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Archery & Polo
In
Leh, and may of the villages, archery festivals are held during the summer
months, with a lot of fun and fanfare. They are competitive events, the
surrounding villages all sending teams, and the shooting takes place
according to strict etiquette, to the accompaniment of the music of surna
and daman (oboe and drum). As important as the archery are the interludes of
dancing and other entertainment. Chang, the local barley beer, flows freely,
but there is rarely any rowdiness. The crowd attend in their Sunday best,
the men invariable in traditional dress, and the women wearing their
brightest brocade mantles and their heaviest jewellery. Archery may be the
pretext for the gathering, but the party's thing.
Polo is
traditional to the western Himalaya, especially to Baltistan and Gilgit. It
was probably introduced into Ladakh in the mid - 17th century by King Sengge
Namgyal, whose mother was a Balti princess. The game played here differs in
many respects from the international game, which indeed, is adapted from
what British travellers saw in the western Himalaya and Manipur in the 19th
century. Here, each team consists of six players, and the game lasts for an
hour with a ten minute break. Altitude notwithstanding, the hardy local
ponies - the best of which come from Zanskar - scarcely seem to suffer,
though play can be fast and furious. Each goal is greeted by a bust of music
from surna and daman ; and the players often show extraordinary skill. For
example, when starting play after a goal the scorer gallops up to midfield
holding ball and mallet in the right hand, and throws the ball, hitting it
in the same movement towards the opposite goal.
Unlike the
international game, Polo in Ladakh is not exclusively for the rich.
Traditionally, almost every village had its polo-ground, and even today it
is played with verve in many places besides Leh, especially in Drass and
Chushot, a big village close to Leh. In Leh, it has been partly
institutionalized with regular tournaments and occasional exhibition matches
being played on the polo-ground in the shadow of the palace. The local crowd
takes a keen interest, especially in those matches in which a civilian team
takes on the Army. Altogether, polo adds a unique kind of colour and
excitement to the summer in Leh.
