The view from inside the jailhouse.

Here are a few more shots from the day.

The Badlands of the Tabernas desert. Eerie and strangely familiar.

The Badlands of the Tabernas desert. Eerie and strangely familiar.

And finally..If you fancy yourself as a bit of director, this is an ideal place to go and shoot your own home made movie!