With the evolution of humans, their way of living has also evolved. Organized sports have been a part of entertainment and community welfare. From the bloodthirsty gladiatorial battles to modern-day soft indoor games like tennis, what remains astonishing is the evolution of sports from rough and wild to gentle and soft. Sportsmen are venerated and celebrated in human society. It is likely that the wildness of sports are not part of modern-day games, but some archaic games are still not exempted from sophistication. It is quite amazing that free-style polo is only played in Gilgit Baltistan and Chitral; that is both exciting and breathtaking.
It is just a game of the mountains and it remains to be played and admire by the dwellers of the mountains. Truly, polo is a game where the player has to control the horse before controlling himself. With polo sticks made of light wood in one hand and a strip to command the horse in the other hand, it is likely that this needs a lot of skill and vigilance. The polo stick is called Finjo in local Burushaski language, and the ball that is used to play the game of polo is named as Tahri. The ball is comparable to the test cricket ball, and it is almost same in size and shape. Moreover, Tahri is made of hard material, and it is heavier in weight than that of a cricket ball.
Usually, the free-style polo played in Gilgit Baltistan and Chitral has not the standard rules of that of international polo. There are six players with their six horses in one team. This game trails both the player and his horse. It was so called the game of Kings, and the king of games , because of its affordability and sophistication.
The Polo has remained a game only afforded by the well off families because everyone can’t afford a horse and the training needed.
Few interesting things about the game is that it has a total number of twelve players on the field. Each player is given a number from one to six, so that the player with the tag of number one stands as a defender of his team, and the player with the tagged number of six goes to be the attacker. Polo isn’t a game widely played around the world because of its sophistication, but the people of Gilgit Baltistan and Chitral admire and love it.
It is because of this vibrant aspect of the game that the mountain people love it.
The popularity of the game can be determined by the annual Shandur festival, where people from round the globe come together to watch Polo at the highest Polo stadium in Shandur.
Shandur festival manifests the greatness of the game of Polo. Teams from various regions of Gilgit Baltistan and Chitral contest together to claim the glory in the game.
The weather of Shandur region constantly depicts the uncertainty. When rain is expected, it’s windy. When sky gets clear it’s often followed by rain. Because of this uncertainty of weather, it becomes more adventurous and intriguing for the audience/campers.
