The ancestors of forty-five-year-old Bangadi Parambelu Narayana Malekudiya were not allowed anywhere near a Kambala (buffalo race) for hundreds of years, let alone own a pair of racing buffalo bulls. All this history was erased in a matter of seconds when the buffaloes owned by the Malekudiya tribal man beat hundreds of other teams owned by powerful and traditionally landholding communities at the inaugural Kambala in Bengaluru last week.
Kambala has often been associated with the ‘feudal pride’ of the communities that have traditionally ruled coastal Karnataka. The main promoter of the Bengaluru event and Congress’ Puttur MLA Ashok Rai did not miss the opportunity to remind people that Kambala's significance goes beyond monetary gains. He said that it was about prestige and pride. While announcing the prize money of Rs 1 lakh, Ashok said, “It’s not about the money. Rearing these buffaloes and hiring caretakers adds up to Rs 3-5 lakh for the owners. Participating and winning in the race is a matter of prestige.” Bangadi Malekudiya’s achievement assumes significance against this backdrop.
The Kambala event was held in Bengaluru for the first time and thousands flocked to witness the inaugural races. While the media was predominantly fixated on the spectacle and the VIPs, there were glaring social concerns around the event, which the reportage failed to reflect.
Read: Caste and feudalism in Kambala: A case against the sport’s celebration in Bengaluru
Originally exclusive to the economically and socially dominant Hindu and Jain Bunt community of coastal Karnataka, the ownership of buffalo bulls marked a distinct separation from actual farming activity and became a show of power and pride for the community.
In the world of Kambala, recognition and esteem were tied to those who possessed both land and capital. Throughout Kambala events in Bengaluru, referees seldom mentioned the names of the jockeys or buffaloes. Instead of the men who toiled behind the animals, the Kambala teams were identified by the families they represented. These families invested year-round efforts in grooming buffalo pairs, aspiring to victory in Kambala events. And those in urban areas who did not possess buffaloes went to people like Bangadi Malekudiya to hire animals raised by him. “I am happy to give my buffaloes for the race and make some money,” he said.
Bangadi Malekudiya was initially hesitant to join the Bengaluru race as he usually stuck to small local races in Dakshina Kannada. "To participate in a race, you need at least 20 workers to hold the buffaloes in place, and the daily wage of each person costs as much as Rs 1,000 to 5,000. I can’t afford so much,” he said, adding that his family has been lending their buffaloes on rent for the last 30 years.
Bangadi Malekudiya would perhaps have continued raising buffaloes for the rich and powerful. But human rights lawyer, Dinesh Hegde Ullepady, had other ideas. Hegde who fought for the acquittal of Vittal Malekudiya, a student who was falsely framed as a Maoist by the police, was intrigued by the Malekudiya family that raised high-quality buffaloes for others to race but struggled to enter a Kambala themselves.
Dinesh suggested they participate in the Bengaluru event and offered to sponsor them. “I was curious about the buffaloes because Bangadi Malekudiya and his family no longer need the animals to work on the farm. They told me that they rent out buffaloes for Kambalas. I knew about the Bengaluru event and convinced them to participate,” Dinesh told TNM.
Bangadi Malekudiya initially insisted that the team should race in Dinesh’s name. But the lawyer flatly refused. “I couldn’t agree with their condition. If a Malekudiya person participates on such a huge platform, it’s not about the individual but a representation of the community in itself,” he said.
Bangadi Malekudiya and his crew not only participated in the race but emerged victorious in the Negilu Hiriya category, where the jockey runs holding onto a lighter wooden plough tied to the pair of buffaloes.
Belonging to the Malekudiya tribe scattered across the forests of Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, and Shivamogga districts, Bangadi Malekudiya's win was a rare moment under the spotlight for a community that has not only suffered historical injustices but also faces harassment from the police and ultra-left rebels who have infiltrated their forest abodes.
While the success of Bangadi Malekudiya warmed many hearts, the event was not without controversy over the feudal nature of the arrangements. Critics pointed to the absence of the Koraga tribe, who have held a crucial albeit humiliating role in the Kambala's rituals
Specific traditions like the 'Ajalu' system were associated with Kambala festivities where Koragas were made to run barefoot on the tracks to check for safety before the buffaloes were let loose. In a ritual called pani kullunu in Tulu (loosely translates to sitting in the dew), Koraga men were made to perform sexual acts which were often degrading. These practices have been banned following the enactment of the Karnataka Koragas (Prohibition of Ajalu Practice) Act in 2000.
Despite the two days of grandiosity during the recent Kambala event in Bengaluru, there was a notable absence of mention regarding the Koraga community. A glance at guests who attended the event reveals a predominance of dominant caste individuals, with actors and politicians filling the stage. No Dalit or Koraga leader was invited or included in the various organising committees.
Senior Journalist Naveen Soorinje, who belongs to the Bunt community, said that Kambala started as a statement of martial supremacy and evolved into a tool for exerting feudal control over lowered-caste and tenant farmers. It was a mechanism for regulating labour and resources within these communities. He adds, “Organising Kambala in Bengaluru is not to showcase culture. In fact, they talk about pride. It is to show their economic and financial dominance in the state capital.”
Soorinje set off a furious debate in Karnataka after he wrote a critique of Karavali Janapada or folk traditions of coastal Karnataka, a much celebrated book by the famous Kannada literateur and JNU professor Purushottama Bilimale. “Bilimane romanticises the sexual exploitation of the Koraga people as some sort of celebration of fertility. The feudal culture of Tulunadu has been mostly described in romantic terms by even left and progressive intellectuals,” he said.