Bliss!

Kambala is the traditional buffalo race held in Coastal Karnataka region. Have been wanting to go and see this sport for a long time. Will not miss it out this year.


Wikipedia has done a good job explaining this spot. So I won’t do it again! Here’s is what wikipedia says:

Kambala is traditionally a simple sport. The ‘track’ used for Kambala is a paddy field filled with slush. The contest generally takes place between two pairs of buffaloes, controlled by a whip-lashing farmer. In olden days, the winning pair of buffaloes were rewarded with coconuts and a bunch of plantains. But, Kambala today has become an organised,professional sports. People place massive amounts of bets on the winning buffaloes and one can witness more than 20,000 spectators in a well organised Kambala, egging and cheering the buffaloes to complete the race. As of now, more than 45 races are held annually in Coastal Karnataka. Nearly 18 kambalas are held under the banner of Kambala Samithi and the rest are held under the auspices of temples and political patronage. Kambala still remains a hugely popular sport in Coastal Karnataka.

Here is the calendar of events for the 2009-10 season. Thanks to Sowmya for getting this.


5-Dec-09 – Shirva – Udupi
12-Dec-09 – Baraadi – Karkala
19-Dec-09 – Katpadi – Udupi
26-Dec-09 – Mulki – Mangalore
2- Jan-10 – Ikala Bava – Mangalore
9-Jan-10 – Miyaru – Karkala
15-Jan-10 – Nandhikuru – Udupi
23-Jan-10 – Moodbidre
30-Jan-10 – Barkuru – Udupi , near Kundapura
7-Feb-10 – Venuru – Beltangdi, near Dharmastala
13-Feb-10 – Pilikula – Mangalore
20-feb-10- Pajeer – Bantvala
26-Feb-10 – Eedhu – Karkala
3-Mar-10 – Puttur
10-Mar-10 – Uppinangadi


Moodbidre, Karkala & Puttur Kambala’s are very famous and are supposed to be good.

Spotted this wonderful magazine during a random scan of the magazine stand last time when I was at the bookstore. It really stood out from all other run-of-the-mill magazines.


This is a quarterly magazine on various heritage topics and all the topics are well researched and illustrated. I liked it so much that I’m now planning to order all the old issues!


Take a look at their website:
https://www.heritage-india.com/index.php?activeTab=1


They have an interesting blog:
https://www.heritage-india.com/blog/


I carried this to Chennai during my weekend visit. Amma flipped through this and commented that the photos were good – actually better than what I click! Honest and as-a-matter-of-fact comment from Amma as usual. It will be interesting if I can manage to get my photo published on this magazine and show that to Amma!