Jaipur Polo Ground sealed: ‘It has such a rich legacy of over 100 years’

It was a usual, sunny summer morning at the Jaipur Polo Ground in Delhi. Inside the Air Force camp near the Kemal Ataturk Road, workers were getting ready on Saturday to water the grass spread across the 15.2-acre stretch, a stomping ground for national polo tournaments — featuring princes and kings of erstwhile provinces, diplomats, Army men, and businessmen —- for over a century, and the only parcel of playing turf which the Indian Polo Association (IPA) has.

The viewing terraces were to be broomed, and a gigantic statue of the ‘noble horse’— carved with white stone and named ‘Rajesh’— overlooking the VIP sitting area, was to be dusted.

But officials at the venue knew it wouldn’t be like every other morning. On Friday, a sessions court had refused to grant a stay on the execution of the eviction order, passed on May 20, which stated that the 15.20 acres of Jaipur Polo Ground would be used “for a larger public purpose and benefit” by the Centre, without details of the said purpose or benefit.

And then their fears came true when at about 9:00 am, officials of the Land and Development Office (L&DO), which comes under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, arrived with 150 personnel from the CRPF and Delhi Police. They were there to seal it all — a century of elite sports history, and take control of one of the most valuable parcels of land in Delhi.

“We were not going to argue with them. They started clicking pictures of the area, and even their own selfies. We took the opportunity to collect some of our stuff from the ground. They then started to go around pillars and placed government notices on them,” said an official who works there.

Nearly a century ago, Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II of the erstwhile Jaipur province had gifted a parcel of his Delhi estate to the now dissolved Delhi Polo Club in 1930.

During the season, 300-400 people come to watch the games, with the circumference of the ground packed with parked vehicles, after no space is left in the parking area outside the vicinity.

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“And now it won’t be there. We started to prepare for the next season, but I knew after the Gymkhana…this land will go too. There is no other ground in Delhi which has a public- access to polo matches,” the official said.

“They say it’s for ‘defence’ infrastructure that they are taking it. Most high- ranking officials on the board (of IPA) are Army men. General Upendra Diwedi is the President. How about you ask them,” another official said.

It was on March 29, when the last match of the season was played at the ground between Jindal Panthers and Jaipur Achievers—the finale of the Northern India Polo Championship. Two days before that, industrialist Naveen Jindal had said that Polo was India’s “gift to the world”

“The matches would resume here in October, after the season starts in August from Bangalore polo ground. Matches are conducted in multiple cities throughout the season in different cities. Delhi has its first one in October,” said the official.

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Sahil, 32, who comes from Shahdara to work on the turf everyday, said he has spent his life on this ground. “I have been here since I was a kid, learning to be a caddie from other seniors here. My whole life has been about this place. I don’t know what my position will be here now,” he recalled.

Roshan, 23, a lanky young man standing with his t-shirt tucked inside his trouser—just like the golfers and polo players he assists — lives in a jhuggi near Lok Kalyan Marg. He said that he thought that his house would be on the chopping block next. “The jhuggis are being cleared. The places that employ people living there are also being taken by the government. Gymkhana gaya, ye bhi gaya. It’s moving so fast, I don’t know where to go,” he said.

Soon after, two men, in their 60s, hopped on the golfing turf attached to the polo ground, stretching their arms and moving and asking a caddie for a couple of golf balls. Both retired army veterans, they gave an almost cynical smile, almost together, when asked about the sealing of the polo ground.

“I don’t understand what’s the point of this. It hasn’t been a problem for 100 years. It’s such a beautiful green pasture of land. It has such a rich legacy. There are not many places like this in Delhi. I have always loved coming here,” one of them said.

The ground is not going to see another season of tournaments as of now. It has lived well though, with horses—ridden by men wearing skinny pants, boots, and helmets, swinging around 50- 55 inch long wooden mallets — galloping at the centre of the Capital, celebrities like Shah Rukh Khan and Shilpa Shetty coming for Pataudi Cup Matches, and international events like equestrian events and Asian Games all being played here.