A Polo tribute to Army

Lourembam Ibetombi Devi *

Sagol Kangjei match at 57th Mountain Division Exhibition Polo Match at Polo Ground on 20 Feb 2016 :: Pix - Deepak Oinam

We all have agreed that the Sagol Kangjei was a martial game, a war game in Manipur since time immemorial, going back to mythology, it was played by the deities. It is also known to all how the Pony was instrumental in keeping the enemies at bay by the Kings of Manipur, particularly the mighty Burmese and how with awe, the Manipuri Mounted Army was looked at by the Cachar and Ahom kings. The Manipuri king used to maintain different system of army, the regular army and reserve army and so on, which I am not discussing here. It is quite natural that it gradually became a game of the people too.

After Manipur Army, the British Army took it to various parts of India (from Cachar and Calcutta) and world. In Britain also, the army has been actively involved in the polo activities (Ex:54th Devonshires). In Manipur, the Indian Army is contributing its mite, which can be known from the tournaments it has been organising, the tournament that the 57th Mountain Brigade sponsored (six editions so far).

So, Sagol Kangjei owe a lot to the army for becoming the world famous Polo, the Manipuri, British and Indian, but this article is a tribute to the British Army, the Hussars, Lancers, Native Infantry and others, the great Maj General Joe Sherer, Captain Eustache Hill, Maj General George Stewartand countless other army men, my polo tribute to all of them. This article is a tribute to them, developed out of my chance encounter with British Army Team on the occasion of British Polo Day.

It was the 12th of December, 2015, a weekend holiday. I came down from Jaisalmer to Jaipur. I was highly attracted by the name Jaipur, a name intrinsically associated with Polo and there was a Polo trail from Cachar to Calcutta, then to Jodhpur and Jodhpur to Jaipur. I was in fact, on that trail, partly and partly on a holiday. It was a pleasant surprise for me when I suddenly arrived at Rambagh Pologround and found that there was a match going on between the British Team and Jaipur Team. It was the first leg of British Polo Day series of the season in India.

Princess Diya Kumari, the sitting MLA of Rajasthan Legislative Assembly, the granddaughter of legendary polo player Jai Singh (Maharaj Sawai Mansingh II) and daughter of Sawai Bhawani Singh distributed trophy and prizes. The Rajasthan Team led by Maharaja Narendra Singh, a staunch polo enthusiast, won by 5-4 margin.

More pleasant things were in store for me that day, Maharaja Narendra Singh and Captain of British Polo Team agreed to pose for a photograph with me and my husband, Mr. Simon, Director, Army Polo Establishment, UK posed for a photograph with me. I also had a photo with the whole UK Team. Later, after the prize distribution and sharing of pleasantries, I was invited for a high tea, but I politely declined, being rank outsider and also I wanted to know more about the Rajasthan Polo Ground at Rambagh adjoining the Rambagh Palace.

Later by the evening, I had a chance to mount a thoroughbred English horse, which was much taller than the Marwari Pony.

I really enjoyed the ride. In fact, I wanted to ride a Marwari Pony, which was a unique breed of horse, one of the six recognised equines of India, with inward pointed ears almost touching each other.

The Marwari pony is said to be not that fit for polo being hot headed, but very agile and swift for racing and equestrian. I saw a few brought from Dhundlot Pony Breeding Farm for show items, but did not have luck to mount them.

After Jaipur, the British Polo Day was held at Jodhpur on the 16th December, 2015. British Polo Days have become an irresistible means for the top polo teams and players to come together for competition globally.

Having held over 40 events in 15 countries since 2009, the British Polo Day Global Series has grown to be a popular polo event. Its events are held at Abu Dhabi, Australia, China, Dubai, France, Germany, Great Britain, India, Mexico, Morocco, Russia, Singapore, Sumba Island (Indonesia), Thailand and the US to name a few. There shall be more countries like South Africa, South Korea etc. joining the same. Members of British Army Polo team are Rishi Ahluwalia, John Sleeman (2 handicaps), Billy Aprahamian, (2handicaps), Paddy Selfe KRH (1 handicap).

Rishi Ahluwalia is a British citizen, an expatriatefrom South Africa.

Members of Jaipur Polo team are Maharaja Narendra Singh, Sunjay Kapoor, General Arun Sahni, Abhimanyu Pathak (5 handicaps).

The aim of a British Polo Day is to continue the tradition of playing high quality polo against friends in host countries, while also acting as a platform for businesses in emerging and growth markets, giving them intravenous access to the global elite.

The British, initially supported Polo through its Army which had global presence through its colonies, picked it up from its Tea Planters in Cacharwho brought it from Manipur in mid nineteenth century brought it to the modern form and spread it all over the world.

The role that British Army (Lancers and Hussars) played in those days cannever be discounted (Indian Army also is patronising polo in India to a great extent). Now also, British Army has an Army Polo Association (APOLOA).

But the British realised that at present, if polo has to survive, it needs to be associated with corporate houses, as it is a royal game in terms of elegance and expense.

British Polo Days are a celebration of craft and heritage in a polo events network that spans the whole World. British Polo Days have become an unparalleled platform for engagement in emerging and growth markets.

The British Polo Days has many big multinational companies as its partners; its corporate value has been rated in terms of hundreds of millions of pounds.

British Polo Day, 2015 at Rambagh Pologround, Jaipur

Rambagh Pologround of Rajasthan Polo Club, Jaipur can be said to be one of the finest pologrounds, so is that of Jodhpur (next destination of British Polo Day event scheduled for 16th December, 2015). I did not measure, but asked those helpers and horse tenders, who said these grounds to be of six hectares. These grounds are dedicated grounds, exclusively for Polo, I wish we have such exclusive and well maintained pologrounds, which is highly possible. We have, say one inside Kangla (ManungKangjeibung) and others like Imphal Pologround, Hiyangthang Pologround, Kumbi Pologround etc.

While I introduced myself, Mr Ledger and other members of the British entourage instantly lit up and were happy and said, “Ah yes, being from Manipur you came here to see this”. I urged them to extend their event to Manipur, the state of “Origin of Polo” and I followed up with a mail to Mr. Ledger already.

The venues of British Polo Day events are decided by their business considerations, so they prefer the Palaces of Rajasthan, the Great Wall of China and so on which are of high mercantile value, so from that consideration, Manipur stands little chance, but Manipur gave Polo to the world. Maharaja Narendra Singh agreed to pose for a photo with me because we were from Manipur. The game of Polo has become an identity for the Manipuris.