Chaugan Bazi The Forgotten Alpha Sport Of Gurez

Col Satish Singh Lalotra
Any sporting event, howsoever big or small carries within itself the intrinsic quality of testing the ultimate frontiers of human values encompassing endurance both mental and physical, sportsman spirit, sharing the common goals and such like facets.

The game of ‘Polo’ is no different in such matters. Considered as the game of the ‘Royalty’ aka the ruling class during the times of yore, Polo can be traced back in its entirety or its historicity to the 3rd century AD in Iran. Back then, polo was called as ‘Chowgan’ and was played with a wooden stick and a ball while riding a horse. It was aimed at training the troops for balance and coordination. These traits were helpful for the warriors riding horses, especially those of the king’s cavalry. The royals then took up the sport and it was enjoyed by men and women alike thereafter. It remained a popular sport until the 17th century in Iran and was also named the ‘National sport of Persia’. Surprisingly Iran is theonly country in the world which still calls this sport of Polo by its original name of ‘Chowgan’. Legend has it, that when ‘Alexander the Great’ was about to invade Persia he was sent a polo ball and mallet by the Persian ruler as an invitation to a game of Polo.
Turning down the invitation, replied greatest conqueror of all times ‘I am the stick, the ball is the world’. Clarifying in one sentence who controlled whom. The famous Mughal emperor Akbar was an outstanding player of (Chowgan). He even introduced rules during the 1560s and invented a specially illuminated ball for playing during night time. Certain legends say that Akbar used to have gold and silver knobs at the end of his mallet. However it was his father Zahir -ud-din Babur who established Chowgan as an official sport at the Mughal court during the early 15th century. During the late 18th century, when the Mughal rule came to an end, the sport nearly died. However, the tribe members of Ladakh, Baltisthan, Chitral and Gilgit kept the sport alive.
In a world fractured by borders and different ideologies, Gurez stood a lone testament to the glorified status of Polo or Chowgan as a unifying power of a simple sport. On its rugged terrain , horse polo aka Chowgan became more than a past time ; it was a celebration of life, a symbol of hope and unity in diversity. The history of traditional horse polo -known as ‘Chaugan Bazi’ or Tappa in the Shina language is deeply rooted among the Dards of the Gurez valley. As for its origins, the sport spread across regions in central Asia, and Persia and then on to the regions all along the fabled ‘Silk route’. Since Gurez valley lay along the ‘silk route’, it was but natural for the area to imbibe such an important socio-cultural activity that resonates even today with the bygone sounds of the horses hoofs on the mental firmament of Shina people. I have had the chance encounter with this so called ‘Game of the kings’ while posted in Gurez valley in the year 2003/04 and saw first-hand a smattering of young boys on horse backs galloping across the grasslands of Hasangam and Malangam with wooden mallets of all hues chasing a ball made up of Hessian strings wrapped around some metal object, off course a crude replica of an actual polo ball. Since these areas used to fallenroute to my official area of responsibility (AOR), while still serving in the army it became a daily routine for me to come across such activities. On my asking the sport they were playing, their natural answer was a resounding ‘Tappa’ in Shina language. At that time I shrugged off the answer with a sense of nonchalance, only to realize later that it was their obvious reaction to the only word they could identify that sport with ; rather than the word ‘polo’ which had not entered the lexicon of Shina language i.e their mother tongue. Moreover these activities used to be restricted only between the months of May to November every year when the entire Gurez valley used to be a sheath of green cover , else the same areas used to be snow laden from mid-November till first week of May. A most remarkable thing of this entire issue used to be the near absence of middle aged males in this sport since they used to migrate to lower altitudes/ towns for earning their livelihood every year leaving behind only the women, children, young boys or very senior citizens. Gurez typically thriving on ‘Subsistence economy’ , the males didn’t have the luxury of partaking in such activities; save on few occasions.
Since antiquity, Gurez – the valley inhabited by the Shina speaking people has been a center of sporting traditions, encompassing both indigenous games and more contemporary pursuits such as snow cricket or snow hockey. Traditional sports like the ‘Chowgan Bazi’ served not merely as recreation but as moral and social reconstruct, instilling the sterling values of righteousness and communal harmony among the ‘Dard-Shina’ class of people. Gurez once a key way point on the famed ‘Silk route’, now finds itself severed from these ethnic and cultural ties. The ‘Silk route’ once offeredGurezi polo players an easy access to neighbouring regions like the Astore, Diamer, Gilgit and Skardu facilitating a rich exchange of tradition and sporting ethos. Unfortunately the partition of the country in 1947 played spoil sport in this wonderful ‘Game of the kings’ when these areas went to Pakistan in a surreptitious manner. Polo in neighbouring POK i.e Gilgit-Baltisthan is a cherished sport played across high altitude landscapes. Among the ‘Dards’ of Dardisthan, it is proudly hailed as a ‘King’s game’ deeply embedded in the very socio-cultural mosaic of the region.
The renowned ‘Shandurpolo festival’ held annually on the world’s highest polo ground , draws teams from Gilgit, Diamer, Chitral and Skardu (all in POK) in overwhelming numbers. This extraordinary extravaganza of ‘Shandur festival’ offers not only thrilling match itineraries but also the lilting rhythms of Shina and Balti folk music, set against an overwhelming Himalayan backdrop. Steeped in the centuries old Dard-Shinatradition, horse polo aka ChauganBazi or Tappa represents far more than a game; it evokes a profound bond between Dard-Shina people and their ancestral geography and identity.
Recently the UT of Ladakh designated horse polo as the official sports of the region. In Drass-Kargil and Ladakh, it enjoys a revered status as a traditional favourite , promoted actively by both the local communities and the Ladakh administration. The constant refrain from the older generation belonging to this high altitude area for this sport of yore has been a typical reminisce bordering on the words like -‘Through this ancient ritual sport , we honour our roots and ancestral legacy. Polo is in our ethnic sinews -it is just not a game ; it is an ethnic feeling and emotion that evokes our identity and history’ .It is the game echoed in the valleys and mountains where our forefathers lived and died’ and so on.
What more can you ask from a sports event than these sublime reactions from an area that still is considered a backward region in modern parlance? The evocative images of ChogwanBazi which have been ingrained on the mental firmament of these Dardi people is something that we modern human beings have to learn from. World famous writer, GWLeitner has observed in his travelogue quote -‘ChowganBazi was once widely popular across northern Kashmir , with the Baltis and Ladakhis calling this sport as Polo and the people of Gurez as Tappa’…unquote. Interestingly this ‘Alpha game’ used to be played till the decades of 1950s and 60s , but saw a remarkable decline in its fortunes in the 1970s and thereafter for obvious reasons. Nonetheless, horse polo still thrives in Drass, Kargil, Ladakh, Gigit & Baltisthan.
Gurez valley, was the obvious choice of the royalty of Dogras too who used to come for regular hunting expeditions over here , and was known by the moniker of the ‘Shikargah’ of the Dogra Maharajas. Its sheer variety of flora & fauna was the sine quo non for getting labeled as the official hunting ground of the above mentioned Maharajas of Jammu & Kashmir. This alpha game of Gurez forged and fostered an everlasting kinship nurtured on the anvil of ethnic communitarian bonds hammered by an untouched distinction of caste or colour. Within the valley of Gurez which used to be cutoff for months together from within during winter months, Chowganwas played with an inclusivity that was seldom seen or heard. Chowgan promoted peace, and harmony , reinforced with youthful engagements leading to strengthening of communal ties. As stated above, it was more than a pastime; rather promoting familial ties, clans and castes, gathered to form cohesive teams thereby embodying a shared spirit of bonhomie.
The two lasting impacts to have drawn this centuries old sport to the margins of its existence have been firstly the closure of the age old ‘Silk route’ , the vital socio-economic and diplomatic artery that used to nurture the Gurezi polo players to travel to places like Gilgit, Diamer, Astore ( now part of POK) for matches. Secondly the unbridled commercializations of sports that fetch easy money like the snow skiing, ice hockey etc in the region have reduced further this alpha sport of Gurez to a distant memory. Today even the Shina speaking youth of Gurez have few amongst them, who can boast of knowing that this very game was the once the crowning glory of an undivided and culturally vibrant Gurez. But then everything is not lost in the labyrinthine of so called development mania, since the UT of J&K in close cohort with the Indian army in the year 2023 got opened an excellent ‘Shina- oriented’ museum going by the name of ‘Shenon Meeras’ that has a wonderful portrayal of all things connected with Gurezi culture and ethos. This wonderful game of Chowgan Bazi too forms part of this exclusive Gurezi museum which shows select photos of the horse polo being played in the grasslands of Gurez.
It is high time that the present Government of Jammu & Kashmirpartner alongside the local communities and act with a sense of urgency, recognizing that this exclusive game has within itself tremendous potential to bridge the gaps of communal disharmony, disillusionment amongst the youth of Gurez and finally instill a sense of belonging amongst the local populace as a lasting symbol of peace and harmony.
(The writer is a retired army officer)

The post Chaugan Bazi The Forgotten Alpha Sport Of Gurez appeared first on Daily Excelsior.

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