God must have been a poet, so they say! According to a middle - eastern legend, God created a particular four - legged creature from winds blowing from four different directions: the mammal was given the spirit of the north wind, strength of the south wind, speed of the east wind and intelligence of the west wind. To cut a long story short, we mortals prefer calling this animal as the “horse”!

Arabs were probably the first horse - breeders and certainly few people have been as devoted to their steeds as these desert people. Scientifically called “Equus Caballus”, these creatures were bred for their speed and endurance, with size and bulk often taking a back seat.

First used in wars and expeditions, the horse was soon utilised for work and pleasure. As any equestrian enthusiast would point out, no machine can replace the spirited stallion in pleasure - riding, racing, hunting, parades…

Tagging along with the above professed view, this Star Supplement draws attention to an indigenous breed of horse that has become an integral part of most tongawallahs’ lives in Mysore — Kathiawari horses.

Before the advent of automobiles, the widely preferred mode of transportation was the horse - drawn carriage. Designed especially for comfort and elegance, horse carriages were also used for transportation of goods and essential commodities. The stagecoach, charabanc, omnibus, coupe, britzka, droshky, post chaise, whiskey, phaeton and the limousine were some of the most popular horse carriages in the western hemisphere.

In India, down south, and with special emphasis on Mysore, the local “Tonga” rules supreme. Considered as an heritage fixture in the city of palaces, the tongas are drawn by various breeds of ponies and mares, most notable among them being the small yet robust "Kathiawari horses". Accepted throughout the country as the purest and oldest of all Indian horse breeds, Kathiawari horse traces its origin to the Kathiawar peninsula of Gujarat. According to a popular legend dating back to the 14th century, shipwrecked Arabian stallions swam inshore and bred with the local ponies producing the first set of Kathiawari horses. Patronised by the Kathi tribesmen and Rajput rulers of the Saurashtra region, the Kathiawari was initially used as a thorough - bred war horse. Considered to be the most comfortable riding horse in India, Kathiawari possesses great stamina, a light pace and can carry huge weights across long distances stretching to weeks at times.

Kathiawari Exodus to Mysore:
It would be worthwhile to note that the Wadiyars of Mysore were the first in South India to purchase the Kathiawaris from Gujarat. Initially a part of Dasara retinue, the Kathiawari breed of horses are today used to draw tongas in and around Mysore. Priced between Rs. 1 lakh and 2 lakh, Kathiawari are more of a rarity with just around 20 of them left in Mysore. Most tongawallahs prefer buying cheaper breeds like Marwari and Gulfaams. But then again, all breeds like the Marwari, Rajput, Charls, Gulfaams etc, are off - shoots of the Kathiawari horse!

Kathiawari horses are procured during the annual horse fair held in Pandarapur, Maharashtra on the auspicious occasion of Deepavali. A majority of the horses fill the stables of the Police and Army units spread across the country. Kathiawari horse is often mistaken for a pony due to its diminutive size. Standing not more than 15 hands high, they come in a variety of colors like Chestnut, Dun, Tobiano pinto and in assortments of eye - catching cream dilutions. The hall marks of the Kathiawari breed are fine heads attached to graceful necks, a build that’s slim & wiry with a narrow but deep chest. The back is long and the croup moderately slopping. Although their legs are slim, they are strong and the hooves tough. To this must be added the legendary pace and quiet temperament.

Present plight of Kathiawari Tongas in Mysore:
Modernization of public transportation has definitely affected the tongas’ trade in our city. Though tongas were once used to ferry school children to their temples of learning, auto rickshaws today rule the roost. Further, the tongas were used to transport bridegrooms to their mantaps. This too has changed thanks to the craze for fancy cars and macho-looking SUVs. Even transportation of construction material (which was once the bastion of bullocks and tongas) are being chartered out to private auto dealers, thus snatching the morsel bowl from the grasps of the emancipated tongawallahs.

Maintaining the Kathiawari breed can be quite expensive nowadays: on an average, the tonga drivers spend Rs.100 per day for the well - being of their horses, with no respite in the sky - rocketing prices of essential commodities and food grains, fodder and horse gram which constitutes the staple diet of Kathiawari horse. Moreover, the tongawallahs hardly manage to sustain themselves with the populace shying away from using their services on the grounds of class prestige and derision from onlookers and friends alike. They are treated as remnants of the past and are patronised only during the Dasara celebrations.

And that’s were the irony becomes all the more acute: as Dasara nears, the district authorities paint the tonga carts free of cost and the tonga drivers are paid a sum of Rs.3000 with which they’ll have to fend for themselves till the next Dasara season! Their agony doesn’t end there: the Govt. renders this community no service during the off-season months. There are no provisions for medical treatment of the tongawallahs and their horses. Worse, they have just one tonga stand situated at Agrahara Circle in city.

When told that the present govt. is mooting the idea of converting the recently renovated 14 - crore city bus stand into a tonga stand, they can’t stop themselves from laughing at the absurdity of the idea. They reply ironically that they are starving and the govt. wants to build them a hi - tech tonga stand: What has happened to our wise city fathers? They can’t help lamenting that whenever they approach the authorities some assistance, they always turn a deaf ear. Working from 8 am to 8 pm, the tongawallahs hardly make Rs.100 a day, thanks to the apathy of customers and the district authorities. With the summer holidays begun, maybe it’s time we took a ride in one of these tongas to explore our city, thus saving fuel and enjoying the steady trot of Kathiawari horse, apart from contributing our mite to the tongawallahs of Mysore.

Chetak:
Chetak was the most famous horse of Maharana Pratap Singh of Mewar, whom Pratap rode during the gruesome Battle of Haldighati, Rajasthan, on June 21, 1576.
Chetak died in this battle and since then has been immortalised in the ballads of Rajasthan. This famous warhorse was of Kathiawari or Marwari breed. Folklore has it that Chetak's coat had a blue tinge. That is why Rana Pratap is sometime referred as the "Rider of the Blue Horse" in ballads. At the battle, Pratap's forces were decisively out - numbered. While mounted on Chetak, Pratap made a daring attempt on the life of Imperial Mughal Commander Man Singh. When Pratap saw that the battle's tide was turning against him, he decided to settle the issue one way or the other in a spectacular and quintessentially Rajput manner.

Man Singh was directing the battle seated on an elephant. Pratap charged frontally at the Imperial army, hacked his way through the massed ranks of enemy combatants and reached Man Singh's elephant. Once there, Chetak reared high in the air and planted his hooves on the forehead of Man Singh's elephant. Pratap threw his lance at Man Singh, who had the necessary quick reflexes to duck in time. The blow fell on the mahout instead, who was killed instantly.

In the general melee that followed, Chetak received a fatal wound on one of his legs. This was the turning point of the battle. Mewar's bold gamble to siege the battle in its favour had failed. As Man Singh was whisked away to safety, Pratap found himself surrounded by enemy soldiers. This was the moment of decision for Pratap, whether to seek personal glory by embracing martyrdom on the battlefield, or to live and keep the flame of resistance burning. If he lived, Mewar stood another chance. In fact every rebel anywhere in India against the Mughal Empire would have a rallying figure.

Pratap was loath to leave a battle in between, but was prevailed upon by his faithful followers. By some accounts, one of the Jhala Sardar literally snatched the Royal Insignia from Maharana's person and wore them himself, thus making him a target for Mughal Army. As the Mughal army fell upon the Jhala sardar mistaking him for Maharana, Maharana left the battlefield with some of his loyal followers. Chetak was exhausted and seriously wounded, but laboured on carrying his master. About 2 miles from the site of the battle he came across a small stream. It was here, while trying to leap across the stream, that Chetak collapsed. Maharana erected a small and beautiful monument for his beloved companion at the place where Chetak fell. This cenotaph still exists near the village of Jharol in Rajsamand District. Chetak lives on in poetic traditions as the epitome of loyalty.

Tongawallahs of Mysore:
Indian Customers Vs Firangis!
Contrary to a generally accepted belief that foreigners love to travel by tongas whenever they visit our city, Sadiq, a tonga driver who has been riding horses since the age of 9 years, asserts that Indian tourists use the tonga more than foreigners. Only one out of around 1000 western tourists who visit Mysore would ply on a tonga in the city.

Roti, Kapda Aur Makaan:
Poverty and destitution has taken its toll on this 200 - strong community of tongawallahs. Boys as young as 8 years are forced to discontinue their education in order to provide for their families. A majority of them live in huts and tin sheds adjacent to open drains and dilapidated bridges across the city. With no saviour in sight, many today work as coolies in order to procure for themselves and their large families one decent square meal a day.

Monsoon Woes:
Apart from various problems they encounter almost everyday, tongawallahs are hit the hardest during any on - going monsoon season. The rains inadvertently make a dent in the daily earnings of a tongawallah and many of them are forced to search for an optional job during monsoons.

Pariahs of a thankless society:
Tongawallahs are often entrusted with most of the gut wrenching jobs in our city: their vehicles are frequently used to ferry dead, decomposed bodies and mutilated human carcasses from rail tracks all the way to hospital mortuaries.

Kathiawari’s Road to Perdition:
With most of the tonga drivers being poor, no one has the money to buy a new Kathiawari horse nowadays. Further, these horses fall prey to the usual diseases haunting their breeds: the tongawallahs can hardly afford to treat their beloved horses with costly medicine and cures. They thus die before they reach their actual life span and term of expectancy. If things continue at such a rate, we will have to one fine day visit some north Indian region just to have a glimpse of these magnificent creatures.

MLS
Courtesy: Star of Mysore

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