Gladiators in the Mud

Late in the evening,clad in a Tommy Hilfiger sweater,with wet hair covering his mangled ears,he could pass off as a well-to-do businessman. Although he was once an Olympic style wrestler,even winning medals at the junior nationals in the Greco-Roman category,Doomcheri now concentrates solely on the mitti form.

With wrestlings Olympic future uncertain,wrestlers like Doomcheri,the heroes of the mitti form,continue to draw in large crowds and generous funding. Doomcheri seldom regrets his choice. As a top pehelwan he makes over Rs 50 lakh a year with some dangals wooing him with up to Rs 5 lakh a contest. Several hundred dangals are held across India with the main hubs located in Maharashtra,Punjab,Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. They are called jatra in Maharashtra,mela in most of north India,or chinch in Punjab. The weeks before Holi and Shivratri and then between Raksha Bandhan and Diwali are marquee time for Indian-style wrestling although contests take place through the year.

Apart from the obvious difference that it is fought on mud rather than a mat,there are several distinctions between the mitti wrestling and the Olympic style. As opposed to the three two-minute rounds with one-minute breaks in Olympic wrestling,matches in the former style can go on indefinitely with no breaks. And while a wrestler can win on points earned through throws and take downs in the Olympic category,in mitti wrestling only a pin where the opponents shoulders touch the ground ends the encounter. While speed plays a significant role in the international style,strength and endurance is critical to the mitti style. Doomcheri says he stopped competing in Olympic style wrestling to escape these technicalities. Its not just your opponent you have to beat,you often feel cheated by the referee. There are so many rules that it is easy to manipulate things. In mitti,you cant win because you know a few tricks, he says.

Indeed the relationship between Olympic and mitti style wrestling is one of symbiosis with wrestlers seamlessly switching from one format to another. All of Indias international wrestlers started out fighting in the mud. In no part of the country does a child start off thinking he wants to become an Olympic champion. They dont even know that such a thing exists. The first wrestling matches they see is in the villages,on the mud. I fought my first bout when I was seven years old at our village mela. Its only when you reach a certain level that you realise that there are other opportunities as well, says Doomcheri. And while there was always money to be won in dangals,the scale has magnified significantly in the last few years. The emergence of international heroes like Sushil Kumar and Yogeshwar Dutt has also helped. But with wrestlings Olympic future uncertain,fears dog even the mitti wrestling scene. While it is unlikely to disappear anytime soon,wrestlers are concerned about diminishing returns.

The dangal scene is nominally under the control of the Indian Style Wrestling Association of India ISWAI,which officially puts a Rs 1 lakh cap on prize money. As the sole registered body,they decide the holding of important tournaments,including the prestigious Hind Kesari and Bharat Kesari championships to its affiliate state units. However,the final decision on expenditure is left to the local organisers who can be extravagant. In Maharashtra,jatras can cost upwards of Rs one crore to organise.

Its not a big deal in Maharashtra. Politicians,including even the chief minister,often give Rs 25 lakh on the spot for the tournament, says Roshan Lal,ISWAIs secretary general. According to Lal,in each of the tournaments held in Aurangabad and Kolhapur in the last three-four years,the expenses incurred by the organisers easily crossed Rs 1 crore. Other major politicians also open their coffers for these dangals,the Saifai Mahotsav,in Etawah,UP sponsored by Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav is an annual fixture. Party colleague and MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh,also president,Wrestling Federation of India,holds an annual kushti mela near Faizabad in UP. The Chautalas of Haryana are patrons of the Bahadurgarh mela while Aurangabad MP Chandrakant Khaire sponsors contests in Maharashtra.

The coffers of the dangal held in Prahladpur village on the northern outskirts of Delhi recently were comparatively modest. The organisers collected little over Rs 3 lakh to fund the mela in Prahladpur through donations collected from the villagers and few influential individuals,like the area councillor and the local MLA. The dangal,held on the field of a sports college,starts mid-afternoon with three bouts taking place simultaneously in the mud pit. Initially,the contenders are children,then the intermediate wrestlers and finally the top competitors. Alongside the battles,dhols are sounded to motivate the fighters. The crowd,some thousand strong,is permitted to sit close to the fighting circle. Contests are staged not according to weight but for the children according to age and for the others according to ability. It isnt always a mismatch. Doomcheri,who weighs around 95 kg,regularly fights and wins against wrestlers up to 30 kg heavier. The rule that only a pin counts ensures that a heavier but less talented opponent can get a fall but the better wrestler is likelier to get the pin.

The main event in Prahladpur village had a cash prize of Rs 51,000,the rewards for the rest of the competitors are a fraction of that amount. As a boost,wrestlers from the neighbourhood or who have been judged to have fought well are awarded a shawl which they wrap around themselves like a sling. The eager crowd often presses money into this makeshift pouch. For Surender Dagar,an Asian junior gold medalist,this crowd-sourced income multiplies his winnings several times over.

The youngest wrestlers get Rs 100 for a win. Away from Prahladpur,most dangals even offer a token amount to children who lose. The amount may seem modest but even this is crucial. Wrestling is a hard sport. A child needs to get some encouragement at this level. So while for a grown-up,Rs 100 wouldnt mean anything,that child stays motivated and looks forward to competing again, says the father of 13-year-old Rohit Dehan who competed and won.

But with nearly a thousand wrestlers arriving for the dangal,there cant be only happy endings. Some fight on despite suffering severe muscle cramps. And with the sun setting and the main match yet to be held,a few dont even get a chance to wrestle and return home empty-handed. The titular bout features a clash between Mausam Khatri,96 kg freestyle national champion,and Hitesh Kumar,the120 kg champion. Both are proficient in the Olympic style. Kumar is the reigning national champion in his category and a current member of the national squad while Khatri was for six years the top prospect in the 96 kg category before he failed a dope test ahead of the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

The dhols are nearly drowned out by whistles and cheers as Khatri and Kumar enter the ring. Several fans record the vents on their mobile phones. Unlike most contests,which go on till a pin has been secured this one is scheduled for 15 minutes. After a clinch is deemed to have gone on for too long,the two wrestlers are separated. Breathing hard with the exertion,they throw mud on each other and rub some on their opponents shoulders to smudge the slippery sweat. Khatri appears to have the upper hand,but with time running out the two contestants settle for a draw and Rs 25,500 each.

It seems like a fair amount for 15 minutes of work but expenses are aplenty. Wrestlers have an elaborate diet,which includes large quantities of khurak,a protein mix of almonds,milk and ghee. Even for beginners,the monthly cost of just the khurak is around Rs 10,000. Some senior players spend close to Rs 50,000 a month on diet alone.

That it is a regimented life is an understatement. The day begins at 3am and consists only of eating,training and sleeping. It isnt for everyone. When I try to wake up some of the younger children in the morning, they curse and wish I was dead. I understand,because I used to be the same way. They cant go for movies. Most will quit within the first couple of weeks. But there are always new children who keep showing up, says Netrapal Singh,a coach at the Doomcheri akhara.

And while the vast majority at the akhara are from poor families looking to better their lives,there are exceptions like Naveen Suhag,the 30-year-old who runs a telecommunications business and appears equally at ease in slacks,Nike sneakers with an iPhone in his hand as in the mud of the akhara wearing a langot. Originally a judoka,he started wrestling after he settled in Switzerland and even represented them in the 2006 World Championships. His dream of representing India at the 2008 Olympics could not happen because he was a Swiss citizen but a chance encounter at a jatra in Pune got him hooked to mitti wrestling and he joined the Doomcheri akhara. I was a complete gora when I returned to India. I couldnt keep the food down and suffered from malaria and typhoid. Soon after I started competing in India,I tore my knee and was limping for a year. People tell me Im rich,I dont need to wrestle. But I do, he says.

Suhag explains his reasons for returning. Ego for one. I like being among the best at something. And there is something about being in the middle of a ring,wearing just a loincloth. The crowd is behind you,the drums are beating and people are chanting your name. Its so basic. It is a bit like a gladiator, he says.

Doomcheri wrestles because he has to wrestle. I am 40 years old but I cant think of quitting. It used to be easier when I was young and unmarried. But now I have children. It gets harder and harder to get up at 3 am and train. But I refuse to quit. It is like when you love someone. You try and do anything so that you dont lose her. You work harder and harder, he says. I feel like I am a part of history. My father used to wrestle,his father used to wrestle and his fathers father wrestled. In ancient times the gods used to wrestle as well. In the Mahabharata,Bhima and Duryodhana fought and in the Ramayana,Bali and Sugreev also wrestled. After me,even my children will wrestle. Thats how it is, he says.