January 1st,
2001
Tiger Tops: Chitwan National Park
As
the new year and new millennium dawns, we are offered the chance of a
lifetime. It seems that the
collection of the owner’s friends have convinced him to hold a round of
elephant polo to celebrate the new year.
The World Championships are held every November, and have become quite
an event. CNN regularly covers the
games, and if you have a chance you should catch their coverage. Many of these same guests were here
only two months ago for the games, and some are accomplished players and team
leaders. The couple we met on the
plane to Pokhara are experts, both having played for years. The owner’s children, in from England
for the holiday, are also avid players.
While there are no championships to be played, they want to have a
little fun. We are invited to join
the group for the day. Initially
we believe that we are being invited to watch the games, a unique opportunity
that we do not want to miss. Over
breakfast we learn that in fact we are invited to play. A word of advice to anyone who may find
himself in this position: if you
are ever asked whether you would care to play elephant polo, SAY YES!
We
drive out to the playing pitch, a large grassy field, one edge of which is the
local airstrip. A row of small
huts line the edge of the airstrip and a small concrete building appears to be
the terminal. A set of tents have
been raised for our comfort, housing rest areas, a bar, playing gear, and the
Royal Nepal Army Band. Looking
remarkably fresh after their hours of playing last night, they provide mood
music for the games. “Hello,
Dolly!” is apparently appropriate for any occasion. As we arrive, the elephants are getting ready for the games. Their keepers have used colored chalk
to decorate them, including happy new year messages and various colorful
swirls. It’s a bit like
large-scale mendhi art, perfect for the well-dressed elephant. They also boast large white letters on
their foreheads, from A to D.
These apparently designate the elephant teams. Each team has six elephants, ranging from large defensive
backs to smaller, nimbler forwards.
The
first few games are largely exhibition matches between old hands. Some of these gentlemen were among the
group that first designed the game some 20 years ago. One hesitates to speculate as to their sobriety at the time,
but it is hard to believe a sober bunch decided to try polo on elephants one
boring winter’s night. Apparently
they tried a variety of balls (footballs, basketballs, etc.) but all inflatable
balls fell prey to being stepped on by the excited elephants. Eventually they settled on actual polo
balls – they are hard enough to survive being stepped on (although they do lose
a few). They do sometimes have to
stop the game if the ball is pressed too far into the turf, but other than that
they serve well. The mallets are
very long, easily 10 feet for the taller defensive elephants. The players are tied onto the elephants
by way of rope saddles, and have to be very securely attached as they will
spend much of the game leaning far out to hit the ball. The rules are few but sensible,
including a requirement for elephant refreshment at the end of the day. (Those interested may wish to visit the
official site at http://www.elepolo.com/,
where you can find a set of rules and history of the game.)
As
we watch the early games to get a feel for the play, we mingle with the other
guests. There is a large pitcher
of bloody marys that quickly requires refilling, as most of us sit quietly in
the shade and peer at the game through sunglasses. Some of the experienced players offer us advice – think of
it like field hockey, use the broad side of the mallet to hit the ball, etc. Soon it comes to our turn. We are to play two ten-minute chukkers,
a short taste of the game for the novices. Between chukkers we will have a short rest, and will switch
ends of the field. In our case,
since we have so many people, we will also switch players.
I
am in the first group, and play forward on a small, young elephant. I had been watching this elephant
through the morning, and he seemed very eager. He proved frisky with me, constantly running for the ball
(regardless of his position), and frequently reaching for it with his
trunk. The mahout kept pushing his
trunk out of the way, since elephants are not allowed to play quite that
directly. It took a while to get
used to the game. Even on a small
elephant, the ground seemed rather far away. We were tied on so tight that the knots left large bruises,
but even so it took a while to gain confidence to lean out and reach for the
ball. Hitting the ball took
another learning curve, since the mallet heads (even lengthwise) are small
compared to the height. Eventually
we got the hang of it, and Lesley and I wound up in a constant competition to
move the ball to our respective goals.
Partway through the half it seemed that I might get a goal after an
intense effort to drive toward their end, but Lesley stepped in with a great
save. We were unable to get close
to the goal again, frustrating my gallant elephant no end. The short playing time had initially
seemed like far too little, but by the end we were exhausted and bruised, quite
ready to be untied and try to gracefully dismount. My loyal elephant was turned over to the next forward, still
ready to run.
Steve
was in the next half, playing defense.
His elephant was much larger than mine, and his mallet seemed impossibly
long. As a defensive player he
wasn’t quite as active in the game, but was able to defend his goal several
times. Having seen our progress,
the second group was much bolder initially, swinging away at the ball and
galloping across the field. They
even scored! Some of the
first-half players rode the referee elephant, watching from the vantage point
of the largest domestic elephant in Asia.
The game wound up tied, ironic since the sides were named after Bush and
Gore in honor of the current election confusion. Unable to solve the presidential problem, we finally headed in
for drinks and some well-earned rest.
Team photos followed, wearing our team shirts and matching polo
hats. We were given small presents
for having played, and were even allowed to keep the shirts! Truly, the experience of a lifetime,
and incredibly generous of our host.
After
our game, we head back to the lodge for an afternoon safari. No tiger search today, just a nice long
afternoon riding through the grass and enjoying the day. The safari elephants are a bit calmer,
a bit older than the polo elephants, and after the morning’s game sitting
calmly in a howdah seems almost pedestrian. We don’t see any exciting game (a rhino or two, far away),
but it is a lovely close to an exciting day. In the evening, we have a quiet dinner and learn the results
of the informal tournament.