NRIs and Mumbaikars power Kambala in times of distress

MANGALURU: Fruit rot disease or koleroga has hit a majority of arecanut plantations in undivided Dakshina Kannada district bringing down the yield by more than half.  But that seems to have hardly made any dent in the celebration of Kambala, the traditional buffalo race. Instead, there has been no stopping of the sport becoming more grand every passing year.

All thanks to NRIs and Mangaloreans settled outside the state, who are contributing their might to the protection of this traditional culture. The Kambala at Aikala village near here on Saturday saw over 50 hoteliers, industrialists, builders and businessmen from all over the globe come to their native for the annual event. Half of them were from Mumbai, most of whom had come with their families. Though Kambalas are organised by landlords, the expenditure is huge and hence the support of NRIs and businessmen is paramount. Aikalabhava Kantabare -Boodabare Jodukere Kambala Samithi president Deviprasad Shetty said the expenditure of the one-day event runs into `20 lakh of which the maximum contribution is from those settled in Mumbai and foreign countries.

Kushal Bhandary from Mumbai, said they make it a point to visit Aikala every year during Kambala and he has never missed it even once ever since he migrated to Mumbai 33 years ago. The date with their native village means a lot for them as it helps continue and protect the tradition and culture.

In fact, more than a 100 people, who hail from Aikala and are settled in Mumbai, have formed a Kambala committee, to ensure that the buffalo race goes on. Kushal Shetty is its president. In future, he said they are planning to form a trust with a deposit of `3-4 crore for the sake of Kambala.

Gananath Shetty, a businessmen from Mumbai, had four of his college classmates as guests. They together had watched Kambala in Mijar during mid-1970s.Tracing the origin of Aikalabhava Kambala, Krishnananda Shetty of the village, said the tradition is being followed for more than 600 years. “The kere (sluch track) which was a single track, was upgraded to Jodukere (double track) 43 years ago. The legend has it that Tipu Sulthan used to give a contribution of one anna to the Aikala Kambala every year during his regime.”