Pregled posta

Marketing

Pahelwan Satich and Jaisimha

I was overwhelmed by their sheer dedication and meticulus practice they put in to save the dying sport. Each one of them had a different profession. Pahelwan Jaisimha was a banana vendor and Pahelwan Satish was a timber merchant. Satish did confess to me that it was not easy to take time off everyday and practice wrestling leaving noone behind to look after the business during his absence. They need time to practice and a good rest at noon. How can all this be possible having a different profession?

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

Photo 15/365 - 15 January 2010.

Today feels like a milestone. Its the second half of January 2010 and I have so far managed to be on track everyday without major issues with motivations or ideas. I have pushed myself to explore different topics and be bolder with my compositions. Thank you for everyone who have invested their time in looking and commenting at my photos so far, they are absolutely invaluable to my growth as a photographer.

Taking advantage of a sunny day I went out at lunch time to take this shot. It was pretty bright out but I wasn't sure if I would have the time later today to get the job done. For most of the last 25 odd years I have driven past this spot pretty much every single day and yet I have never actually gone there to explore. Just this week I had a conversation with my manager about how he saw the sign for Dights Falls on his lunch time bike ride, and an idea was born.

Final shot is an HDR from six exposures, with the contrast level adjusted slightly in Photoshop. Again I have tried to keep the colours realistic and faithful to the eye.

A little history about Dights Falls from Wikipedia:
"Dights Falls is located in Melbourne, Victoria just downstream of the junction of the Yarra River with Merri Creek. At this point the river narrows and is constricted between 800,000 year old volcanic, basaltic lava flow and a much older steep, silurian, sedimentary spur. The north side also contains abundant graptolite fossils in sedimentary sandstone.

Prior to European settlement, the area was occupied by the indigenous Wurundjeri tribe of the Kulin nation. The rock falls would have provided the Aboriginal people with a natural river crossing and place to trap migrating fish. It was also a meeting place for many clans where they would trade together, settle disputes and exchange brides.

In the 1840s, an artificial weir was built on the natural bar of basalt boulders to provide water to the "Ceres" flour mill, one of the first in Victoria. Situated by the Yarra River in Collingwood is the industrial relic known locally as "Dight's Mill", one of Melbourne's oldest and most significant industrial sites. In the early 1840's John Dight established Melbourne's first water-powered flour mill on the site."