Lucknow: The curtain has come down on yet another cultural remnant of the era of Nawabs in Lucknow.
The Akhilesh government has decided to strike off the famous Ekka Tonga race from the itinerary of the Lucknow Mahotsav, an annual cultural festival that is supposed to showcase of culture of the City of Nawabs.
Divisional commissioner Mahesh Gupta confirmed that the “Ekka-Tonga” race would no longer be a part of the Lucknow Mahotsav that begins next week.
“Instead of the Ekka-Tonga race we are having a literary festival during the Mahotsav,” he explained.
Sources, however, said that the officials were wary of inviting the wrath of wildlife activists and hence, decided to do away with the event.
“There are already cases in court in this regard and we do not want more trouble on this issue,” said an official. Historian Yogesh Parveen said, “It is unfortunate that another link with our heritage has been snapped.
The Ekkas andTongas have been an integral part of Lucknow’s culture and history and, till date, tourists prefer to have an Ekka or Tonga experience while visiting parts of the old city. The race in the Mahotsav kept reviving the Ekka-Tonga tradition, year after year.”
For the young generations, the Ekka Tonga race used to be a major attraction since most of the youngsters rarely have the time or inclination to visit the old city and take a ride on the Ekka or Tonga.
“We recently saw the 3D version of the film ‘Sholay’ and it was then that we realized that this mode of transport was an integral part of Lucknow’s culture,” said Shikar Awasthi, an under graduate student.
The decision to strike off the event, meanwhile, has left the Ekka Tonga owners in deep disappointment.
“Every year, we used to start preparation for the race almost six months in advance. We would feed our horses with grams, ‘chyavanprash’ and homemade laddoos so that they develop stamina.
My children would think of new ways to decorate the Tonga for the event and there used to be an award for the best decorated Ekka and Tonga. The cash prize was an added incentive,” said Zakir, a Tonga owner.
Suhail, who owns two Ekkas, said that, “As it is, our business has gone down and people prefer zooming around on mobikes and cars.
However, the race in the Mahotsav used to give us so much publicity that people would come especially for an Ekka-Tonga ride, even after the Mahotsav was over. Now we have reached the end of the road and most of us may have to switch to another profession for livelihood”.
Suhail’s sister, Shama, was equally upset. She tends to the horses and is deeply attached to them.
“Every government promotes and preserves its culture and dying traditions but our government has killed this tradition without even waiting for it to die,” she said.
