Ashraf Bangady, handler and owner of two pairs of kambala buffaloes, is sad to have lost his earnings this kambala season owing to the ban. Each handler gets at least ₹5,000 per race. Mr. Ashraf has participated in 28 kambalas, and has won about 100 prizes.
“It takes me about 14 seconds to make junior category buffaloes (aged between five and eight) complete one round of the race, while it takes about 13 seconds to make senior category (aged above eight) to complete the run,” said Mr. Ashraf to The Hindu . The slush track of kambala is between 130 m and 150 m long. The speed with which the pair of buffaloes completes the race depends on the length of the track, experience of the handler, buffaloes, and their age. Kambalas are organised on weekends for four months from November-end.
Mr. Ashraf, from nearby Killuru in Belthangady, said kambala buffaloes are rested for half the year and go on “duty” for the next 6 months, including preparatory runs. “Buffaloes experience pain while tilling the paddy field and not during kambala race,” he said, He added that the ban would hit the earnings of many workers associated with kambala activities. Mandarti Gopal Naik, another handler, who has participated in about 40 kambalas and had won about 150 prizes in the last eight years, said a minor whipping is required to tame any animal, but it should not be construed as “violence”.
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