KASI in process of ‘breeding’ documentary on Kathi horses

KASI general secretary Rajesh Jadeja told Newsline that pre-production work on the documentary is going on in which several experts of Kathi horses are working,right from in-depth research from the all available sources on Kathi horses,to interaction with the experts.

He said: “Very little is written and documented about Kathiawadi horses. A group of hardcore Kathi horse lovers collectively thought about documenting the history and that is how the idea was generated. We have been collecting information about Kathi horses and after about a couple of months,we will start shooting the first-ever documentary on Kathi horses.”

KASI has taken the help of NID student Astha Gohil,who is yet to complete her course in the institute,in this project. Gohil will play a key role in the making of the documentary. Kishorsinh Jadeja and Dr C M Pandya,former employees of the animal husbandry department,are also taking keen interest in the documentary.

Gohil will start her job after a couple of months,while the locations,scrip-writing and other minute details are being worked out,at present.

Jadeja said that besides the documentary,publishing of a comprehensive book on Kathi horses is on its way. “We are always told that the origin of the horses is from the Arab countries. But we are going to challenge this through our research. We have already started working on the book,” he said.

He added: “Recently,renowned equine photographer Kristel Richards had come to Gujarat and she photographed the Kathi horses while visiting several places including Chotila,Gondal and Junagadh. The photographs will be part of the book.”

The campaign to popularise Kathi horses has already started with the number of videos being uploaded on websites.

“In the age of communication we have found that Internet will be a perfect tool to popularise the Kathi breed. I have uploaded several video clips of Kathi horses on websites. The responses are many,but we have to be careful in replying them as many of them might be fakes,” Jadeja said.