Mudbath

My home town Moodabidri hosted its 10th annual buffalo race also called Kambala at Kadalakere Nisargadhama on Saturday January 21. The Kambala or the buffalo race is unique to Udupi & Mangalore districts.

Mudbath

Historically Kambala was the event when farmers paid tribute to their gods for protecting their crops. There used to be lot of celebration and games as part of this festive atmosphere. Some say Kambala also marked the beginning of sowing operations for the second round of crops. Traditionally, there were two types of Kambalas, Pookere Kambala and Bale Kambala. Pookere Kambala is the only variety which survives now.

Mudbath

Kambala is traditionally a simple sport. The Kambala track used for muddy field filled with slush. The contest generally takes place between two pairs of buffaloes, controlled by a racer.

Moodabidri Kambala 2012

Kambala today has become an organized, professional sports. People place massive amounts of bets on the winning buffaloes and one can witness more than 20,000 spectators in a well organized Kambala, egging and cheering the buffaloes to complete the race. As of now, more than 45 races are held annually in Coastal Karnataka. Nearly 18 Kambalas are held under the banner of Kambala Samithi and the rest are held under the auspices of temples, political patronage and aristocratic Bunt households. Kambala still remains a hugely popular sport in Coastal Karnataka.

Moodabidri Kambala 2012

Being the 10th year this large rain water fed track was to witness record number of 200 pairs of Water Buffaloes. On that Saturday huge crowd had gathered to witness this folk sports. I was able to reach the venue only in the late evening and for 2 hours I took the pictures you see here. Nearing Sunset is best time in my opinion for shooting Kambala. Later most of the light will be from the overhead halogen lamps which light up the whole Kambala venue.

Moodabidri Kambala 2012

I used my Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM fitted to Canon EOS 1D Mark IV. This one lens & body combo is so perfectly matched for the low light situation and fast action sports. All the photos here are taken at f/2.8, shutter speed at 1/500th of second. ISO was kept on Auto and varied with light condition.

Moodabidri Kambala 2012

Kambala races take place in several different categories.

• Negilu: The runner will hold the plough ( it is not actual plough which is heavy and bulky, it is just a representation of which is tied to pair of buffalo. This type is mostly for the Junior buffaloes or entry level buffaloes. But there is again a junior , senior rounds in this race.
• Hagga : A rope is directly tied to the buffalo pair. And this is for Senior buffaloes as the speed is more here and the participating buffaloes are well experienced. This also has a Junior, senior levels.
• Adda halage : A cross wooden plank is tied to the pair and the runner stands on it while racing. This is just for the senior category.
• Kane halage: A round wooden block where the runner stands on it on his single leg. There will be two holes in the block out of which the water forces out while running. The height of the water forcing out is measured to choose the winner. The more the speed is more the water height is. And this is only for senior most category.

Kene Halage

Kene Halage and Adda Halage are 2 forms of the race which has very few contestants participating and is a vanishing from most Kambala races. Fortunately on this race we had 5-6 participants from both category. All the extreme water splashed photos you see here are from that category of race.

There is no fixed rule for size of the track which mostly depends on the availability of the space on the locality. Normally it is between 120 meters to 145 meters long and 8-12 meters wide. There is a thick layer of mud and then water on it. The thumb rule is water is filled in the track so that it completely contains about a feet deep mud. The tracks are called by name so it is easy for communication. In the middle of the track there are two strips of white cloth tied across the track which are used as height measurements for Kane halage races. One gauge is at 9.375 meters which is the highest and the other one is at 8.125 meters. This year 8.125 meter mark was breached after a long time, You can see this in the last but one photo here.

Kene Halage

Kambala is conducted in several parts of two districts Udupi and Mangalore from November to March. It is conducted always on a weekend so that it is possible for most spectators as well as participants all the Kambalas. The race starts usually Saturday morning and goes on all night and finishes Sunday afternoon. The final winners will be rewarded by the officials during the Kambala closing ceremony conducted in Sunday afternoon. It is watched by, on an average 20,000 spectators in a day.

Moodabidri Kambala 2012

Moodabidri Kambala 2012

Moodabidri Kambala 2012

Kene Halage

Moodabidri Kambala 2012

Moodabidri Kambala 2012

Moodabidri Kambala 2012

Moodabidri Kambala 2012

Moodabidri Kambala 2012

Moodabidri Kambala 2012

Moodabidri Kambala 2012

Moodabidri Kambala 2012

Moodabidri Kambala 2012

It is a hit among the tourists and lot of people from different part of city, country travel to see this race. My good friend dynamic realist artist Abbey Walmsley from England was there for this Kambala to photograph along with her friend Stefen. You can see her taking photograph in this photo crouching near the edge of Kambala Track.

Photographing Kambala

It is not always all that fun to take photographs of Kambala. If you are careful you may be gored or trampled by charging Buffaloes. I was able to catch one such situation where excited pair photographers met charging pair of Buffaloes near the finishing track. Trying to get that head on shot you might be risking your life. Then you have a risk of mud bath with splashing dirt soaking both you and your camera gear. My advice is better to be safe than sorry.

Kambala is Hazrdous to Photographer's Health

Spellbound

Here I present the second part of the Odissi dance Spellbound performed by Sutra Dance Theatre, Malaysia at Alva’s Virasat 2012. Spellbound, consisted of five Odissi compositions originally choreographed by Guru Durga Charan Ranbir, rearranged into group compositions by Ramli. The five items were Mangalacharan – Saraswati Vandana, Mukhari Pallavi, Ashta Shambhu, Oriya abhinaya – Kadamba bane banshi and Aditya Archana. In my first part of photos I had covered Mangalacharan – Saraswati Vandana, Mukhari Pallavi and Ashta Shambhu. Here I present other two compositions namely Oriya abhinaya – Kadamba bane banshi and Aditya Archana.

Spellbound

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Spellbound

Spellbound

I had a great opportunity to witness and document Odissi dance Spellbound performed by Sutra Dance Theatre, Malaysia at Alva’s Virasat 2012. Alva’s Virasat is a national level cultural program held every year at Shobhavana, Mijar.

Spellbound

Last year Ramli Ibrahim and his Sutra Dance Theatre group had performed at Alva’s Virasat 2011 with Vision of Forever Odissi performance. I had watched that performance only on TV and unable to capture photographs due to my busy schedule that day. So this year not to miss I kept all my work aside and attended, I am really glad about it as it was truly enthralling performance. I was able to capture over 500 good photos of the performance. I am trying to present select 27 photos in this part and others in the next part next week. Selecting them and reducing from such a large number to these few was a bigger task for me than taking those photos

Spellbound

Spellbound

I also had the opportunity to try out new Adobe Lightroom 4 beta which was released to public two days back. All these photos are processed using that software. It adds 2 more modules to the existing 5 modules, namely the photo book creator and the Google map for GPS location editing. There is a new white balance brush, develop modules are extensively revamped. All these changes in Lightroom made these photos much more processable. I was having a real tough time to get the color cast off due to varied color lights used in the dance. That variation is minimized due to the improvement in Lightroom 4. I will write an extensive review soon on the improvements in the Lightroom 4 in my future blog.

Spellbound

Spellbound

The name Ramli Ibrahim is synonymous with his Malaysia based Sutra Dance Theatre which has never failed in providing surprising, thought-provoking and often exciting Odissi dance recitals. Ramli Ibrahim himself is also synonymous with the invariable production of a strong original repertoire. An imaginative, sensitive and accomplished dancer himself, Ramli always attempts to break new ground in Odissi and this particular programme named Spellbound obviously had the same objective.

Spellbound

Spellbound

Spellbound, is billed as A tryst with the timeless beauty of Odissi… and consisting of five Odissi compositions originally choreographed by Guru Durga Charan Ranbir, rearranged into group compositions by Ramli. The five items were Mangalacharan – Saraswati Vandana, Mukhari Pallavi, Ashta Shambhu, Oriya abhinaya – Kadamba bane banshi and Aditya Archana. The presentation of all the items was good and in parts, even arresting, as expected of Sutra Dance Theatre. In my first part of photos I present the first 3 items namely Mangalacharan – Saraswati Vandana, Mukhari Pallavi and Ashta Shambhu.

Spellbound

Spellbound

The female dancers were notably good – their grace and sureness speaks well of their abilities as solo dancers too. For me this was heartening. The only slightly odd feature that stood out was the lower limb movements of the male dancers. Their legs moved with a degree of effeminacy, as also the exaggerated feminine swaying of the hips – beyond a degree this becomes uncalled for in a male dancer. Ramli’s dancing was obviously outstanding; his rich experience and aesthetic sense brought out an inner ecstasy, the joy in the persona of the dancer that is so fulfilling. In comparison, Guna – the other male dancer – gave a rather dull display. The power and depth which Guna is capable of and has demonstrated previously in his last years performance, was missing here, inexplicably.

Spellbound

Spellbound

An added issue for me was the execution of the Mukahri Pallavi, specifically Guna’s role in it. The character that Guna represented could not be communicated to the audience; it certainly left me confused and in spite of a plethora of movements and poses by this dancer, the message just did not get across. A misfortune, specially when the lucidity of a choreograph fails to fulfill its function! It is also clear that Odissi, derived from one of the most ancient forms of Indian dance, has a vast grammar. It does not need to be embellished by ballet movements to heighten its aesthetic appeal.

Spellbound

Spellbound

It is refreshing to see Suthra group was not using the stitched costume. Even though Ramli’s team has been criticized for skipping the oudhni (veil) worn by female dancers, I found the costume worn by them perfectly suitable for these dances without being vulgar. However, the absence of the taitha (Armlet) was glaring; this particular ornament adds much grace and appeal to the feminine form and I am wondering why the female dancers chose to do away with it!

Spellbound

Spellbound

Ramli Ibrahim, Guna were the two male dancers.The female dancers were Shivagamavalli, Geethika Sree, Michelle Chang, Abiramavalli, Thrisherna, Jyotsna and Shobhna Kumari Bag. Special mention must be made of Sivagamavalli and Geethika Sree, who were easily a cut above the rest.

Spellbound

Spellbound

Ramli Ibrahim has done commendable service to Odissi classical dance and its spread in South East Asia and many parts of the world. His fascination with Odissi has added a touch of exactitude to his inspired performances and thought provoking choreography. The future beckons with even greater promise, and I extend profound good wishes to him on the journeys ahead.

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