My article on Polo in Baltistan.

My article   "Polo in Baltistan" published in Heritage Himalaya (Jan-July 207)

Polo in Baltistan

(Hon) Syed Muhammad Abbas Kazmi

 s.abbaskazmi1947@gmail.com

Polo is a Tibetan word for ball (སྤོ་ལོ་།།).Here we will discuss about Polo (on horse-back). It is termed as the king of sport and sport of kings. Its origin looks very old as 2/3 millenniums BC. In the great Tibetan epic Kesar-the son of god (Baltistan version, which date back to 2^nd millenniums BC) polo is mentioned at various occasion. Hunting of mountains wild animals and playing polo were the two main sport and means of entertainment of the kings and people of the Tibetan areas. A Tibetan researcher had discovered that the Polo (on horseback) was originally invented or started nearly 3000 years BC in Tibet. He had collected the data during his archeological research in Tibet. He got published it in a statement in Tibetan Bulletin published from Dharamsala, India, a few years back. I had a copy, but feeling sorry I lost it later. It is a very baseless claim of Iranians that the Polo to which they name Chogaan was invented in Iran. It is worth to be noted that except in Iran, this sport is called by the Tibetan name everywhere right from US to India, where polo is played in English style as well as in local style. Most of the people might not know that when the 1^st Persian King Emperor Cyrus the Great (500 BC)  crossed the Bolor mountains (Karakoram) from Turkistan in order to conquer India, several historical evidences reveals that he arrived in the upper most valleys of river Indus, which is not another place than the present Baltistan, because he used the shortest route towards India. But his forces exhausted in the highest and toughest glaciers of Bolor (Karakoram), refused to go ahead with him. At that time   polo was the popular sport of all elites and common people in the northern most valleys of river Indus i.e. Baltistan & Ladakh. Cyrus liked this kingly game and played and made it his favorite sport. He stayed in the area for few months and also preached Zoarstrian in this mountain area and went back to Turkistan by the same mountain routs. Very soon he was killed in battle, but his men did not give it up and kept playing and gave it a name of their own i.e. “Chowgan”. As the style of polo all over in the world has been changed to some extant but everywhere it is called by its original Tibetan name Polo and not by Chowgan.    

It is a well-known fact that the Yarlungpa (Tubo by Chinese) kings of Tibet were very fond of Polo and in every valley there were polo-grounds in Tibet. Polo was forgotten when the religious authorities became the rulers in Tibet.

In 3/4^th Century, Baltistan and Ladakh as well as Brushal (presently Gilgit region) collectively called as Palolo/Palor in Chines and Bolor/Balor is its Persian rendering, was ruled by Palolashahi rulers. In the same time there was a small State in Khotan under the overlord-ship of Tang Emperors of China. This mini-state was ruled by a Mongolian dynasty namely Amatiya. Both Palolashahi kings and Amatia rulers had a very friendly relations and they used to play Polo matches and big hunting in the Karakoram, for which the rulers of Bolor had made a few polo-ground in the southern valleys of Karakoram and in Shagsgam valley, which is a part of Baltistan on the northern side of the Karakoram. A very famous polo-ground of that time still exist in the base of Muztagh Tower, very close to Muztagh glacier, though it has been deserted since 1500 years. In the tourists map, the small glacier which pass by this polo-ground is names as Shagharan (polo ground) glacier. This polo-ground in Muztagh can be clearly seen on Google-map.

From the very beginning, Polo was the most popular sport in Baltistan and there were numerous polo-grounds in all valleys and villages and the rulers were the best players and patrons of this kingly game.  As in Baltistan, traditional local music is very essential to speed-up the passion of the polo players. Music were played before, during and after the polo. Though, polo in Baltistan & Ladakh is somewhat in old and free-style, even that it has some rules.Till the near past, a match was considered to be concluded when a team scores nine goals.

It was Maqpon Ali Sher Khan Anchan (1575-1624 AD) –Ladakhi sources name him as Ali Mir etc.: introduced this game in Gilgit & Chitral when he was on the expedition of conquering Gilgit & Chitral between 1615 & 1619/50. Still a few polo grounds in Chitral and Gilgit are contributed to him. Among them Maqponi Shagharan is very famous which is located on a sandy plain at the junction of river Indus & Hunza River where Himalaya, Karakoram and Hindukush mountains also meet.

Still polo is played in the entire area of Baltistan as well as Gilgit & Chitral with great passion. Every year tournaments are arranged. In Baltistan the polo players of Stak, Rondu valley and those from Chorbad (Gangchhe Distt) are the best polo players. Though, time has changed to great extant and the people are very quickly forgetting most of their cultural heritage, but still polo is very popular and without any help from the government, they are maintaining about 10 teams on their personal resources.