P. Sainath

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The board above the school entrance says ‘taleem
 
 ’
(Urdu for ‘education’). But the first thing you see within is an image of
Hanuman, the deity of
 
 pehelwans
 
 here.
The culture is a colourful blend. Wrestling schools in rural western
Maharashtra are called
 
 taleems,
 
 not
 
 akharas. That’s a throwback to the pre-partition Punjab with
whose
 
 taleems
 
 they developed strong links over 100 a hundred years ago. Particularly in the
time of Shahu Maharaj, ruler of the erstwhile princely state of Kolhapur and
famous as a social reformer. He was also a great wrestling enthusiast who
brought grapplers from all over undivided India, many of them from the Punjab,
to Kolhapur.
 
 To this day, huge tournaments in rural western
Maharashtra feature top wrestlers from Pakistan, Iran, Turkey and even some
African nations. The fighters from Pakistan and Iran have a fan following
amongst the overwhelmingly Hindu male audiences here. “The crowds are riveted
by the outside wrestlers,” says Vinay Kore, member of the legislative assembly
(MLA) from Kolhapur. Kore, who heads a major cooperative sugar factory and
dairy complex, runs a unique tournament in the state. The one at Warananagar in
Kolhapur district which boasts the largest wrestling
 
 maidan
 
 in Maharashtra. It is
held on December 13 every year.
 
 “Up to 3 lakh people can gather,” says Kore.
“Sometimes there are huge headaches with visas. One year, the visas for the
Pakistanis came very late. Their wrestlers had to then fly from Islamabad to
Delhi, from there to Pune, from where we picked them up and drove them to
Warana. Meanwhile, a crowd of lakhs waited patiently for them for 12-13 hours.”
 
 At the
 
 taleems, Maharashtra’s wrestling gurus emphasise
an ethical and moral instruction that blends the spiritual and the secular.
Many teachers tell their students about the legendary Gama
 
 pehelwan
 
 (the one undefeated
wrestler of his time who vanquished the world’s greatest). Gama, born Ghulam
Muhammad in the Punjab, was a Muslim who stayed on in Pakistan after 1947.
Teachers tell their students of the time he stood like a rock outside the
colony of his Hindu neighbours facing down a violent mob during the partition
riots. “That is how a wrestler should be,” is the common refrain.

“The great teachers are all agreed that ethical training is crucial,” says Appasaheb Kadam, one of Maharashtra’s wrestling greats, at his taleem in Kolhapur town. “A wrestler without a moral grounding will be a disaster,” he says. Pehelwans in Maharashtra, many point out, haven’t earned the dubious reputation those in some other states have.There is also a culture of local hospitality and generosity around the sport. Whether at the Kundal or the Warananagar mega-events, people want us to understand this. “You should know that the lakhs flocking to the event from outside are treated as guests by the villagers here. Countless hundreds of dinners are prepared at local homes for the visitors.”The taleems are an assembly of twisted and devastated ears. “The bona fide certificate of the wrestler,” chuckles legendary wrestler, former Olympian and guru Ganpatrao Andhalkar. The owners of those battered lobes, teachers included, are all from rural families. Farmers or labourers. This is particularly true of western Maharashtra.“Kushti, sugarcane fields and tamasha (a traditional Marathi folk theatre form) are closely linked,” says Kaka Pawar – Asiad, Commonwealth and national medallist – at his taleem in Pune. “Why tamasha? Both rest on the performers’ discipline and crowd support.”While the audiences are largely Hindu, wrestling itself shows more diversity than in the past. Where once Marathas were wholly dominant, there are now champions from the Dhangar (shepherd) community. In Solapur, a top wrestling district, young champions are emerging in the Muslim community.The gurus of Maharashtra’s wrestling culture are an articulate and analytical lot. They dismiss the brief debate on whether wrestling could be dropped from the Olympics. “They include sports played by 30 nations,” scoffs Kadam. “Wrestling is a culture in 122 countries. Can they dare drop it?”

They’re more concerned about how wrestling is treated
in Maharashtra. Across the many
 
 taleems
 
 and wrestlers we visited, the
complaints were similar. The agrarian states of Punjab and Haryana treat
wrestling far more seriously than rapidly urbanising Maharashtra. 
 “There, recognition with jobs at decent levels in the
police and other security forces are quick,” says one teacher. “Here, those who
quit
 
 kushti
 
 become
labourers.” Some gifted wrestlers have ended up as watchmen at sugar
factories.
 
 The political class is seen as opportunistic. “They
used to come because
 
 kushti
 
 brings the crowds.” But though they
become the heads of federations, nothing happens for the sport. “Union minister
Sharad Pawar is the head of the Wrestling Federation in this state,” says one
organiser. “We know that. I wonder if he knows or remembers it.” Another says
“We have two former wrestlers as MLAs. They don’t even look our way.”
 
 Changes in society and culture, the decline of
smallholder farming, a recurring water crisis and state neglect have combined
to undermine what is the most deeply-rooted sport in the rural economy here. 
“A wrestler’s life,” says Andhalkar, “is a kind of invisible
 
 tapasya.
A small injury to a cricketer will play a thousand times in the media. A
wrestler dies, no one cares.”

Photos: P. Sainath
 
 
 
 A version of this article was originally
published in
 
 <a href="http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/columns/sainath/the-culture-and-crisis-of-kushti/article5297790.ece">
 The Hindu
 </a>
 
 on October 31, 2013.

Kushti: the secular & the syncretic

কুস্তি: ধর্মনিরপেক্ষতা আর সংহতির তালিম

குஸ்தி: மதசார்பின்மையும் சமரசப் பண்பும்

মল্লযুঁজঃ ধৰ্মনিৰপেক্ষতা আৰু সমন্বয়ৰ আখৰাথলী

କୁସ୍ତି: ଧର୍ମ ନିରପେକ୍ଷ ଏବଂ ସମକାଳୀନ

कुस्तीः धर्माच्या पल्याड आणि समन्वय साधत

کُشتی: سیکولر اور اتحاد پسند

Warananagar

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Kushti: the secular & the syncretic

Grapplers from Pakistan and Iran have a large fan following in the villages of rural Maharashtra

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