Tales of the horse whisperer

The beauties Adhiraj Singh dotes on are sleek and four-legged.

He experiences a different kind of thrill as the hooves meet the ground at unimaginable speed, creating a cloud of dust all around. The beast of burden may be just that for many, but for Adhiraj Singh they are beasts of passion, a passion that is now a way of life, a passion that begins at the stable and ends there too "" among his prized possessions "" his horses.

Polo would probably have remained the mint with the hole had Singh not given it the kiss of life and transformed it into a much-loved sport, not for the uniformed men alone, but for everyone who enjoys the sight of the winter sun falling upon the gleaming bodies of race horses.

Singh's relationship with horses and polo began as part of a family saga. With uncles who topped the list of polo players in the country, Singh grew up with equestrian sport all around him. While the rest of the country fasted and feasted for cricketers, Singh began hero-worshipping polo players.

When the time came for him to choose a path that would earn him his livelihood, Singh chose one that was strong enough to accommodate the gallop of horses along with his own footsteps. And so, from Adhiraj Singh he became Major Adhiraj Singh, who spent 12 years in the army and went on to represent the country in the 1982 Asian Games for equestrian sports.

But his passion for horses and polo refused to share attention with anything else. In 1995, Singh's journey forked out, forcing him to pick between army and horses.

The latter was the obvious choice, and with little money in his pocket, solely on his sheer fervour for equestrian sport, he started his sports management company, Equisport Management. In his own words, he planned to make a living off his passion.

Like in every love story, the Singh-polo love story had to face its share of rebellion and challenges too. The first five years of Equisport were a rough ride. With few people aware of polo, getting sponsors for games was an ordeal.

They had never been approached to invest in a game like polo and took time to understand what it would mean for them in terms of returns. More importantly, the task at hand was to get sponsors who were willing to sustain their support for the game.

The fact that polo is a winter sport helped, giving Singh ample time to improve his own game, convince sponsors, come up with marketing ideas and do the background work that would prepare him for the next season.

Today, 11 years into the company, Singh prides himself in reviving the love for polo and the love for horses in the country. With his own stable in Delhi, Singh finds peace and satisfaction among the 20-odd horses he looks after.

Question him about the relationship he shares with his horses and he laughs at the thought. "Horses are not like dogs," he grins. "They understand good treatment and they have affinity for the hand that feeds them, but that is it."

Yet, his attachment for horses is easy to understand through his actions. For Singh doesn't discard an old horse but retires it with a respectable job "" often using it to train children.

In fact, even with his hectic schedule, Singh's day starts with his horses and ends with them. Daily morning visits to the stable ensure that his horses are healthy and happy and a second visit after office is his riding and training time.

Work is not a word that Singh likes to use for his...work. Though he admits that work does become work sometimes, it is his working environment that keeps him going all the time. Beautiful, is how he describes his working environment and there is no other word for it. "I couldn't have imagined my life any other way. I am very satisfied today," he says.

His ability to look at life in shades of grey kept him from setting goals for himself. Even so, the one "vague" goal he does have is to popularise equestrian sports to the maximum of his ability "" though where the maximum ends, he doesn't know.

In love with his leisure, which transforms into watching sports on television, Singh doesn't get time to pursue any other hobby seriously. But he isn't one to complain.

Having brought polo into every Indian home and having made an unknown game into a page three event, he is happy with where he stands today and is happy to continue working in the same manner, even if it means not having the time to do anything else.

For, while people work to create an environment that allows them to do things they are passionate about, Singh has created a working environment that revolves around his passion.