On dry fruits, apples diet, Kambala buffaloes set for first B’luru dash

Bengaluru: Buffalo owners and jockeys of the popular coastal sport Kambala are keen to make their year-long preparations count at the first Bengaluru Kambala being held at Palace Grounds this weekend.

The star attractions of the races will be the built and groomed-to-win buffalo pairs, who are put on generous diets and extravagant care regimes in the run-up to Kambala season, which begins in November and goes on till March.

At least 180 pairs of buffaloes, joined by their owners, maintenance staff and truckloads of water and food, arrived in the city late Thursday night.

Rakshith, 21, a jockey joined by his experienced buffalo pair Raja and Shiva, explained that runners strictly followed diets and exercise regimes.

“I have been preparing for Kambala races for the past three years. I follow a controlled diet with minimal fast food and exercise regularly to keep fit,” he said.

He added that generally, buffaloes begin warming up for the races from early October with a lavish vegetable and fruit diet, besides their regular diet of horsegram and grass, from September.

Sudarshan Salian, a buffalo caretaker and participant of Kambala for the past six years, explained that owners spent Rs 2,000 to 2,500 a buffalo every day just for their food and maintenance. “Small buffaloes require at least 1 to 2 kg horsegram feed every morning, while bigger buffaloes need a minimum of 4 kg. They are made to stand under several fans or in air-conditioned rooms before they are taken to rest under the sun for a few hours. They are then taken to a swimming pool to be washed, before being fed again,” he said.

During the Kambala season, they are fed gruel with dry fruits, apples, pomegranates and whole pumpkins to build strength and to be kept hydrated to beat the heat, he added.

Many jockeys are employed on year-long contracts ranging from Rs 2 lakh to 8 lakh according to the buffalo and each individual experience, besides which, jockeys are given an extra fee of a few thousand rupees for each Kudi, the practice session, and each Kambala race.

However, this is not the case in Bengaluru’s first Kambala.

Umesh Shetty, organising president of the Bengaluru Kambala commitee, explained that while the organisers are paying Rs 50,000 as rent for each lorry that transports a pair of buffaloes, they are not paying anything extra to jockeys. “We have arranged for their stay at a few choultries and hotels and ensured that all the people coming with the buffaloes, the police, and the volunteers are fed for free through the days.”

Traffic arrangements 

Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) M N Anucheth said that congestion was bound to occur but noted that the traffic police had adequate measures in place to manage traffic over the weekend. “We asked the trucks to leave from Nelamangala at 10.30 pm on Thursday so they will arrive only late at night and not affect any traffic. There is parking space for about 4,000 four-wheelers and for 3,000 two-wheelers at the venue. They (organisers) are expecting about 2-3 lakh people every day; and it is staggered from morning to night, so it’s not like lakhs will come at once,” he said.