Mangaluru: Padavu Kanadka Flavy D’Souza has set an inspiring example of compassion by donating one sovereign of gold, which her buffalo pair won as first prize in the ‘Hagga Kiriya’ category at the Mysuru Dasara Kambala, to Veerappa, a senior member of her team who is battling illness.This is not the first time D’Souza of the Padavu Kanadka team has turned a sporting triumph into an act of kindness. During the 2024-25 season, the D’Souza family donated the gold their team won as a prize to Savya Gangayya Poojary, a senior Halage category runner who was recuperating after being injured in a fall on the kambala track.Dolphy D’Souza, son of Flavy D’Souza and a Kambala enthusiast, said that it was Padavu Kanadka team’s gesture of celebrating achievements by helping those in distress. “Such acts further elevate the honor and prestige of kambala. Our buffalo pair, named ‘Jackie’ and ‘Dooja Junior’, won the gold medal in the junior ‘Hagga’ category at the Mysuru Dasara Kambala. Veerappa, who is in his sixties, used to accompany our buffaloes during kambala events. He only handled and accompanied the buffaloes during the kambala season. He suffered a stroke and was paralysed,” he said, adding that his mother Flavy D’Souza handed over the gold to Veerappa at his house.He said the family currently has two pairs of buffaloes that participate in kambala events in the coastal region. Buffaloes of Padavu Kanadka Francis and Flavy D’Souza have won nearly 130 medals in the past.On donating the gold medal to Gangayya Poojary, he said that Poojary suffered a fall back then. “Poojary did not ask us for anything, but we gave the gold on our own,” said Dolphy, who was part of the Padavu Kanadka team that participated in the event in Mysuru.
