Polo in Jaipur has become easier to catch. Matches at the Rambagh Polo Club ground now begin at 7.30pm, giving office-goers time to get there after work and families a chance to watch once the daytime heat has passed.Over the past couple of months, 10 newly installed floodlights have lit up the ground near the Vidhan Sabha and the high court. In a neighbourhood where lights over the Sawai Man Singh Stadium have long signalled IPL season, there is now another reason to stop for a match.The stands have young spectators watching their first game, taking selfies and discovering a sport whose familiar audience has largely been drawn from royal families, the cavalry and club circles. Broad-brimmed hats, pastel linen jackets and chiffon sarees are still in evidence. The club is hoping to give more people a reason to come.An Evening At The PoloNight polo has been played in Hyderabad and Noida, in smaller arenas with sand surfaces. Jaipur’s matches are on a full-sized grass ground, under lights, as part of the official tournament schedule.For Major Anant Rajpurohit of 61 Cavalry, a veteran player, the advantage is straightforward: more people are free to watch.“The good point is that people tend to get off from work, office, or day commitments, and the attendance is more,” he says.“Earlier, the matches and all the finals were done during the daytime, so the availability of gentlemen and ladies was very restricted and very confined. The development of any sport comes when the number of people watching it is more. Then, the number of people who intend to get into the sport or invest into the sport increases. So that way it is an added advantage,” he says.
In this bastion of the ‘sport of kings’, horse and rider are routinely taking to the field under floodlights, in the hope of drawing a wider audience, building tourism opportunities — and preserving a bit of the city’s heritage, writes Mandakini Shaly
A Place In The CityFor Padmanabh Singh, 28, India’s polo captain and scion of the erstwhile Jaipur royal family, encouraging people to watch is also part of keeping a city tradition alive.“I have always viewed polo as very intertwined with the culture of Jaipur,” he says. “Jaipur is one of the main hubs of polo across the world and has given a lot to the sport. Some of the most iconic moments have happened here. So when I talk about conservation, restoration, and preservation of our culture and heritage, I mean polo too. It’s part of our tourism.”Rambagh Polo Club is marketing the sport more actively, with support from Rajasthan’s tourism leadership. Padmanabh’s mother, Diya Kumari, is deputy chief minister and tourism minister.Last month, a UAE delegation visited Jaipur to discuss cooperation in polo, horses and tourism. Among its interests was the Marwari, Rajasthan’s indigenous horse breed.“The Marwari is our local breed here in Rajasthan, and the visiting delegation was incredibly keen to see them. We discussed avenues to encourage a vibrant cultural exchange between the UAE, Rajasthan Tourism, and Rambagh Polo Club. They are very eager to support polo further and bring global visibility to this magnificent breed that has served Rajasthan for centuries,” Padmanabh says.Finding Players And SpectatorsElsewhere, access to a convenient ground is a concern. Delhi, Maharashtra and West Bengal have active polo circuits, supported by the Army, professional players and corporate patrons. In Delhi, however, Rajpurohit worries that a change of venue will cost the sport spectators and sponsors.“The finals of all elite tournaments in Delhi used to be at Jaipur Polo Ground, which is in the heart of Delhi,” he says. “Unfortunately, we lost that ground a few months back. Now more matches will be conducted at the Army Polo and Riding Centre. It is a shame that we lost the ground in the heart of Delhi. The number of people who used to attend and sponsor the events were more. Now that number will reduce.”He sees encouraging signs in the number of younger players taking up the sport.“The number of horses that have been shipped in every year is increasing. The number of kids who intend to compete in the sport is increasing. Earlier we used to have around four odd teams in Junior National Championship. Now we have six-seven teams,” he adds.Polo remains expensive to take up, though schools are helping introduce children to it.“There are many schools that are offering the equestrian part and the polo part, like Mayo and Delhi College, and they are coming up very well.”In Jaipur, demand for lessons already exceeds what the Sawai Man Singh Polo School and Academy can offer.“With that spirit in mind, a few years ago we started the Sawai Man Singh Polo School and Academy. It’s the only one of its kind and it’s doing very well. We have 50 students, which is our maximum capacity, and for the last three years, we have had a waiting list,” Padmanabh says.“Unfortunately, we can’t accommodate more because we have a limited number of horses, but it’s in the heart of the city and subsidised by the polo club. I donated some of my horses to the academy and I go there all the time to mentor them. Whenever someone is doing well, I pull them out to play with us,” Padmanabh says.Later Dinners For The HorsesPadmanabh says Jaipur’s experience of playing after dark goes back more than a century. He describes a brass night polo ball, with a small candle inside, used by women who played at night.
Share your thoughts in the comments
Be respectful · TOI community guidelines
At Rambagh, playing under floodlights requires a change in the horses’ routine. Matches fall at what would ordinarily be their dinner time.“I would not say that it changes much. We just have to adjust the feeding time. Now, they have to have dinner a little bit later. So we just have to adapt our schedules,” Padmanabh says.The horses, he says, have settled into the later hours without trouble.“We know that if the horse is not happy, it won’t eat, or it will stop drinking water, or it will stop laying down. None of that happens. In fact, it is better for them because they don’t have the heat of the day.”