A short write up on the indigenous sport of India Polo by our student written by our student Nandini Sisodia.

Nandini is 10 years old young orator from Mumbai. We are proud to have her as a student of Little Kathakar Program, an Online Public Speaking through Applied Storytelling & Theatre Program under the mentorship of Trainer Khusshbo Chokhaani. We congratulate Nandini for this exemplary true self-expression.

The Game of Polo

Can you imagine people riding on horses and trying to catch a ball with a stick like hunters would do for animals? Well, well, well, I am really not talking about a hunter game. Hello, everyone. My name is Nandini and today you are going to listen to the famous game of POLO which formally originated in India.

It is a game of Central Asian origin. Polo was first played in Persia [Iran] in between 6th century B.C to the 1st century AD. Polo was first a training game for cavalry units, usually the king’s guard or other elite troops. The players used long-handled mallet to roll a small plastic ball across the field. There are four players on each team. All players must use their right hand only when swinging the mallet.

Do you know that the father of polo is Joseph Ford Sherer? Today I am going to tell you a story about a girl and her passion. Anita Nayak, a 15-year-old girl hailing from Kalahandi district, has become a national-level Cycle Polo player. Hailing from a poor family—her father was a rickshaw puller and mother a daily wage labourer—this gritty teen did not let poverty deter her from fulfilling her dreams. Anita’s father Bharat Nayak had left his native village of Majhen Padar in Dharmagada block in Odisha and moved to Bhilai in search of work. He started to work as a rickshaw puller there. His children were studying there in schools. Anita was good in studies and also involved in several extra-curricular activities.She even represented Chhattisgarh as a captain of sub-junior group. In 2013-14, she received a gold medal and Rs 10,000 at the 12th Sub-Junior Girls’ National Cycle Polo Championship in Bokaro. She also received several gold medals and cash prizes three times in a row at the 13^th, 14^th and 15^th Junior Girls’ National Cycle Polo Championship. In 2018-19, Anita received the Chief Minister Trophy from Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel. She has also been selected to receive the Federation of Cycle Polo Association of India Award. Anita’s feats have won applauds from her native Kalahandi district, with locals demanding that the Odisha government must help to resettle her and her family in the state. The story of Anita is inspiring and motivating.

Certain facts about the game of Polo are relevant from India’s perspective. Do you know that Manipur is the place where polo was born? Gurgaon has the only polo ground which has collection with Bollywood. Kolkata is home to one of the oldest polo club in India. Udaipur is a place where polo tradition has been running for centuries.

The rules of the game is as important as its history. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ball through the opposing team’s goal. Each team has four mounted riders, and the game usually lasts one to two hours, divided into periods called chukkas or “chukkers”.

“This was an attempt from my side to share a short glimpse of the Indian game of Polo. Hope you enjoyed the information.”-Nandini

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