For the following amusing account of some of the more popular of
Eastern regimental sports we are indebted to an officer in India. He
proceeds as follows:
The sports of the native Indian cavalry, commonly called _Nesi Basi_,
are much encouraged by the authorities, as to excel in them requires
steady nerve and good riding. I believe it is the custom in most
regiments to devote one morning a week to these essentially military
games. They are most popular with the men, it is easy to see, for
besides the hundred or so who generally turn out to compete, the
greater part of the regiment is present on foot as spectators.
The proceedings generally commence with tent-pegging pure and simple.
A short peg is driven into the ground, while some two hundred yards
distant the competitors are drawn up in line, each on his own horse;
for the native _sowar_, like the vassal of our own past times, comes
mounted and armed to his regiment. While off duty the native soldier
can dress as he pleases, so on occasions like the present, individual
taste breaks forth in showy waistcoat or gorgeous coloured turban.
Each man carries a bamboo spear in his hand. At a signal given by the
_wordi major_ or native adjutant, the first man, his spear held across
his body, starts at a canter; his wiry little country-bred knows as
well as he does what is in hand, and as the speed quickens to a gallop,
the pace is regular and measured, enabling his rider to sit as steady
as a rock. When about fifty yards from the object the sowar turns his
spear-point downward, bends well over the saddle till his hand is
below the girth, and then, when you almost think he has gone past, an
imperceptible turn of the wrist and--swish--the spear is brandished
round his head, with the peg transfixed on its point. Another is
quickly driven into the ground, and the next man comes up; he too hits
the peg, but perhaps fails to carry it away to the required distance,
for it drops from his spear-point as he is in the act of whirling it
round his head. This does not count, and he retires discomfited. The
third misses entirely; the fourth strikes but does not remove the peg
from the ground; while after them in quick succession come two or three
who carry it off triumphantly. With varying fortune the whole squad
goes by; and it is interesting to note the style of each horseman as
he passes, some sitting rigid till within a few yards of the mark;
others bending over and taking aim while still at a distance; some
silent, others shouting and gesticulating; while one no sooner has his
steed in motion than he gives vent to a certain _tremolo_ sound, kept
up like the rattle of a steam-engine, till close upon the peg, which
having skilfully transfixed, he at the same time throws his voice
up an octave or two, in triumph I suppose, as he gallops round and
joins his comrades. Two or three men now bring up their horses with
neither saddle nor bridle, and with consummate skill, guiding them by
leg-pressure alone, carry off the peg triumphantly, amid well-deserved
cries of '_Shabash!_' from the spectators.
The next part of the programme is 'lime-cutting.' Three lemons are put
up on sticks about twenty yards apart; and as the sowar gallops past,
tulwar in hand, he has successively to cut them in two without touching
the sticks--a by no means easy feat. Then three handkerchiefs are
placed on the ground; and a horseman, riding barebacked a good-looking
bay, flies past in a very cloud of dust, and on his way stoops, picks
up, and throws over his shoulder each handkerchief as he comes to it.
And now we come to the most difficult feat of all. A piece of wood a
little larger than a tent-peg is driven into the ground, and a notch
having been made in the top, a rupee is therein placed so as to be
half hidden from view. The feat is to ride at this, lance in hand,
and to knock out the rupee without touching the wood--a performance
requiring rare skill and dexterity; yet it is generally accomplished
successfully, once or twice, by the best hands of the regiment.
Perhaps the proceedings may close with something of a comic nature,
one man coming past hanging by his heels from the saddle, shouting and
gesticulating; others facing their horses' tails, firing pistols at a
supposed enemy, with more antics of a like nature, often ending in an
ignominious cropper, though the nimble _fareem_ generally succeeds in
landing on his feet.
The sports of the infantry are of a totally different nature. The last
time I had an opportunity of being present at a _tamasha_ of this kind
was a pleasant breezy day on the banks of the Ganges. A space about
twelve yards by fifteen was prepared by picking up and softening the
ground till it presented the appearance of a minute portion of Rotten
Row. One side of this space was reserved for the European officers
and their friends; while round the other three stood or squatted the
sepoys and any of their acquaintances from the neighbouring villages
whom they chose to invite. In the rear were booths, whose owners were
doing a brisk trade in native sweetmeats, while some twenty tom-toms
kept up a discordant and never-ending din. Every native present, from
havildar to sepoy, was clothed only in the _langoti_ or loin-cloth, to
give free play to the muscles of the limbs and chest. At each corner of
the arena stood a man in authority, like a Master of the Ceremonies,
to see that the sports were carried on in a proper manner and that
nobody allowed his temper to get the better of him. One of these was a
remarkably fine-looking man, who, had he been of somewhat lighter hue
and clothed in the garments of civilisation, might have passed as an
English aristocrat of the first-water; while another, of powerful build
and with mutton-chop whiskers, was the very image of an eminent City
man of my acquaintance.
We arrived on the scene a little late, but were immediately shewn to
a seat, one of the native officers coming up to hand us a plateful of
cut-up almonds and cocoa-nut, with raisins and spices intermixed. Of
course we took some, as this was the native welcome. We were hardly
seated when two wiry-looking young men stepped into the arena. First,
they each bent down and raised to the forehead a little earth in
the right hand. This was _poojah_, or a request for help from their
deity in the approaching struggle; though I suspect in most cases it
was a meaningless performance; for I saw a little Christian boy who
played first-cornet in the band, go through the same manœuvre. The
two wrestlers then went to opposite corners, and began some of the
queerest antics I ever saw, slapping their chests, thighs, and arms;
first hopping on the left, then on the right foot; bending over and
jumping back, and recalling in some degree the movements of the ballet;
and then, after a few feints, they clutched each other by the arms
close to the shoulder, while their two bullet-heads met together and
acted as battering-rams. This went on till one man presented a chance
by incautiously lifting his foot, when down he went in a trice, his
adversary falling on him. This, however, was not a 'fall.' While on
the ground, they turned and twisted and writhed like snakes, their
lean legs curling round each other in a manner marvellous to behold,
their efforts being greeted every now and then by applause, led by the
Masters of the Ceremonies aforesaid, given in a sing-song way, and
always ending in a long-drawn 'Tee' (Victory). It was almost wearisome
to watch them, until at length the bout was brought to an end by one
man being fairly thrown on his back, his adversary keeping clear. This
was a true 'fall.'
Couple after couple set to in the same way, sometimes a raw youth
requiring the friendly admonition of the watchful M. C. to make him
keep his temper, though I must say the friendly way in which these
exceedingly rough sports were carried on was deserving of the highest
praise.
I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw the aristocrat and the
mutton-chop whiskers man, throwing aside their dignity, enter the arena
and go through the same antics, the latter's pirouettes and _pas de
Zéphir_ resembling the gambols of a young elephant; but nevertheless
they went through the affair as their predecessors had done.
Between times the little boys from the neighbouring villages would
rush in as they saw their opportunity, and seizing a long sword with
a handle that covered the arm to the elbow make cuts and points
innumerable at a supposed enemy, dancing the while, and never leaving
the spot where they commenced. The meaning of this I could not divine,
but it pleased the spectators, for they did not withhold their
applause, the aristocrat himself on one occasion prolonging the usual
'Tee' in a sonorous voice after every one else had finished.
I was told that this sort of thing went on from early morning till
sunset; but though interesting for an hour, it soon begins to pall on
the ordinary European; so, after seeing a little single-stick and club
practice, excellent of their kind, we took our departure.
I think nothing can speak better for the class of men we have in our
native army than the genuine interest they take in these thoroughly
manly sports. While engaged in them, the habitual mark of deference
worn by the native soldier in the presence of his officer drops from
his face, and we can see him as he is, with all his keen appreciation
of fun and skill, in which he is not one whit behind his white comrade
in the regular army.