Echoes of Silent Gallops

Concept
This project captures the intimate world of the Manipuri polo pony and the people who nurture them — grooms, riders,
breeders, and community elders. While the pony is an emblem of Manipur’s heritage, its survival is inseparable from the commitment of these handlers who often work in obscurity, preserving age-old knowledge about care, training, and the ethics of the game. From dawn grooming rituals to the charged energy of grassroots tournaments, the essay unfolds as a portrait of trust, skill, and devotion.

I'm going to aim to explore stable life, traditional medicinal practices, handcrafted tack, saddles, and cultural polo attire. Moments with handlers across generations.
Evidence of environmental changes affecting grazing and breeding grounds.

I aim to document the relation and the Interdependence between humans and indigenous animals, Preservation of intangible heritage through everyday labour, and
Cultural identity rooted in rural knowledge systems

These ponies currently face challenges of sustaining traditions in an urbanizing society. By illuminating the human side of the pony’s survival story, this photo essay aims to highlight the communities sharing their lives with the Indigenous ponies of Manipur, and the practices entwined with its existence and cultural roots.