A day in Tulsipur, the capital of horse trading
Traders say Tulsipur is the last haat dedicated to horses that takes place every week
As a child, Ali Hussein always dreamt of owning a horse. Now a middle-aged father of three living in Cumilla, he is a truck driver. But his dream never died.
Ali finally thought it was time he realised his dream. Searching online, he found out about the weekly horse market in Tulsipur, Jamalpur district, and planned to buy one on his next trip to the area.
He was sitting under a Rain Tree by the bank of a canal, waiting for the traders to come to the market. Like us, he had arrived early in the morning, not knowing when the haat started. In front of us was a mid-sized field, almost empty at that moment, surrounded by buildings on the three sides.
The haat actually begins after lunch every Thursday and by four o'clock, it is at its busiest. It is renowned for horses, carts and accessories related to it. That afternoon, traders arrived with around 250 horses and 100 carts. One or two shops were also set up with saddles and other accessories needed to tie a horse to a carriage.
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Still more economical than motorised vehicles
Ali Hussein planned to buy a horse and a cart and use them to roam around in the village with his family, just for fun. Not all buyers, however, have come out of simple passion for horses like him. Most of them use horses to transport goods – mostly crops during different seasons – and some look for race horses.
While buyers are from distant districts such as Rajhashi, traders are mostly from adjacent districts: Mymensingh, Tangail, and of course Jamalpur.
Obaidullah came from Melandaha upazila in Jamalpur with a cart to sell. He has another cart and a horse back at home, which he uses to carry goods.
"This one is spare. Three-wheelers, Votvotis and Nasimans [various locally made vehicles with diesel engines] are on the rise in my area, so horse carts are not in high demand. That's why I'm selling this one. I'll use the other cart during the harvesting season," Obaidullah said.
He has been driving horse carts for 15 years, he said. The main reason why horses are still useful despite the motorised vehicles is the low maintenance cost of horses.
Obaidullah had been feeding his horse only grass for the previous eight days. He cuts the grass from the aisles of crop fields and banks of rivers, which is basically free. He looked for ground rice husk but did not find any, which would cost him some money.
This way, owners have to spend only Tk50-60 every day to feed horses. In the harvesting season, they can earn Tk1,500 to Tk2,000 daily by carrying crops. The return is not bad, they said.
Horses are also used in preparing the farmland before cultivation, another horse owner from Mymensingh added.
Horses used for racing, however, need some additional food such as chickpeas. Such horses are fed one kg of chickpea every day.
Racehorses fetch much more money when they win.
Mohammad Selim from Jamalpur Sadar came to buy racehorses. He partakes in horse racing in different places of the country, whenever they take place. His 11-year-old son, who doesn't go to school, acts as the jockey.
Selim says although the winners get awards like fridges and televisions, the main earning comes from betting. The horse owner gets a part of the bet, often worth several lakh taka.
Selim, otherwise a farmer, has been carrying on the legacy of his grandfather and father as a horse racer. He has four horses. His father still has two horses.
His son, Mohammad Jisan has participated in 10-12 races so far, starting from an even younger age. Selim's daughter Akhi also earned fame as a jockey before her 'career' ended with her marriage.
A horse for everyone
Horses used to pull carts are not very expensive. A 'good' horse is sold for around Tk30,000.
The price range is very wide though, depending on the strength and utility of the horse.
Faisal, a member of the market committee, told TBS that some horses, not very useful anymore, are even sold for Tk200-500. He said some are even abandoned at the market by the owners who fail to sell them.
We saw two men from Jamalpur Sadar buy two foals for their grandchildren for just Tk1,000 and Tk1,500.
"My three-year-old grandson has been crying for a horse for some time; finally I'm getting him this foal," said one of the men, Laal Miah (60), a farmer. The foal was just one month old. Baby horses grow fast, of course. They can start pulling carts at the age of 18 months.
Some bystanders were worried the foal might not survive without its mother.
Another man from Bogura bought a horse with its baby for Tk16,000 only. He said it was a very good deal for him, as he was basically looking forward to using the colt (a male baby horse) soon.
Local traders such as Majnu from Tulsipur also sell expensive horses worth Tk8-10 lakh.
"Such exquisite horses are mainly bought by government agencies and forces like the police and the army," said Majnu, who also imports horses from India. But he mainly sells locally bred horses at the Tulsipur horse market. Expensive horses are not brought to this market, he said.
Strength plays a key role in choosing a good horse, so the traders try to display it.
During the strength test, the wheels of the cart are fastened with ropes so they don't rotate. The horses are then made to circle the centre of the field, dragging the cart. Alternatively, they carry 8-10 people on the cart with wheels free. Some traders drive the horse cart into the canal with people on it. Some horses are able to pass the test, while others fail to climb up the steep bank with several passengers on the carriage.
A decades-old market
Locals have been connected to horse trade since time immemorial. But earlier they depended on a market in Tangail's Gopalpur, old traders said. The road to Gopalpur was unsafe, and horse traders used to fall victim to robbery. In 1990, local traders decided to start a haat of their own.
The horse market was initially located at the weekly haat that still takes place in front of the Rashidpur Union Parishad building. As the market grew, it was moved a few hundred metres away to its current location, in front of Tulsipur Degree College, in 1996.
Only a handful of horse markets remain across the country today, traders said. There is a yearly fair in Joypurhat – Gopinather Mela – where thousands of horses are brought for trade, along with cows and buffalos.
Besides, there are smaller mixed markets in Natore and Bogura where horses are sold with other domestic animals. Many horses are traded around a horse race event as well.
Traders say Tulsipur is the last haat dedicated to horses that takes place every week. Trading continues in the market till close to midnight.
We left after dusk when the organisers started turning on the electric bulbs placed on makeshift bamboo poles.
Truck driver Ali Hussein was still looking for a good horse. He managed to buy one at 10 pm when only 10-15 traders were left, he later informed us.
"My children wouldn't leave the mare alone. They are super excited. Even now, they are in the field, feeding the horse,'' Ali told us over the phone two days after he reached Cumilla with the mare and the carriage. He added that the mare was pregnant, and he was planning to buy another horse to complete the family.
