Bengaluru: The first day of Kambala saw thousands of people throng the Palace Grounds to sneak a peek at the sleek and majestic-looking buffaloes racing down the slush tracks.
With elaborate entry and exit arrangements in place, the movement of the crowd was kept under control by both traffic police and traffic wardens, besides the hundreds of volunteers who ensured everything ran smoothly.
As Mahesh Poojari, the man who trained Rishab Shetty for the Kannada blockbuster Kantara, put it, the arrangements were “beyond expectations, simply superb”.
However, some confusion persisted among people who struggled to find the exit gate or didn’t know how to position themselves amongst the moving crowd to see the buffaloes and their jockeys run trial races. A fight broke out at the base of a temporary footover bridge between traffic wardens and a few members of the Bengaluru Kambala Samithi, with many harsh words being exchanged in the heat of the moment.
Most of the crowd couldn’t access the seating area facing the tracks and chose to line up behind the barricades or switch to watching the exhilarating runs from the large LED screens propped up in the open area.
Rekha and Nagaraj, a married couple who co-own a medical store in Tumakuru, said that they made the trip down to Bengaluru to witness this for the first time. “There is a huge crowd along the barricades so it is difficult to see what is going on. We are hoping to somehow make it to the other side and grab a seat,” said Nagaraj.
Cultural programmes, including Yakshagana and music performances, continued on the other stage, grabbing eyeballs for the extravagance and upbeat music that had everyone cheer, clap and pull out their phones to capture a portion of it.
People moved in and out of stalls set up to display elements of Karavali and Tulu culture, with food, music and other cultural elements on display. Many children and families stopped to click pictures with the buffaloes and boys dressed up in ‘Huli vesha’ for Pilinalike (tiger dance).
Traffic impact
Traffic on Ballari Road moved slowly, almost bumper to bumper, between 5 to 8.30 pm due to multiple reasons, explained a traffic police officer managing traffic outside Palace Grounds.
"Normally, the weekend traffic is heavy. However, today, traffic has moved slowly because several weddings are being held at the Palace Grounds, besides the Kambala itself. However, traffic coming to Kambala wasn't as much of an issue because they park inside and exit onto Jayamahal Road,” he said.
A spillover effect was observed even on Jayamahal Road, Mehkri Circle and portions of Sankey Road near Cauvery Theatre Junction.
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