OPEN SEASON

 

ONE BLOODY CUP 

BY

WAR VET

 

1.               Of all the impressive trophies displayed in the RVC Centre & College Offr Mess, the most impressive and interesting is the ‘Kadir Cup’. This cup was the prize for the most popular ‘Pig Sticking’ event during the British Raj. The game involved men on horseback armed with spears hunting wild boar in the wild green expanse of the Ganga Kadir or Khadar.

 

2.               In spite of its ancient origin from Rajputs of middle ages, the modern pig sticking as we know began in early 1800’s out of the decline in bear sticking and bear hunting with dogs in Bengal Presidency. Strong, fast and aggressive when threatened, the wild boar quickly replaced the bear as game of choice.

  

3.               In late 1800’s, a number of ‘Tent clubs’ came up in places like Meerut, Poona and Calcutta which organized the hunts. Many tent clubs held competitive hunts and the most prestigious of these was the Kadir Cup (pronounced Karde or Kaada or Khadar) first hosted by the Meerut Tent Club in 1871.  The cup was a ‘first spear’ competition, held over three days with up to fifty entrants.  Each entrant could run two horses, the team being drawn and raced in heats of three i.e. up to six horses and riders running after a flushed hog. The first to show a bloodied spear to the umpire progressed to the next round while the next of the heat chased the pig down. Accordingly to an eyewitness, “The line is a fine sight, with 50 elephants crowded with competitors, spectators and a fair sprinkling of ladies. In front of the line are 150 coolies with the flag elephant, signalers and the shikaris on their camels.  Ahead are the three heats with their umpire.’’ The winner’s identity was communicated to the crowd by the ‘Flag elephant’ whose mount would hoist the winner’s number. A film of Kadir cup 1934 is available on YouTube for viewing. The winner then was Mr. Grey of Skinners Horse.

 

4.               There were several journals and magazines such as ‘Hog Hunters Manual’ and ‘The Oriental Sporting Magazine’ that covered such events. There are also several famous books on the subject which include Sir Robert Baden Powell’s ‘Pig Sticking or Hog Hunting: A complete Account for Sportsmen and Others’, ‘Reminiscences of twenty years of pig sticking in Bengal’ by Raul and ‘Modern Pig Sticking’ by Major AE Wardrop. Pig sticking then had its own super bowl- the Kadir Cup, its own toast ‘To the Boar!’ and its own songs.  A number of artists illustrated the sport for magazines and prints, most notably Charles Johnson Payne (1884-1967), who signed his sketches ‘Snaffles’. The sport thrived in India from the early 1800s until hunting was banned in late 1980s.  Its essence was described by Maj Gen JG Elliott in his book ‘Field Sports in India 1800-1947’ as follows: ‘Armed with a nine foot lance, the pig sticker rode a galloping horse in pursuit of a wild boar which had been flushed out of the bush by beaters.  The aim was to stick the boar immediately behind the shoulders, so that the spear would pass through the lungs and out of the breast’.

 

5.               It is interesting to note that fox hunting has been described as ‘unspeakable in pursuit of the uneatable’.  But boar was considered a great delicacy. Pig sticking helped the British to get accustomed with the heat and promoted adventure, courage and sportsmanship. Young people rather than making a beeline to hill stations like Shimla opted for this healthy and happy pursuit. Pig sticking was also popular amongst the ICS besides the royalty and cavalry. A possible reason is the fact that it was hard to train a team of civilians for polo tournaments as there was no chance of practice together whereas in pig sticking, the ICS could compete fairly and often won the cup. It was a fact that good pig stickers were usually the best civil servants.  Pig sticking encouraged horse riding and the district officer was among the villagers and herdsmen on ground rather than being nose deep in files, surrounded by ‘Chuprrasis’.

 

6.               After World War II, when horse cavalry no longer remained there, the sport became the preserve of RVC and was incorporated in Army Equitation Course to provide advanced training in horsemanship. During the camp training in the Khadar, large number of dignitaries were invited. Before independence, the original Kadir Cup was shifted to Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst by the British.  However, a replica was made and presented to winners starting 1972.

 

Capt AJ Singh, later Lt Gen AJ Singh, AVSM, VSM, DGRVS and Col Comdt RVC with Kadir Cup 1988

 

7.               The last Kadir Cup was held in 1988 which was won by Capt AJ Singh, later Lt Gen AJ Singh, AVSM, VSM, DGRVS and Col Comdt RVC. The cup, placed in RVC C&C Offr mess, Meerut remains a source of inspiration for the adventure-minded and is a treasured legacy of the bygone era.

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