For Nandalike Srikanth Bhat, an agriculturist-turned-hotelier in Manipal, rearing kambala buffaloes has been a passion and matter of pride. He started six years ago and has nurtured a pair from his own dairy and two others from nearby animal shandies. The animals are now nothing short of family to him.
During the last five years, the pairs have graduated from ‘junior’ category to ‘senior’ category in hagga (rope) segment of kambala and won 165 gold medals in different kambalas in the region.
Mr. Bhat has built a spacious and well-ventilated shed in his 30-acre garden near Manipal for these buffaloes. The routine diet for them includes 5 kg of baked horse gram, hay, half a kg jaggery, 150 ml of sesame and coconut oil once a week, and so on.
Every morning, the animals are given oil massage and left under the sun for about three hours before taken for a swim and bath in a specially-designed swimming pool/tank.
While three regular workers look after these bulls, Mr. Bhat visits the farm every day to spend time with them. He has two kambala runners, Jayakar Madivala and Srinivasa Gowda. On an average, Mr. Bhat spends ₹700 a day on one buffalo.
During the non-kambala season, the buffaloes are deployed to till his 15-acre paddy field. Mr. Bhat’s great grandfather had reared kambala buffaloes, he said.
He is not alone; the care and attention given to the buffaloes and the racers are extensive and expensive. Across the Dakshina Kannada district, several buffalo owners, like Mr. Bhat, are keen that the races begin.
