Wrestling in HQ photos

^RedBull^ posted a photo:

After massage, the wrestler now begins to warm up his body by performing squats, push ups and jogging.

Muscle Men of Mysore – now wrestling to survive

Mystical Gods employed dhanurveda (archery) to vanquish the evil. Several years later we see bows and arrows as an exotic art. A sport with machismo. Kalarippayattu , Malla yuddha or Kushti (wrestling combat), vajra mushti (lightning fist) and many more were passed down several generations. Very few still view it as an honorable sport from the ancient times, from Ramayana and Mahabharata.

Long ago in Mysore, when the trendy gyms never existed, the royal kings were the key patrons of this form of sport. Wrestling or kusthi was thoroughly enjoyed by the people and the pahelwans were even recruited in the army.

Most of these garadis have common aesthetic charm in the way it was built. A shady pipal tree, a small portico for practice and a well are the signature features of any akhada or garadi. Earth, Air, water and trees form the soul of the garadi. The walls of the garadi are decorated with the bold, colorful paintings of Lord Hanuman, Garuda and other dramatic scenes from Hindu mythology. The garadi is essentially a shrine dedicated to Lord Hanuman or Anjaneya. He is looked upon the as the God of Courage and Physical Strength.

Mysore was once a city that housed over 100 garadis, but there are only about 40 remaining now in which a handful are actively involved in wrestling, Most of these crumble down to give way to modern gyms.

I was overwhelmed by their sheer dedication and meticulous practice they put in to save the dying sport. Each one of them had a different profession ranging from being a timber merchant, banana vendor, book binder etc. Wrestling matches have become rare events these days. There are no calendars marked with match dates but even then these muscle men devote time and patience towards the sport. However, due to the lack of patrons, their dedication is not being recognized.

All that these wrestlers ask for are regular bouts every month in order to sow the seeds of interest in the people towards the sport. They have invested their time and energy to save the sport from being driven into oblivion. It is about time that people like us give them their due credit before yet another tradition vanishes in thin air.

This is my attempt in reviving the original sport of India, Kushti.

Location : Mysore, India