This year, the Kambala festival, in which the exciting slush track buffalo race from coastal Karnataka is organised, made a grand debut in Bengaluru. The two-day event kicked off on Saturday and witnessed thousands of people marking their presence. The ‘Bengaluru Kambala’ event seemingly recreated the entire ‘Karavali Samskruti’. It is the coastal Karnataka culture in the state capital’s Palace Grounds.
Notably, the festival saw more than 175 pairs of buffaloes and jockeys reaching the venue to participate in the race. These participants reached Bengaluru from Dakshin Kannada, Uttara Kannada, Udupi and neighbouring cities. What caught everyone’s attention at the event was the longest-slush track which measured around 155 metres. The normal measurement for the slush tracks is 145 metres.
For those unversed, Kambala is a folk sport mainly practised in coastal Karnataka districts and it holds significance, especially for those speaking Tulu. The traditional sport is believed to have more than 350 years of history. The Kambala Samithi hosts events every week between the end of November and the first half of April. These events are organised at different venues across the state. For the event, the Bunt community in the coastal regions groom pairs of buffaloes around the year and participate in the event with hopes of winning a major Kambala event.
Interestingly, it was only after the popularity of Rishabh Shetty’s Kantara that the world came to know about this sport organised by the people of coastal Karnataka. Organising committee chairperson Prakash Shetty said that the Kannada blockbuster evoked curiosity among many outside Tulunadu- the region where the Tulu language is spoken. He also noted that all precautionary measures were taken in accordance with the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and added that food and water supply for them was given the most attention.
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