IMPHAL, December 8: “Sagol Kangjei is the mother of modern game of Polo,” MP (Inner Manipur) Dr Thokchom Meinya said raising the issue of preserving the Manipur Pony in the Parliament today.
He said “In Manipuri terms, Sagol means pony/ horse. ‘Kangjei’ means a (polo) stick. It is used by the players mounted on ponies for playing the game and hitting a white ball (Kangdrum) made of bamboo root.”
Polo has, been a game patronised by the royalty and the upper crust of society, not only in India but abroad, he said.
In Manipur, it has always been a game for common man, he said urging the Union Government and Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to assist the State government of Manipur to protect and preserve the ever decreasing number of ponies in Manipur and at the same time promote Polo which is the oldest equestrian sports in all its full glory.
He said the antiquity of Polo in Manipur is shrouded amidst cobwebs of myths and rituals.
He said the ponies figure prominently in Manipur mythology and “have an undeniable presence in the social life of Manipur: Born in obscurity, spotted by civilization, Polo became a World sports by proxy.”
Though this majestic game had always been an integral part of the Manipuri ethos, it was the Britishers who actually gave it a place in the world, he said.
Meinya said the prominent patrons of the game were King Kyamba and King Khagemba (1597-1672 AD.) and King Chandra Kirti ( 1850 – 1886 AD.). The latter, especially, is to be credited with popularising the sport in other parts of the world, he added.
The Guinness Book of Records in its 1991 edition on page 288 writes “Polo: Origins: Origins of Polo can be traced to origins in Manipur State 3100 B.C. when it was played as Sagol Kangjei”, he said.
“The earliest club was the Cachar Club founded in 1859 in Assam, India. The oldest Polo Club in the world still in existence is the Calcutta Polo Club (1862). The Manipur Polo International has recently conducted the 9th edition of its tournament in the oldest pologround, Mapal Kangjeibung at Imphal during the Manipur Mega Tourism Festival- the Sangai Festival.”