Mithapur’s polo legacy

Aparna Banerji

In 1987, following an open polo tournament at the Jaipur Polo Grounds in New Delhi, the chief guest, ‘Maharani’ Gayatri Devi of Jaipur, requested a meeting with a dashing player, Major Narinder Singh. Complimenting him, she said, “Narinder, you were the best today. Your complete nearside backhander goal was that of a 10+ handicap player.” That tall, strapping ‘lad’ of 44 is 81 today, and Lt Col Narinder Singh (retd) remains as passionate about the sport as ever.

Hidden away in the bylanes of Mithapur village in Jalandhar, which has produced several hockey players of international repute, is the blink-and-miss entrance to Daroga Haveli. Horses and dapper turbaned men on horseback share space with maharajas and generals in sepia-toned pictures at the haveli, which bears testimony to its sporting, military and equestrian legacies.

Between four generations, the house boasts of two men who served in World War I and II, the village’s first hockey Olympian gold medallist and two international polo players.

Lt Col Narinder Singh is the surviving keeper of the family’s equestrian and military heritage. His grandfather, Subedar Labh Singh, a World War I veteran, was referred to as Daroga Sahib, hence the haveli’s name.

Daroga Sahib’s octogenarian grandson has many interesting tales to tell. These involve the likes of Prince (now King) Charles, Maharaja of Jaipur Sawai Mansingh, Gayatri Devi and Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw. He recalls how he was a reserve player for the young Prince Charles when he wielded the stick for a game of polo in India.

Lt Col Narinder Singh’s father Swarup Singh, who was in the Indian Air Force, was among the hockey legends who bagged gold in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. His uncle, Maj Gurnam Singh, an equestrian and polo prodigy, rubbed shoulders with royalty and polo legends. A young Narinder picked up horse riding and a penchant for polo from him.

A photograph of Maj Gurnam Singh with Gen FRR Bucher (second Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army), his wife Lady Maureen Bucher and Sam Manekshaw holds a pride of place in the family’s hall of fame.

“My uncle started playing polo at 38. He was a gallant cavalry man, who saw action in West Asia, Egypt and Europe. He remained a prisoner of war in Italy. A passionate rider, during his polo years, he went on to win a number of tournaments in Meerut, Dehradun, Delhi, Bombay and Madras. He also excelled in hockey and football,” says Lt Col Narinder Singh.

Though immensely proud of Mithapur’s sporting credentials, he laments how people in Punjab have forgotten the nuances and charm of polo.

“The golden era is long past. It grieves me immensely,” he says. “Sponsorships for the game have dried up. Military patronage isn’t what it used to be. We rode on fine Indian-bred horses at home and Argentinian horses abroad. Now, no one has the time and money. Maharaja Jai Singh was my contemporary. The Jaipur royal family is the only patron in whom hope prevails. I see the sport’s future in the Jaipur scion, Padmanabh Singh,” he adds.