OS Polo Tribute to Drass
By Pradeep Rao (OS57)

I was taken by surprise when Jai Shergill (OS85) called to ask if I would be interested in going to Drass to compere a polo game between Jyotsna Suri’s (OS68) the Lalit Team and the Drass Polo Club. I jumped at the offer as I would get to see the traditional form of polo. Manipur, Ladakh (Leh and Drass) and Gilgit (Pakistan) are the only places in the world where the game is played, as it has been for hundreds of years.
Additionally there would be an opportunity to see a place, which was once associated with the Kargil War - the gallantry and heroism of the soldiers on the front line and the shameful bunglings behind the lines. The army’s victory on recapturing of Tololing and Tiger Hill, albeit, the heavy loss of lives.
Jai mentioned that Jyotsna was inspired by a recent report in the Hindustan Times which said that war had ravaged the people of Drass, who lost everything but their love for polo!
Jyotsna, who clearly combines great business acumen with corporate social responsibility and always ready to plug in Sanawar for good measure saw this as a first step in realizing her late husband’s dream of boosting tourism in Ladakh and if it was to be through polo then why not Sanawar.

The match was scheduled for 18th August 2009 giving the organizers just 12 days to get the show on road starting from scratch. Things had to move fast and they sure did. Jai took on the responsibility of getting a team together; Jyotsna took off for Drass to seek the cooperation of the Army, without which the plan would have been a non starter. Rohit Negi (OS 80) and other senior staff from The Lalit Group of Hotels, informally referred to as Jyotsna's "Team Josh", got cracking on the logistics- travel, accommodation, food, prizes, press and publicity, etc. Suffice to say that everyone came up trumps in the unbelievably short time available to them.

Angad Kalaan (OS) the captain of the Indian World Cup team, Dr. Tony Singh and Ransher Singh from Jaipur along with Jai Shergill(OS85) would form the Lalit Team while V.P.Singh (OS56) would be the coach!
We assembled at Delhi airport on 17th August to catch an early morning flight straight to Kargil in Jyotsna’s private jet. Capt. Singh, the pilot, won our admiration for the landing at Kargil in conditions which were tricky to say the least.
We then drove to Drass, stopping at Vijay Sthal, the Kargil War Memorial, located at the base of Tololing. Seeing the actual site of that famous battle one couldn’t help but feel that the Gods must have smiled and blessed the audacious daredevilry of our soldiers as they set about the seemingly impossible of task of recapturing a hill atop which the enemy had entrenched itself.
We were at a height of 10,800 feet, and were constantly reminded of the need for acclimatization by walking slowly and avoiding undue exertion. The local club representatives led by their President Mohammed Amin then took us to the polo ground for our team to try out the horses for the next day’s game.
The experience was a revelation. We knew that the "traditional" polo ponies would be much smaller than the ones we associate with present day polo, but that they would be so spirited and fit was a surprise. Similarly it was known that rules as we know are either non existent or observed more in the breach in "Traditional" polo. The chance to try out the ponies was of tremendous help as none of the players despite their international experience had ever ridden let alone play polo on such ponies.

Next day was the big day. By 9 am, about 2000 spectators had already assembled at the Vishwanathan Stadium. To our surprise the day was declared a holiday by the local authorities, so there were children in large numbers in their school uniforms.

The Chief Minister of J&K Omar Abdullah (OS89) was the Chief Guest. His wife Payal, senior bureaucrats and army officers witnessed the game from the hastily but tastefully erected shamiana. In his speech the CM regretted that he had not visited Drass earlier but assured the people that his government would give entrepreneurs like Jyotsna all help to develop Drass into a tourist centre. He also promised to consider the demand of the people for financial help to replace their livestock lost during the War.

The game began with the sounding of the "daman", a traditional percussion instrument and "surna" a wind instrument like a clarinet. Local custom has it that when the home team scores a goal the music is loud and fast, but when the opposition scores it is almost mournful. The Drass team as a concession to the visitors had agreed to play 4 aside instead of the traditional six a side and to play 3 chukkers each of 10 minutes instead of the usual game of 2 chukkers each of 20 minutes.

The Lalit Team in Red and White (reminiscent of the School colours), spent the first chukker getting used to their ponies but still managed to concede just one goal. A novel feature of goal scoring was that the team scoring a goal is allowed to carry the ball in hand upto the centre of the ground and then hit it towards the opponents goal, this manouevre is known as "duffok".

The second chukker saw the Lalit Team giving as good as they got. First the equalizer and then in quick succession a second goal saw the visitors take the lead. The home team got in their second goal just before the chukker ended with the scores 2-2.
The interval was marked by a spontaneous, unscheduled eye catching and heart warming event. A young man from the audience came on to the field and started dancing to the music already playing. Within minutes others joined him including the players and perhaps but for security considerations Omar might well have done the same. This in fact will one of the images that will remain in mind for long.
The final chukker was full of expectations. The visitors, 3 of whom had had falls by then, but no serious injury, seemed to have got into the groove and with well planned strategy scored early in the chukker to emerge winners 3-2. The local crowd showed its appreciation and cheered the Lalit Team and Jyotsna loud and long. The CM gave away the prizes. The Lalit had thoughtfully provided for mementos to all local players as well as lunch for all the spectators which were around 3000. Each family was also gifted blankets.

Later that evening Jyotsna hosted a grand dinner at the Lalit Grand Palace Hotel in Srinagar. The players were joined by their spouses who had come to cheer, Micki- Sehgal Shergill(OS68), Mandira Kalan and Vineet Singh (wife of Dr Tony Singh) Music and dancing went on until the wee hours ensuring that a wonderful, memorable experience which began on a high note ended the same way.