CHITRAL: Deputy Commissioner Irshad Sodhar has revived the centuries-old ‘Mulki Cup Polo Tournament’ in its historical form after 59 years. The event was officially opened at polo ground Chitral on Friday.
Features of the trophy: The antique trophy shows champion team name tags for each year. First Mulki Cup Polo Tournament was held in the year 1928, and “Torkhow team” was the winner.
The DC Chitral said this year the winning team will get replica of this trophy and his name will be curved on it, any team who wins consecutively three times will keep this trophy for one year.
A colorful inauguration ceremony “Mulki Cup Polo Tournament” was held at the DC office Chital. The will conclude on May 13 under joint aegis of the District Admin and District Government of Chitral.
Additional Deputy Commissioner Chitral Minhas Uddin, DPO Chitral Mansoor Aman, Commandant Chitral Scouts and Shahzada Sikander Ul Mulk, President Polo Association Chitral, unveiled the trophy.
After that polo players and guests danced on local music and went to the polo ground. A large number of people witnessed the event.
Celebrations after inauguration of the Mulki Cup Polo tournament #Chitral in @DC_Chitral Office. pic.twitter.com/Dc8dVUOpkx
— Deputy Commissioner, Lower Chitral (@DCLowerChitral) May 4, 2018
Chitral is rich in terms of tangible cultural heritage that has given a starkly color to the life style of the inhabitants of the region. ADC Chitral chanted that district admin motto of polo “Let other people play at other things – the king of games is still the game of kings” and the tournament started. On day first six games were played and a large number of spectators enjoyed the match at maiden day of the event
Deputy Commissioner Chitral Irshad Sodhar in order to preserve the culture decided to revive the traditional festivals and centuries-old “Mulki Cup Polo Tournament” in its original form which remained discontinued since 1968.
As many as 52 polo teams participate in the tournament. — Gul Hamaad Farooqi
These days a social media campaign is going on asking tourists not to visit Murree bcoz of the misbehaviour of local people there. In one post I noticed the commentator criticizing the people of Murree for even misbehaving families. He then mentioned that when he was in Chitral he was surprised to see the hospitality of the Chitralis who considered the tourists as guests and treated them as such.
Chitral has much to be explored for promotion of not only tourism but its unique and rich culture. It can become the most visited area of Pakistan if proper care is taken to develop infrastructure and facilities for tourists. The local admin’s efforts, especially that of this DC and the late osama Waraich, are praiseworthy in this regard.