Kambala organisers plan a museum for the traditional sport

Kambala (slush-track buffalo race) organisers of coastal Karnataka are planning to establish a museum on this traditional sport at Moodbidri in Dakshina Kannada district, according to Gunapala Kadamba, General Secretary of Koti-Chennayya Kambala Committee, Moodbidri.

He told BusinessLine that it is an effort to document this sport for the future. “When somebody asks about Kambala there must be a document based on authentic sources,” he said.

Apart from imparting knowledge about Kambala to young enthusiasts, the museum will also collect and display the materials such as wooden plough and other implements used in the sport.

Asked why Moodbidri is chosen as the location to establish a museum, he said the Government has earmarked Kadalakere area in Moodbidri for conducting Kambala.

In fact, Kadalakere is one of the two locations in coastal Karnataka to have astadium exlusively for the sport. The other stadium is located at Miyar in Karkala taluk of Udupi district. Apart from a museum, plans are also there to set up a research centre on Kambala in that location.

He said a training academy has been working under his guidance since 2011. Nearly 90 per cent of the present-day Kambala jockeys are from this academy.

The intake in this academy is 25 members. However, nearly 150 members appeared for the interview last year, he said. Some people with postgraduate degrees also appear for the interviews. One of the top jockeys this year is an MA in Economics, he said.

Apart from jockeys, the academy also trains the candidates in other aspects of rearing buffaloes, and other activities related to Kambala.

Some of these trained candidates are now earning more than ₹5 lakh per season. Usually, Kambalas are being conducted from November to March along Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts.

He said that the Karnataka Chief Minister, BS Yediyurappa, will attend the Kambala at Moodbidri on December 21.