Hundreds of spectators shout and gesture as lively music blares from loudspeakers. A commentator’s breathless voice resonates over the din trying to keep up with a racing team of two oxen yoked together and a man who looks like he is being dragged through mud behind the speeding animals.
The horseshoe-shaped track has only a flimsy fence separating the action from the crowd. The setting is Dervan, a small farming village in Ratnagiri, a district famous for growing the Alphonso mango, in the western Indian state of Maharashtra.
Covered from head to toe in gray mud, the driver looks like an apparition. His skills are tested as he maneuvers the animals around a U-bend. He must hold onto the reins while controlling the oxen’s speed by pulling and twisting their tails. And he needs to achieve this while being simultaneously half-blinded by the mud hitting his face. If he drops the reins, his team will be disqualified.
One at a time, the teams race around the track vying for 10 winning...
