Hitching a ride: Rider Maggar Singh makes it look all easy.

Digging in: A rural festival can never do without a kabaddi bout.

What a mouthful!: Intrepid Pargat Singh lifts a bicycle with his teeth.

The scintillating golden trophy depicting the man driving and spurring the bullock cart means a lot more to the young and the old of villages of the rural Punjab than perhaps the Olympics trophy.

The chariot races in the ancient Olympic games of Greece might be the precursor to the modern-day Olympics, but the rural chariot races in the middle of fields of Kila Raipur decades ago have paved the way for bullock cart competitions that are an integral part of the rural games held at Kila Raipur every year.

Rather than changing with times, the hallmark of the games has been that these maintain their rustic character and bring into their fold more and more spectators and get them to change their opinion towards the “rural” games.

The races of horses, bullocks, mules, dogs, the daredevilry of the young and the old, the gallantry and flamboyance of grey-bearded men and the young teenage children have drawn international attention.

“The beauty of these games is that the baton has been passed on for generations. It now showcases a great culture of rural sports and involves everyone,” says Jagbir Grewal, who is associated with the games.

The animal races, tug of war, kabaddi, wrestling, tractor race and acrobatics and feats of strength continue to maintain the rural flavour.

“We are also including modern games such as hockey and cycling to engage the youth,” says Sukhvir Grewal, chief organiser of the games.

A big draw

The games were no different this year, as more than 40 events of traditional and modern games were organised during the four-day sporting extravaganza.

Besides attracting spectators from Punjab and neighbouring states, the event drew a large number of foreign nationals.

Music to ears: Youngsters perform “Malwai Giddha” symbolising the cultural ethos of the belt.

“We came to see the rural games, especially the bullock-cart races,” says Michael Mueller from Germany. “I was impressed with the daring horsemanship of the people,” says Angus Colqehoum from Scotland.

Cultural programmes showcasing the rural and folk culture of Punjab, including folk dances, “dhadi jathas”, etc, make this a unique spectacle.

Clamour grows for national festival status
Mahesh Sharma

Horsepower: A rider in action on the final day of the 77th Kila Raipur Sports Festival in Ludhiana on Sunday.

Dogged grit: It’s a race to the finish for these greyhounds and their owners.

Disappointed at the lack of concern shown by successive governments towards restoring the “national festival status” to the Kila Raipur Sports Festival, sports enthusiasts have urged political leaders of the region to use their resources to get back the status.

Sports lovers say local politicians should ensure that the event appears on the calendar of national festivals besides getting grants for the event.

Gur Sandeep Singh Sunny, president, Grewal Sports Association, which orgainises the event, says Union Minister Manish Tewari has assured them of doing the needful to restore the national festival status to the festival soon. But sportspersons led by Baljit Singh Taggar say the administration has failed to do enough despite the decision of the Union Ministry of Tourism to put the event on list of national festivals 12 years ago.

Awards awaited

Area residents allege that the organisers have failed to claim facilities and privileges for the event due to politicisation of the festival. The Punjab Government had announced five awards of Rs 1 lakh each for outstanding performers of the Rural Olympics seven years ago. The then Finance and Planning Minister, Surinder Kumar Singla, had announced Rs 1 lakh each for the best bullock cart racer, best all-round rural sportsperson, best kabaddi team, best wrestler and the best team in loading-unloading of tractor-trailers. But the awards never materialised.