Karnataka - Mysore   

A unique style of wrestling

— PHOTO: M.A. SRIRAM

AN OLD TRADITION: Vajra Mushti Kalaga on the palace premises in Mysore on Thursday.

MYSORE: Reduced to a mere formality, it is a unique style of wrestling that is held to mark Vijayadasami celebrations of the royal family of Mysore. Called Vajra Mushti or Diamond Fist, this style of wrestling does not entail the opponents to lock horns physically.

Rather, they try to smash each other’s face till the other one bleeds or is disfigured.

An ancient tradition that is virtually extinct, Vajra Mushti Kalaga was held on Thursday at Aane Thotti of the Amba Vilas palace in the presence of the scion of the royal family Srikantadutta Narasimharaja Wadiyar as part of the Royal Dasara.

The Jettys entered the pit, attired in traditional dress comprising a coloured loin cloth and having bowed to the “Maharaja”, got into the act of displaying their skill — of taking a swipe at the opponent and the latter skilfully evading the blows.

A description of the Vajra Mushti Kalaga is also documented by the 16th century Portuguese traveller Dominga Paes who writes in his chronicles of Vijayanagar: “…then the wrestlers begin their play. “Their wrestling does not seem like ours but there are blows inflicted that are so severe as to break teeth or disfigure face…”

But unlike in the past the kalaga gets over within two minutes and is halted by the referee when one of the Jettys draws first blood.

The Wadiyars were reckoned to be great patrons of wrestling but Vajra Mushti has passed into oblivion, and is now being kept alive for the sake of following a tradition while the other traditional style — Naada Kusthi — has made a comeback.

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