Polo... In India!

Polo is a team sport played on horseback. The objective of the game is to score goals against the opposing team. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposition's goal using a long-handled mallet. Polo is played at fast speed on a large grass field up to 300 yards in length.

There are a number of different forms of polo, as there is with many sports. However, the traditional seven-a-side game of polo was derived from one of the seven states of India - the state of Manipur in north east India. The city of Imphal is the capital of the state of Manipur. Manipur is surrounded by three other Indian states and another country - Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south, Assam to the west and the country Myanmar to the east.

There are four major river basins in Manipur. The Barak river is the largest river in Manipur. It originates in the Manipur Hills and it is joined by a number of tributaries.  The Manipur river basin has eight major rivers. All of those rivers originate from the surrounding hills.

Almost all of the rivers in the surrounding area are in their youthful stages and so they deposit their load in the Loktak Lake.

Manipur can be classified into two very distinct physical regions. The first is an outlying area of rugged hills and narrow valleys. The second region is the inner area of flat plain. Not only are these two regions distinct from a physical point of view, but they are also distinct with regards to flora and fauna.

The soil can be divided into two broad types. The red ferruginous soil ,which is soil with iron oxide in it, in the hill area and the alluvium soil, loose and unconsolidated soil, in the valley. On the plains, especially the flood plains and the deltas, the soil is quite thick. The top soil on the steep slopes is very thin.

The vegetation in Manipur consists of a large variety of plants ranging from short and tall grasses, reeds and bamboo to trees of various species.

The climate of Manipur is greatly influenced by the topography of the hilly region. Manipur is wedged between hills on all sides. It usually enjoys an amiable climate but sometimes the winters are chilly. Snow sometimes falls in some of the hilly regions. Kind of like Ireland, the coldest month is January and the warmest month is July. The state is hit with monsoon rains from May until the middle of October.

Night view - City of Imphal, Manipur India.