Miyar Kambala- 2018

A beautiful reflection during Negilu race

Last week I went to Miyar Kambala. Miyar is a village is near Karkala. This was the second time I saw a Kambala. I used my Nikon D7100 with 18-105mm  VR lens in the beginning. Later I used my friend U S Shripathi's  Tamron 18-400mm f3.5-6.3 lens and captured using that lens. The Tamron 18-400 turned out to be an amazing lens worth every penny Tamron charges for it. Most of the photos were shot using centre 9 focus points. Using all the 51 focus points leads to missed focus as the camera focuses on the track instead of focusing on racing bulls. The number of focus points depends on your camera model.

Pan shot of speeding buffaloes

Kambala is a traditional sport of racing a pair of buffaloes in a muddy and water-filled race track. The Buffaloes are controlled by the racer. Kambala had come under the wrath of PETA where the PETA projected Kambala as violence against animals. The supreme courts issued a stay against the Kambala which was removed this year.

Miyar Kambala is one of the well known and grand Kambalas. It has a seating arrangement for the audience on both sides. Around 1 crore rupees were spent for organising the Kambala. Miyar Kambala has two tracks named Lava and Kusha. The Kamabala samithi organised Kambalas will be having two tracks each having a unique name. 

Crystal clear reflection during a race.

As this was my second visit to a Kambala I wanted to get the signature shot of Kambala which is capture standing in front of the finishing line and I did manage to get some shots. The best shots of water splash are taken during Kenehalage race. But it is sad that in recent years the buffaloes participating for Kenehalage is decreasing drastically.

Hagga race

The Buffaloes participating in Kambala are classified as seniors and junior buffaloes. There are 4 different categories of Kambala just like swimming 😉 In Kambala the buffaloes do not swim in water but run on water. The categories of  Kambala are

Buffaloes after an exhaustive race

1. Hagga: Hagga means rope in Kannada. The Buffaloes are controlled by the racer using a rope which is tied to the pair of buffaloes. Controlling the adrenaline-filled buffaloes in Kambala is a daunting task.

Hagga race

2. Negilu: Negilu means plough in Kannada. The racer holds a plough which is a replica of the plough for the race and not the actual plough. To avoid the buffaloes slowing down due to plough a modified and lighter plough is used.

Negilu race of junior category buffaloes

3. Adda Halage: Halage means wooden plank and Adda means horizontal plank. In Addahalage the racer stands on the horizontal wooden plank tied to buffaloe pair and races.

Adda halage. (horizontal plank which on which the racer stands during adda halage race.

4. Kenehalage: In Kenehalage the racer stands on a wooden block which has the two holes in it. When the buffaloes run the water enters into these holes and gets sprayed like a fountain. The winner of this race is declared based on the height of the water fountain. There will be two banners at a height of 6.5 metres and 7.5 metres. The buffaloes who touch those banners with the sprayed water are considered as winners. If more than one pair touches, there will be multiple winners. Kenehalage is the event beloved to the photographers as the fountain gives the best possibilities of getting shots which are eye candy.

The water fountain during Kenehalage race.

The Kenehalage (The wooden block on which the racer stands. The block has two holes which create a jet of water.

For Hagga and Negilu category both senior and junior buffaloes participate. But for Kenehalage and Addahalage only senior buffaloes are allowed participate.
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