Warriors of Varanasi

Traditions with fabled moorings are still sure-footed in Varanasi. Kushti, Indian wrestling, goes back 5000 years in this old old living city. The origins of kushti akharas* where training in kushti is given has been attributed to Parashuram who plays a stellar role in the Indian epics Ramayana and Mahabharata as mentors to exemplary warriors Bhishma and Drona. Today despite grappling with paucity of patronage and dwindling public interest these akharas are brimming: mud-splayed muscles heave nimbly, entangled limbs before pummel, submission holds choke out grunts, thigh slaps sting the air, shrilly stern whistle of the danda-bearing instructor mark bouts.

Not in the distant past there were close to 200 akharas in Varanasi and most of them were around the famous ghat area. The prominent ones today – numbering less than a tenth – still are. One can walk into any of these without prior permission – despite burly physiques and intense lineaments these gladiators are quite friendly and camera savvy. One even showed me the best way to shoot the mace – placed across his fine toned pectorals and biceps. Win-win. While the rest of the A-team continued their warm up sessions without missing a beat: lithely scaling the lanyard hung in the courtyard with the ease and pace of a lizard. Not one succumbed to that galling display of jocose jostling or self-conscious ribbing when surrounded by cameras and pretty faces (I wasn’t the only tourist).

Training in the akhara I visited progressed in two floors, spanning two schools – traditional kushti on the ground floor, on the specially prepared mud and on the first floor where novices skidded and thudded across a shiny yellow mat along modern freestyle Olympic moves. With renewed government interest in the sport there are financial incentives and youngsters are drawn if not exactly flocking to the akharas. The two who sat along the fringes of the mat weren’t gawking gawpuses but were gathering their breath.

Promise hung in the air.

The layout

The vehicle stopped right by a bustling street. We were going to an akhara, I was told. All around me were un-budging cows and a cacophonous traffic weaving its way around them. But once I passed through the gates, things took an irenic turn. Some middle-aged men sat a little removed from all the action. No, they hadn’t come to see the tourists but were doing their own thing: reading the day’s paper and sipping cutting chais. Not saying there are no hangers on who come to peer closely, rudely, at the tourists. Guests are like our gods; don’t we look at our gods lingeringly – and that bit needily?

The akharas are supposed to exude tranquillity and peace and are generally surrounded by trees with access to free flowing water. This one had large shady pipal and neem trees and right next to the gate was the ruling deity of every akhara – Hanuman. Disciples offer obeisance upon entry by touching his feet. Shiva and Ganesha, Ram and Sita can also be seen in some akharas giving company to the monkey god with his mace in one hand and the Dronagiri mountain on the other. The fragrance of freshly watered earth hung in the air – like the first showers of monsoon. The wrestling pit itself is filled with soft earth refilled at regular intervals from nearby fields. The akhara mud is believed to have powers to cure minor ailments including some skin diseases.

Ghee is reportedly used to soften the mud in the wrestling area – which I was told was not so anymore. There was a time when majority of the akhara patrons were from the Yadav community, who are predominantly milk merchants. Some akharas here have deep wells from which only the guru is allowed to draw water – used only for drinking. This water is believed to be akin to tonic – with secret powers. Rarely offered to visitors as consumption is not in dainty glasses but by litre mugs.

The life

Someone – who was taking the most perfect dolphin dips I’d ever seen – nearly crossfaced me when I asked him whether he smoked or drank. Disport and venery are off bounds to these guys. At least till they get married. Even afterwards conjugal rights are temporarily suspended for weeks before important contests. Inter-akhara competitions are a matter of immense pride and champions become stuff of local lore. Trophies and plaques are displayed proudly in every akhara. Most symbols of modernity are viewed with askance including fancy hair styles: closely cropped hair massaged with mustard oil is the norm.

Kushti is not a pastime but a way of life. At least that is the way it is intended to be. Exercise, health and diet regimens dominate your life once you join an akhara. There is yoga in addition to the vyayam or workouts with dumbbells and gada (mace). Push ups and squats – by the hundreds – are just warm up. Diet continues to remain a controversial issue though: vegetarians maintain that meat adds to excitability and aggression. For the meat eaters it is a small price to pay for the dollops of protein.

“A pehalwan (wrestler) doesn’t even take chaat for its spice and salt,” a city expert told me. “He avoids tea because it contains caffeine.”

I stood no chance.

“Consumption of alcohol and smoking showed moral – and physical – weakness.”

It was time to go.

A wrestler is enjoined to wake at three in the morning, when the air is pure and cool. After drinking a glass of water with lime juice, he is to go out into a forest area or scrub jungle and relieve himself. Although a wrestler is not a doctor, he should inspect his faeces in order to evaluate his health. If it is ‘coiled like a snake about to strike’ then his digestion is in good order. However, if it is loose, then he should consult his guru about a dietary change. Ratan Patodi, sports writer and wrestling aficionado who founded Bharatiya Kushti Patrika, a sports magazine dedicated to kushti.

Remember while visiting an akhara

• Take permission from the guru before taking photographs – better not to rub these guys the wrong way. If you are part of a group, permissions will be pre-arranged. Even then a nod of thanks will be nice. Avoid using flash especially if you shooting the action.
• Absolutely no footwear in the wrestling arena – the mud pit or the matted floor. These areas are also considered divine.
• Try not to chat up the pehalwans while they are training but wait till they finish. Most of them are a gregarious lot who will give you any information you want – from training to diet, their take on love and local politics.

*Akhara is closest in meaning to the word ‘school’ and is broadly any place for practice and training usually with boarding and lodging facilities. They function generally under a leader referred to as the ‘guru’ or ‘ustad.’ An akhara may be used for religious or martial purposes; in the latter sense of the term it denotes a training school as well as an arena where students can compete and practice. The akharas have moved on with the times and today double up as gymnasiums. The practitioners of kushti do not live there anymore and most are employed or private labourers.