The Kolhapuri Dangal

“Kai Pahalwan”(What say! Pahalwan) this was a common form of greeting young lads from Kolhapur in the days gone by. Wrestlers are called pahalwan in most Indian languages. As a young boy I too had my tryst with the sport of Kushti or wrestling at the local Talim ( Akhada) and swelled with pride when called Pahalwan. The talims used to be full strength early in the morning with the sounds of chest thumping and the aroma of sweat filling the air. Youngsters took pride in building their bodies and playing the sport.  It was very common practice in those days  that young boys from Haryana & Punjab came to Kolhapur in the Talims  to  build their bodies and learn the nuances of wrestling, many of them could be seen competing at the local wrestling matches called ‘Dangals’. Though the number of such enthusiasts has reduced it is still not uncommon to find young lads from North doing their ‘Dand Baithaks’ (squats & pushups) in the talims of Kolhapur.

    Genesis of Kushti was rooted in 1894 during Chatrapati Shahu Maharaj’s rule when he built hundreds of talims throughout Kolhapur and invited wrestlers from all over pre-partition India, several of them from the part of Punjab that now lies in Pakistan. Kolhapur was also the alma mater of the legendary Gama pehelwan, born Ghulam Muhammad in 1878, who remained undefeated in a career spanning over 50 years, his story known to every pehelwan. The saga of Kushti continued even after the death of Shahu Maharaj who had built the Khasbag Maidan, a stadium for witnessing the dangals or fights. This place can comfortably accommodate a large crowd with a gallery for the royals & has its inspiration in the colosseum of Rome. Kolhapur has been the venue for a number of reputed matches including that of the defeat of then famous  Stanislaus Zbyszko the two time world champion from Poland to Rahim Baksh  from Lahore, as also the Hind Kesari championship in 2012. But the one remembered till date by all Kolhapuris is the loss of Satpal Maharaj of Delhi akhada to Yuvraj Patil of Kolhapur.

     Kolhapur boasts of the first Indian Olympic medal in individual sport by KD Jadhav, when he won the bronze in 1952 at Helsinki. Such was the love for this sport in Kolhapur that Barrister Balasaheb Khardekar, principal of the Rajaram College, where Jadhav studied, mortgaged his home for Rs 7,000 to send his former student to the Olympics while other sports lovers also added to the funds. On his return he was welcomed to a big fanfare including elephants.  Later came many famous wrestlers from the talims of Kolhapur that include Hind Kesari,  Birajdar & Dadu Chougule. But of late there has been no significant contribution to the list of wrestlers of repute, so much so, that even the Pro Wrestling League doesn’t have any wrestler from Kolhapur.

Where did Kolhapur lose it all then? Despite the love for the sport and despite the pride with which the Kolhapuri once thumped his chest on being called a Pahalwan the day has come when no longer Kolhapur can bask in in its old glory of wrestling. Could it be the fact that the Kolhapuri is too stuck to his traditional Kushti in the talims on the ground rather than on the mats. Or due to the lack of Government support in promoting the Greeco Roman & Freestyle forms of wrestling and the paucity of exposure to the pahalwans of Kolhapur. Lack of style quotient attached to the sport has also been a reason till the recent past; movies like’ Dangal’ & ‘Sultan’ have surely contributed to the resurgence of interest in the sport.  Only time will tell, whether, the Kolhapuri Pahalwan will rise again.

     In the meantime may good sense prevail and the Pahalwans accept change & take to the popular forms of wrestling on the mat and may Kolhapur keep producing international sportspersons like Shailaja Salonke, Tejaswani Sawant, Rahi Sarnobat & Veerdhawal Khade. A day will surely come when the Kirti Satmbh of KD Jadhav at the famous Bhavani Mandap, the central Pavilion of old palace at Kolhapur, will have to add space to honor other international sportspersons from Kolhapur.

The Kolhapuri Dangal