KAMBALA
- ART & CULTURE
News: Kambala comes to Bengaluru: How
buffalo race’s popularity outran bans
What's
in the news?
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The past weekend saw Bengaluru hold its
first Kambala race, with 159 pairs of buffaloes and their jockeys racing
through the specially made slush tracks in the city’s Palace Grounds.
Kambala:
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Kambala is an annual traditional Buffalo Race (he-buffalo) held in coastal
districts of Karnataka to entertain rural people of the area.
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Slushy/marshy
paddy field track is used for Kambala.
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The
sports season generally starts in November and lasts till March.
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The contest generally takes place between
two pairs of buffaloes, each pair race in two separate wet rice fields tracks,
controlled by a whip-lashing farmer.
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In the traditional form of Kambala,
buffalo racing is non-competitive and buffalo pairs run one by one in paddy
fields.
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Besides, there is also a ritualistic
approach as some agriculturists race their he-buffaloes for thanks giving to God
for protecting their animals from diseases.
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But in recent times, Kambala has become an
organized rural sport.