POMP, PEOPLE AND POLO
Pageantry and royalty arrive in Jodhpur every December – and no, this isn’t a celebrity-wedding-slash-Hollywood-type affair. Rather, mingle with actual monarchs while watching the sport of kings with a glass of whisky that honours a queen.
The majestic city of Jodhpur has a grand polo tradition that persists to the present day
In Jodhpur, the only noise that approaches the constant clap of explosive horns produced by cars and tuk tuks, in both ubiquity and sound quality, is the thunderous crescendos of fighter jets piercing through the skies.
The Indian Air Force has set up base here, sharing its landing strip with the city’s commercial airport. But this military link isn’t new. In fact, it goes way back, before men could even fly.
The Jodhpur Lancers were the celebrated cavalry unit of the erstwhile princely state. From 1885 to 1952, it was probably the hum of horses thundering down the city’s desert grounds, hooves kicking up dust, that filled the air. Besides having served under the British Army at various battles, their finest hour came during the liberation of Haifa, fighting against machine guns of the Turkish troops, in what many, including the current Maharaja of Marwar-Jodhpur, Maharaja Gajsingh II, calls “the last of the great cavalry charges”.
It may be the last, but His Highness – whose ancestor led the victorious horse regiment – still hopes to keep his family’s equestrian legacy alive.
During a lavish, dinner at the garden grounds of Umaid Bhawan Palace, home to the Maharaja and hotel to the privileged few (Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra booked out the property, partly owned by Taj Hotels, for their late-2018 wedding), His Highness elaborates, “Equestrianism has always been very important to us and I wanted to introduce polo back into Jodhpur. Polo has history, a kind of integrity. It encompasses all kinds of coordination skills.You need to be a horsemen, a manager – you need to be everything.”
Surprisingly, the septuagenarian monarch doesn’t play the sport of kings… much. “Unfortunately, I missed out,” he tells the audience, which consists of dignitaries and dukes. “I didn’t grow up with it… Not being a great athlete myself, I didn’t go out of my way to find it either, except for a brief moment at the Oxford Polo Club but that didn’t last too long. Anyway, I came back [to India] and I was still determined to introduce the sport to honour the family’s 800-year equestrian history.”
An old sport
Since 2008, Maharaja Gajsingh has personally hosted the British Polo Day, a three-day party-gathering of like-minded people. Come chilly December, in between games and gala dinners, guests can sip on Royal Salute whisky to keep warm or try their hands at polo themselves, through a Polo Clinic at Jodhpur Polo and Equestrian Institute. The fact that ex-England Captain and Royal Salute Polo Ambassador Malcolm Borwick is always the coach to the novice underlines his passion to expand the
participation in polo along with trying to equate it with respect, integrity and honour. For the very origins of the game is quite gruesome, as Borwick shares.
“The Persians first played polo about 2,500 years ago. Though the original version is more of a tribal victory game, whereby if a tribe has won a battle, they would basically cut off the head of the defeated leader and drag it from one end of the field to another and stick it in a net with a hoop.
“And it hasn’t changed much since,” Borwick jokes to a dozen of potential polo prodigies.
The modern version of the game is actually from India, Borwick says. “We are in the heartland of modern polo,” he quips. The story goes that two British army officers were walking through a tea plantation in Manipur and saw some locals playing a ball game with hooked sticks. They thought what a great training activity it could be for the British military because riding a horse required the left hand while the right hand held the sword – and now mallet. The officers went back to London and created a 38-page document and those 38 pages of rules are the same one apparently still used today.
Feast for kings
Time-honoured traditions and togetherness are obviously key to Royal Salute’s successful polo programme in Jodhpur. It’s the blended whisky brand’s sixth year working with British Polo Day India. And it has amassed a team of familiar faces to front the event over the years, from Borwick to Barnabé Fillion, a perfumer turned creative advisor. This time around, the Frenchman is joined by India-born, Paris-based Jahnvi Lakhota Nandan, who performs through dance and poem as much as she perfumes Barnabé’s Olfactory Studio for Royal Salute with her astonishing aura and unconventional aromas.
Together, the pair makes a sensational team, presenting mesmerising scents and single malt-food pairings, such as the smoky balsamic extract of sea shells (a note also called ‘the goddesses nails’ as explained by Nandan) that’s sniffed before nosing the 21-year-old Glen Keith (one of the single malts used in a Royal Salute blend) while enjoying a mustard leaf, olive-stuffed spanakopita. The sensorial intermingling is a testament to Royal Salute’s beautiful blending capabilities.
Treat to the senses
But for a true treat to the senses, opt to hire a private guide from Legacy Expeditions, who can really show you the pulse of the city, especially where a cluster of cerulean-coated houses, associated with the Brahmins, are located. The local guide can also give in-depth details about the city’s cannot-be-missed, and should-notbe-missed, Mehrangarh Fort, one of the largest and most pristine forts in India, during the daytime.
Though wait until nightfall and Jodhpur’s vibrant cultural buzz is illuminated against the dark, almost ethereal citadel backdrop. This British Polo Day-exclusive event sees procession after profession of traditional entertainment as you climb through the tall, dark fort. Pass by sinuous dancers and skillful musicians playing alongside fire-eaters and Rajasthani women balancing multiple pots on their heads. If that’s not incredible enough, there’s a nightcap awaiting for you at the top – of a perfumed Royal Salute cocktail called The Royal Rose, created in honour of Queen Elizabeth II using Royal Salute 21 Year Old Whisky and the essence from Centifolia roses, which are said to be more expensive than gold.
Nothing quite beats sipping on this liquid gold with the whole of sleepy Jodhpur at your feet – the only echo heard tonight is the sick beats spun by a DJ, when the procession turns into a full-fledge party. And boy, can the Maharaja dance.