Centuries of royal horseplay

BOOK EXTRACT

When Rao Raja Hanut Singh, after his retirement from polo, was asked what he thought was the greatest match he had ever played in, he said:

'People often ask me what I consider to be the greatest match I have ever played in during more than half a century of polo. Before my retirement, I had played around the world from Calcutta to Deauville, from Hurlingham to Meadow Brook. I have played with or against all those whom polo historians rank as the truly great players. Even after all these wonderful years of international polo, I would still choose as my greatest game, a contest that took place almost fifty years ago in India. It was in 1922 during a visit by the Prince of Wales... Imagine the scene in Delhi, a crowd of a hundred and fifty thousand around the polo field, among them the future King of England, the Viceroy, some fifty Maharajas and Princes, dozens of Generals and high government officials and all the ladies as if they were about to be received at court. Such an atmosphere naturally added to our determination to win.

'My father has set his heart on the game and we had a string of a hundred and fifty ponies from which to choose. Patiala had even greater resources, including a style of polo I can only describe as a chess game, a wonderful control of the ball from all corners of the field. We knew the only way to beat them was with a game of speed, always playing the ball to an imaginary line straight down the centre of the field from one goal to another. That is the way we played, but Patiala was still leading 4-0 in the third chukka. I finally scored just before the interval, and after the interval we caught fire, drawing even with Patiala and in the final minute of the match, passing them. The roars from the crowd were so deafening that none of us heard the final bugle and we knew the game was over only when thousands of spectators began pouring onto the field. As my No.1, Prithi Singh, rode past the V.I.P. pavilion "" he swung his stick round and round his head and threw it high into the air. Dignitaries from the pavilion rushed out onto the field to capture the stick as a souvenir. It was a scene I will never forget but what I remember most was the reaction of my father who died later that year. I think Sir H. Perry Robinson writing in the Times of London describes the game better that [sic] I can.'

Sir Robinson wrote:

'Halfway through the chukka, Jodhpur scored and drew even at five all. Three more minutes to go, and through those minutes, men, important Major Generals and personages in high political office stood up in the grandstand and waving their hats and shouting themselves hoarse, and women screamed. Only one figure it seems sat motionless. In front of the stands sat Sir Pertarb Singh (sic), regent of Jodhpur "" and a grand old polo player. He is, I believe, 78 years old now, and sits on his horse still beautifully. And all of India knows the Jodhpur team is the very apple of his eye, his darling and pride, and he had coaxed and nursed it for this fight. Through all this game he sat immovable, not a muscle, not an eyelid, not a finger moving. Not even in that last demoniac moment when Jodhpur scored its sixth goal and won. He was a figure carved out of wood. Then as the horn sounded, people from all sides broke, cheering and tumultuous, to congratulate him, the Prince among the first. And as the old man stood up, tears poured down his cheeks. "Now I can die happy" were his words when at last he spoke.' POLO IN INDIA
Author: Jaisal Singh
Photo Editor/ Research: Priya Kapoor
Publisher: Roli
Pages: 192
Price: Rs 2,975