‘Gehrebazi’ is the emblem of Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb

Allahabad: The depth of India’s unique syncretic culture can be gauged from city’s living tradition called Gehrebazi. Organised on all four Mondays of the Hindu month of Shrawan, Gehrebazi is a special horse show that brings Pandas and other communities of the city including Muslims at a common platform in the name of Shiva.
“Gehrebazi is much more than a show of how well kept and disciplined one’s horse is… started by the Panda samaj about 250 years ago, it is an emblem of the Ganga-Jamuni tehzib,” said Badr-e-Alam, the septuagenarian president of Prayag Gehrebazi Sangh, who would enter the show with his beloved horse Kanhaiya.
For the first 70-80 years, gehrebazi remained limited to Pandas, who attracted the attention of residents and devotees. But later on, they opened their arms to other residents. The change began with local Muslims, many of whom maintained a horse. After that, anyone with a good horse could participate in the game.
Rules of the game: “Sheer entertainment is the purpose it. No one wins or loses the game. Anyone with a horse can participate. There is no money involved through prize or betting,” said Banwari Lal aka Golu Panda, who’s four and a half year old horse Sultan would be showing his talent. The best horse is selected on the basis of rules for disqualification.
“The horse is expected to walk step by step or kadambazi… any galloping would lead to disqualification. The horse that is able to walk in the prescribed style for a distance of over five kilometres is the best,” informed Badr-e-Alam.
Different strokes and styles : Since there is no fear of losing, owners focus at attracting the attention of the residents and devotees by displaying the style of their horse. Accordingly, horses present different styles of walking.
Dulki for instance is the style in which the police horses walk. It may also be compared to the style in which the horses of India Cavalry walk during Republic Day Parade.
A soft-padded step-by-step move by horses is called the Sindhi chaal. The name comes from the natural pattern of walking of horses born in deserts who rarely got a chance to walk on streets.
The Madari chaal is a style seen in horses used during weddings and festivals. Though such horses are disqualified, they earn huge rounds of applause by acquiring the alaf position (standing on rear feet) and beating their trinkets laden front feet.
An expensive pastime : Maintaining a good breed of horse is surely a costly affair. But rearing a horse for Gehrebazi is even costlier. A lot goes into their diet and massage. The Gehrebazi enthusiasts treat their horses with around 4-5 kilograms of milk, four kilograms of gram, two kilograms of barley, about one and half kilograms of butter and 200 grams of almonds every day. In addition to this, the owners have their secret ingredients to build the stamina of their horses. Some people for instance use figs while others confided adding of raisins in the diet.
Moreover, a good amount of money goes in maintaining masseurs for the horse. According to one of the owners, a horse that walks for two hours must be massaged for about five hours which is no easy jobs. Findings a robust masseur is also a test of strength which many helpers fail to pass and often leave.