UP girls enter wrestling arena, break glass ceiling

Lucknow: Young girls in Varanasi will shatter another glass ceiling next week when they formally start women wrestling matches in the local akharas from Diwali.

The Swaminath Akhara and the Tulsidas Akhara are just two of the many wrestling akharas or training grounds, which have opened their doors to girls.

10-year-old Palak Yadav, whose grandfather Kallu Pehelwan is known to be an ace wrestler, is delighted to be practicing in the same mud pit where her grandfather practised and taught for decades.

“I have always been fascinated with ‘kushti’ and it is not because of Dangal. In fact, we saw the film recently on TV”, she said. An akhara managed by the Sankat Mochan temple trust was the first to open its doors to girls and others fell in line soon after.

The Mahant of the Sankat Mochan temple trust, Prof Vishambhar Nath Misra, who is also a professor at BHU IIT, said, “People are surprised when they learn that I am a professor at IIT as well as the Mahant of this temple. I believe I can contribute to society in both ways. So why not take a decision that is in keeping with gender equality and restores the faith of people in the divine?” He further said, “Our home in Varanasi is where Rani Laxmi Bai was born. We owe it to the people to encourage women in taking forward Laxmi Bai’s valor and courage”.

The girls training in the akharas come from humble backgrounds. Nandini Sarkar, 20, comes from the low income group and her father sells sweets at Assi Ghat while her wrestling partner Aastha Varma has lost her father and her mother sells flowers at Kedar Ghat to make a living. It is obvious that the girls aspiring to be wrestlers cannot afford a protein rich diet and they travel frequently to places in Bihar for dangal matches that earn them about `2,500 per match.

“This money helps us buy ghee, milk, almonds and other food items needed to complete the diet. Whenever we need money, we simply travel to Bihar, make money and return for training here,” said Aastha.

It is the wrestling gear and the gym , however, that remains out of their reach but they are confident of getting sponsors in the coming days.

The girls, like others, admit that they also face sexual harassment and eve teasing. “Sometimes the men are caught unawares when we respond with a punch,” said Aastha with mock seriousness.

On Diwali next week, when the formal wrestling matches begin between women, it will also demolish the myth that wrestling — a sport dedicated to Lord Hanuman — is essentially a male sport.