A farmer holding onto the reins as he runs through mud behind his speeding oxen. — AP
HUNDREDS of spectators shouted and gestured as lively music blared from loudspeakers.
A commentator’s breathless voice resonated over the din, trying to keep up with a racing team of two oxen yoked together and a man who looked like he was being dragged through mud behind the speeding animals.
The horseshoe-shaped track had only a flimsy fence separating the action from the crowd.
The setting was Dervan, a small farming village in Ratnagiri, a district famous for growing the Alphonso mango, in the western Indian state of Maharashtra.
Farmers making an ox drink water before a traditional oxen plough race. — AP
Covered from head to toe in grey mud, the driver looked like an apparition. His skills were tested as he manoeuvred the animals around a U-bend.
He had to hold onto the reins while controlling the oxen’s speed by pulling and twisting their tails.
The mud hitting his face half-blinded him as he struggled to control the reins. Should he relinquish control, his team would face disqualification.
One at a time, the teams raced around the track, vying for 10 winning slots.
The winning team this year – out of more than 100 – completed the 200-metre-long track in 21.44 seconds.
Seasoned drivers often compete more than once a day with different oxen.
A spectator running to get out of the way of speeding oxen as they overshoot the finishing mark during a race. — AP
A village committee holds the annual event, known as Nagarni Spardha, a centuries-old tradition, at the peak of the rainy season. The soft, muddy ground prevents serious injury to the drivers, who compete in bare feet and without protective gear.
Many arrive in vehicles after bumpy rides over unpaved roads from nearby villages.
Some oxen need to be stimulated before the competition by men who pull them with ropes and prod them with sticks. Other oxen are overexcited and must be controlled and soothed.
The oxen, which have names like Bullet, Sundar (meaning “beautiful”) and Raja (meaning “king”), are no longer used for ploughing the fields but are kept strictly for the competition.
Their horns are brightly painted and their bodies sprinkled with coloured powder before the race. — AP
