Horses, Polo and Women In India

In 1531, the famed Khanzada Begum, sister of the first Mughal emperor, Babur, organized a splendid feast in honor of her nephew, Humayun, who had ascended the Mughal throne after the untimely demise of his father, Babur, the feast was filled with riches of all sorts and was held in a palace amidst the idyllic banks of the great Yamuna in Agra, the feast was attended by elites from the Mughal court to celebrate the rise of Humayun to the throne of Hindustan.

Amongst other elites in the feast is the young Timurid princess Gulbadan Begum, who would not just be remembered as the sister of Humayun and daughter of Babur, but as the writer of the Humayun-Nama, a keen observer Gulbadan later wrote that the most intriguing aspect in the festivities held for her brother was the presence of two women, Mihrangaz Begum and Shad Begum. These two women were granddaughters of the last Timurid leader of Khurasan, Sultan Husayn Baqara. Gulbadan Begum paying an unusual amount of attention to these women describes them as being dressed in a manly attire and had interests that were considered manly at that time such as playing polo, the women, were accomplished polo players and wore their accomplishments with pride and this is what makes the feast of 1531 so special, the fact that two women seemed to have attracted attention for their polo playing skills amidst the fancy celebrations of the newly coronated king, is what this feast will go down in history for.

Polo as a sport is still considered by most people to be that of ‘ a royal, leisurely sport ‘, however, in recent times, in India, the game seems to have deservingly so been gaining momentum as it garners the attention of youngsters across the country, breaking the stereotype of it being a sport meant only for those belonging to the higher echelons of society.

However, as the game undoubtedly garners attention from the youth, in India, for women, polo still seems to have a long way to go despite recent efforts of promoting the sport amongst women. For a country like India which alongside other Asian countries is debated to be the birthplace of Polo, the number of women polo players in specific remains at a staggering low. Almost 3/4th of the women polo players come from the North-Eastern Indian state of Manipur, which happens to be the birthplace of Modern-day polo and also happens to be the state which organizes the only women’s polo tournament in the country which aims at promoting women’s polo and also aims at saving the endangered Manipuri Pony.

From a historical perspective polo and horse riding have not exactly been shunned away from women in the country, horses being the leaders of chariots that have led to valiant battles have always played an important role in Indian mythology and history, some of the most iconic moments from history are from warriors on loyal horsebacks.

Historically, many women in India were trained horse riders, Chand Bibi the brave Sultana of the Sultanate of Bijapur who defended Ahmednagar against the forces of the Mughal emperor, Akbar, was a skilled horse rider and is said to have indulged in several games of Polo throughout her regency.

The above is a painting of Chand Bibi and her companions enjoying a game of Polo ( Chaugan ), on their horsebacks who are well adorned, much like their owners. The Mughal style painting depicts these women in elaborate head-dresses on their horses that seem to be uniquely colored, the women are clearly trying to compete for the possession of the ball and are being guided by a referee in a lush green area. Clearly, the idea of women playing polo is not new and has existed in Indian history for a long time now.

One may assume that most noblewomen were just confined to the walls of the mysterious Zenana wherein they might have spent most of their time in worldly pleasures, the truth seems to hint at a life wherein noblewomen indulged in sports such as polo to amuse themselves.

The above is a painting from the Jodhpur school which depicts women playing polo with Maharaja Takhat Singh, all the players ride on exceptionally adorned Marwari horses, thus breaking the stereotype of royal women just being mere participants of the Zenana.

Alongside these noble Rajput women, many women from the Maratha court were trained polo players and horse riders and often stepped out for a game of polo.

Considering the long history of horses, women, and polo in India, one may hope that the legacy of the sport lives on with more women being encouraged to participate in the sport and become flagbearers of the legacy of Polo in India and across the world.