POLO THE KING OF GAMES.pptx

polo the king of games

1. CLASS 8 TH BLUE ENGLISH

2. POLO IMAGES

3. THE KING OF GAMES"LET OTHER PEOPLE PLAY AT OTHER THINGS. THE KING OF GAMES IS STILL THE GAME OF KINGS.THIS VERSE, INSCRIBED ON A STONE TABLET BESIDE A POLO GROUND SOUTH OF THE FABLED SILK ROUTE FROM CHINA TO THE WEST, SUMS UP THE ANCIENT HISTORY OF THE OLDEST ORGANIZED SPORT IN THE WORLD WITH ITS REPUTED 2,500 YEARS OR MORE OF EXISTENCE

4. SILK ROUTE

5. Certainly polo reflects all the qualities that made the Mongol hordes the greatest nation of horsemen in the ancient world; great equestrian skills coupled with a clear eye and stout heart are the prerequisites of a polo player. Polo was born in Central Asia, spent its childhood in Iran and attained maturity in the northern areas .

6. From the steppes of Central Asia the game eventually spread as far as Japan, China, Tibet and India. Over the ages, the aristocratic game developed to promote equestrian and military skills, and was ranked next to battle itself as the ultimate test of the prowess of princes and warriors

7. Patronised by kings and the horsed cavalry, it was played by the likes of Darius, Genghis Khan, and Alexander the Great. In India, polo was widely played in medieval times as is evidenced from the fact that Sultan Qutubud din Aibak , who built the Qutub Minar , died of a fatal accident while playing polo in Lahore.

8. Under the Mughals , polo was the national sport of India until the end of the sixteenth century.During this period polo enjoyed the patronage of kings and nobles and was widely played in the provinces of the Empire and in the courts of the Rajput kingsIn the unsettled times of the eighteenth century polo almost vanished from the Indian scene. However, it

9. survived in a few remote mountainous enclaves of the great subcontinent, notably i Gilgit , Ladakh and Manipur. Polo has been, for centuries, a popular sport of the rugge mountain valleys of the Karakoram Ranges particularly in the remote and inaccessible Himalayan regions of Gilgit , Hunza , Skardu and Khapalu in Baltistan and Ladakh .

10. According to legends, polo came to Central Ladakh from neighbouring Baltistan , where for centuries it used to be the chief amusement. Historians date the introduction of polo in Ladakh to King Jamyang Namgyal's reign in the 16th century who married Gyal Khatun . a princess from Baltistan . Others say that it was brought by the colony of Baltics , settled at Chushot . Chushot got its own polo ground where every year on 21st March polo is played to celebrate Nauroze . Polo in Ladakh is not exclusively for the rich. Almost every village has its polo ground (called shagaran ) and it is played with verve in many places besides Leh , especially in Drass and Chushot , a big village close to Leh G

11. Sengge Namgyal , the King of Ladakh , laid the first royal polo ground in the Murtse Garden below Leh in the seventeenth century. The present polo ground in Leh is in the centre of the city. Today in Ladakh , polo is more than a game; it is a part of the cultural heritage. The game draws huge crowds, with people donning their traditional colourful costumes. Ladakh polo, fast and furious, is

12. a test of human endurance, skills and horse strength to play continuously, unlike modern polo. The matches are played in the late afternoon. Ladakh polo differs from the current international format in player count as well as duration. Here each team consists of six players, and the game lasts for an hour with a ten-minute break. Ladakh polo has two rounds of 20 minutes each with few restraints rough riding reminiscent of the Mongol horsemen.

13. Unlike the system of Chukkar -short period of six to eight minutes into which the match is divided with a change of mount, here the game is played until either of the teams scores nine goals. The most unfamiliar feature is after a goal when both the ends change automatically. The scorer gets the privilege to patch up the ball. He goes at a full gallop with the ball and stick until midway point, then throws up the ball and shoots towards the goal with a clean, straight and perfectly controlled shot

14. No polo match in Ladakh is complete without its musical accompaniment of surna and daman. At the start and finish of play and to celebrate every goal special polo music is struck. It is interesting to note that the music varies according to the fortune of the game accelerating in tempo and increasing in volume at the scoring of a goal.

15. Exhibition and tournament matches have been held regularly since the 1970's to revive and institutionalise the game. It now forms an integral part of the annual LadakhFestival