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India
Polo India
One
of the legacies left behind by the British -much like cricket and hockey - is
Polo.
Much like these two games. Polo owes its origin to the British, even though
it was first played in India.
An erstwhile passion of the royal families - some, like the former ruler of
Udaipur, still patronise it - the game is now largely a preserve of the men
in uniform, played in metres and cantonment lawns.
Matches are usually organised in the winter season, details of which can be
obtained from local dailies or race courses.
India is considered the cradle of modern polo. It is here that this game of
kings was rediscovered and nurtured since the medieval times. Babar, the founder
of the Mughal dynasty in the 15th century, firmly established its popularity.
The period between the decline of the Mughal dynasty and the upsurgence of the
British Imperial rule, Polo almost vanished from the mainland India. Fortunately
for the world, the game survived in a few remote mountainous enclaves of the
subcontinent, notably Gilgit, Chitral, Ladakh and Manipur.
Far removed from the tumult and political turmoil of the plains and secure in
their mountain fastness, life continued much the same as it ever had. Polo continued
to be played in the traditional manner in these areas.
It is to the survival of the game in the remote north-eastern state of Manipur,
that the world owes the genesis of modern polo, as it is universally played
today.
In India, the popularity of polo has waned and risen many time. However, it
has never lost its regal status. In the last few decades, the emergence of privately
owned teams has ensured a renaissance in Indian polo.
Today, polo is not just restricted to the royalty and the Indian Army, many
companies and firms too patronise the sport. Polo facilities are on the rise
and polo holidays in India too are in vogue.
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Himalayas - - -› People
& Tribes of Himalayas
People & Tribes of Himalayas
The
population, settlement, and economic patterns within the Himalayas have been
greatly influenced by the variations in topography and climate, which impose
harsh living conditions and tend to restrict movement and communication. People
living in remote, isolated valleys have generally preserved their cultural identities.
However, improvements in transportation and communication, particularly satellite
television programs from Europe and the United States, are bringing access from
the outside world to remote valleys. These outside influences are affecting
traditional social and cultural structure.
Nearly 40 million people inhabit the Himalayas. Generally, Hindus of Indian
heritage are dominant in the Sub-Himalayas and the Middle Himalayan valleys
from eastern Kashmir to Nepal. To the north Tibetan Buddhists inhabit the Great
Himalayas from Ladakh to northeast India.
In central Nepal, in an area between about 1830 and 2440 m (between about 6000
and 8000 ft), the Indian and Tibetan cultures have intermingled, producing a
combination of Indian and Tibetan traits. The eastern Himalayas in India and
nearby areas of eastern Bhutan are inhabited by animistic people whose culture
is similar to those living in northern Myanmar and Yunnan province in China.
People of western Kashmir are Muslims and have a culture similar to the inhabitants
of Afghanistan and Iran.
The economy of the Himalayas as a whole is poor with low per capita income.
Much of the Himalayas area is characterized by a very low economic growth rate
combined with a high rate of population growth, which contributes to stagnation
in the already low level of per capita gross national product. Most of the population
is dependent on agriculture, primarily subsistence agriculture; modern industries
are lacking.
Mineral resources are limited. The Himalayas has major hydroelectric potential,
but the development of hydroelectric resources requires outside capital investment.
The skilled labor needed to organize and manage development of natural resources
is also limited due to low literacy rates. Most of the Himalayan communities
face malnutrition, a shortage of safe drinking water, and poor health services
and education systems.
Agricultural land is concentrated in the Tarai plain and in the valleys of the
Middle Himalayas. Patches of agricultural land have also been carved out in
the mountainous forested areas. Rice is the principal crop in eastern Tarai
and the well-watered valleys. Corn is also an important rain-fed crop on the
hillsides.
Other cereal crops are wheat, millet, barley, and buckwheat. Sugarcane, tea,
oilseeds, and potatoes are other major crops. Food production in the Himalayas
has not kept up with the population growth.
The
major industries include processing food grains, making vegetable oil, refining
sugar, and brewing beer. Fruit processing is also important. A wide variety
of fruits are grown in each of the major zones of the Himalayas, and making
fruit juices is a major industry in Nepal, Bhutan, and in the Indian Himalayas.
Since 1950 tourism has emerged as a major growth industry in the Himalayas.
Nearly 1 million visitors come to the Himalayas each year for mountain trekking,
wildlife viewing, and pilgrimages to major Hindu and Buddhist sacred places.
The number of foreign visitors has increased in recent years, as organized treks
to the icy summits of the Great Himalayas have become popular. While tourism
is important to the local economy, it has had an adverse impact on regions where
tourist numbers exceed the capacity of recreational areas.
Historically, all transport in the Himalayas has been by porters and pack animals.
Porters and pack animals are still important, but the construction of major
roads and the development of air routes have changed the traditional transportation
pattern.
Major urban centers such as Kathmandu, Simla, and Srinagar, as well as important
tourist destinations, are served by airlines. Railways link Simla and Darjiling,
but in most of the Himalayas there are no railroads. The bulk of goods from
the Himalayas, as well as goods destined for places within the Himalayas, generally
come to Indian railheads, located in the Tarai, by road. The pack animals and
porters transport goods from road heads to the interior and back.
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