Mallakhamb

A long time ago in 1805, Maharashtra, India, legend tells of 2 unbeatable visiting Afghan wrestlers, Ali and Gulab,

who challenged the ruling Peshwa to find them a worthy opponent. No one came forward, which was embarrassing for the Peshwa and the people of his land.

Balambhatt, a religious scholar in close service to the Peshwa, saw his discomfort. Balambhatt wondered if he might be able to take up the wrestling challenge himself.

Although Balambhatt had followed his father’s footsteps in learning Hindu Vedic scriptures, against his father’s best wishes he had also practiced a regime of physical training and wrestling. Yet, his skill and strength was nothing compared to the seasoned Afghans who had travelled on the back their fearsome sport.

So, travelling light, Balambhatt took a spiritual retreat to the Saptashrungi mountains, where a forest was nestled, rife with monkeys.

During his meditations, and with such strength in his belief, Balambhatt was visited by Hanuman the Hindu monkey god.

Hanuman spoke to Balambhatt; “From the forest trees, make a wooden pole with head, neck and body. By training with this Mallakhamb pole you will become strong and agile enough to succeed in combat.”

Like the monkeys running up and down the trees around him, Balambhatt spent the next 5 months training inside the forest with his Mallakhamb pole.

Finally, he returned to the court in Poonah city to interrupt the 2 Afghans indulging themselves on the hospitality of the Peshwa. “I accept your challenge and will meet you in combat” said Balambhatt, who looked to be no match for the Afghan giants towering above him.

Yet, on the day of the contest, and to everyone's great surprise, Balambhatt made fast his grip and holds over the 1st Afghan with such a fearful win, that the 2nd Afghan had already run out of sight, even before Balambhatt rose to claim his victory.

Balambhatt had saved the honour of Maharashtra and became an instant celebrity, famous across the land.

Many now wanted to learn this new “Mallakhamb” (wrestler pole) training technique, and become disciples to Balambhatt, who went on to set up training clubs across the land, strengthening the youth for their struggle against the invading British.

Though Balambhatt didn’t live to see the end of British rule, some of his Mallakhamb clubs became secret meeting places where rebellion was planned. So, in some part Balambhatt and his Mallakhamb did help pave the way to independence.

So that is the story of how Balambhatt, a humble Vedmurti, became embroiled in a famous wrestling match to save the honour of Maharashtra and inspire the birth of a nation.

Not being able to find suitable accommodation in Satara to continue with my endeavour to record more about mallakhamb, I moved to Wai, where I met with Wai Gymkhana mallakhamb club. The club’s coach, Prasad Bedekar, is one of the rare gems that I find on my journey. He has dedicated much of his free time to educate and inspire upcoming generations of players into an indigenous sport. When he could be at home relaxing with his family after work, he instead goes straight to the mallakhamb club to teach for 2 hours. His reward are the glowing faces of players enriched by the mallakhamb activity and to see their futures improve as a result.

Prasad answered all my questions everyday, much to the frustration of students trying to get his attention as they would come to salute him at each class. I learned so much from Prasad, but felt I needed several more months to learn more from his deep knowledge. When I asked him to label the drawings I had made of different “elements”, it sparked an idea in his mind to create a compendium of all 800+ elements, because such a book would be both useful and popular with mallakhamb players everywhere. I do hope Prasad finds a way to realise this ambition in-between his already packed schedule.

There are 3 main apparatus in the competitive sport, known as pole mallakhamb, rope mallakhamb and hanging pole mallakhamb.

Pole Mallakhamb

The original mallakhamb activity is based around the object of its name meaning “wrestling pole”. The wooden pole is created with a small head, neck and large main trunk to mimic the form of an opponent’s body. The pole is fixed into the ground to be as static as possible. A player must learn to climb and grapple with this inanimate object in as many positions (elements) as possible to master the sport.

Rope Mallakhamb

Originally labelled “cane mallakhamb”, the rope apparatus was originated by Damodarbhatt Moghe, a disciple of Balambhatt’s. Damodar used sugar cane soaked in water or butter to make it supple like a rope. Wrestlers favoured this form to help them achieve stronger grips with legs and toes for their objectives in wrestling matches. Many of the elements seen in pole mallakhamb have been transferred to the rope variant, but rope mallakhamb has evolved with many of its own manoeuvres that are unique to this form. Particularly proficient players link their elements together with complex tumbles that can only be achieved by strategically wrapping the rope to allow the player to fall, stop and fall again in a chain of events. This cascading combination of elements is heart-dropping to the uninitiated onlooker, who might be forgiven for thinking the players are tumbling to a terrible demise.

Hanging Pole Mallakhamb

Considered to be the most difficult of the 3 forms, the hanging pole is a wooden pole hung from a chain or rope. Since the pole is continually moving with force from the player and gravity, the ability to maintain balance is much greater than seen with the static pole mallakhamb.

Perhaps the most striking aspect of mallakhamb are the set positions, called elements, that players attempt during their performances. Many of the elements are steeped in the ancient traditions of yoga, requiring intense and continual practice in mind, spirit and body to achieve. I was pleasantly surprised that such movements are not set in stone, but the sport positively encourages players to invent new elements to score more points and thus help the game fresh, evolving into the future. Whilst originally there may have been roughly 80+ elements in the sport, there are now potentially more than 800. As yet there is still no official or unofficial comprehensive list of these elements and how they should be performed.

Some of the elements can be seen below:

Below we see Sayee Shinde of Wai Gymkhana performing pole mallakhamb; Firaki Step 1, Firaki Step 2, Hatachafarara, Dipasan, Akdi (Payachafarara), Adi

Firaki

Whilst firaki is not a final pose, it is a very important movement that is used in-between other elements to link them together. As the player twists their body from facing the pole to facing away from the pole and once again facing the pole, it is one movement that you might certainly expect to see being used to grapple with a wrestling opponent.

Hatachafarara

This is perhaps a more elaborate position that you might not expect to see in a wrestling match, but the upside down position of the body hanging from the player’s hand on the pole’s head is an impressive display of balance and strength nonetheless.

Dipasan

A direct utilisation of the yoga position of the same name, whilst clinging to the upright pole may appear to be purely for aesthetic display, but the required dexterity and flexibility would help any wrestler during a contest.

Akdi (Payachafarara)

Another position unlikely to be seen in a wrestling contest, but again the strength and balance required would be worthwhile. The position is aesthetically striking and makes it a favourite for may players.

Below we see Bhakti More of Samath Mallakhamb Sangh Kari club performing rope mallakhamb; Kari Split, Ekhati Natarajasan, Hatachafarara, Bajarang Padmasan.

Kari Split

Here is an example of an element that was created in recent years by the Kari club near Satara. Having an element named after the club helps to raise its notoriety and score many additional points for the inaugural period which the element is first performed.

Ekhati Natarajasan

Sometimes referred to as the “one-handed natarajasan”, this position requires significant strength to hold the weight of the body with one hand and flexibility to pull the foot from behind to touch the head.

Hatachafarara

Otherwise known as “fish” is perhaps one of the much easier positions to maintain, but is often combined with other elements precisely because it is quick to enter and exit the position.

Bajarang Padmasan

This position requires some thought to the wrapping of the rope for security purposes and is often seen towards the end of a performance as it is safer to do at a lower height. The yoga position with legs crossed and arms beyond the head whilst upside-down, is striking to see during a competition performance.

Below we see Vaibav Milind Gadave of Wai Gymkhana club performing hanging pole mallakhamb; Bajrang, Upside-down plank, Badh Padma Natarajasan, Hatachafarara (Horizontal).

Bajrang

This is a particularly difficult position to initiate because it must usually be performed with the player starting in a head-down and legs wrapped position. Lifting the body up and placing one foot at the bottom of the pole is a striking manoeuvre.

Upside-down plank

This element requires the player to have a very strong core to maintain a horizontal almost perpendicular position to the hanging pole.

Badh Padma Natarajasan

As seen with other natarajasan on role or pole, it is significantly more difficult on the hanging pole because the natarajasan positions take longer to reach thus requiring more control over a longer period of time.

Hatachafarara (Horizontal)

Also seen on the rope, the “fish” position performed on the hanging pole takes extreme strength in the core to maintain a perfectly horizontal level.

Typically, there is a panel of 5 judges for each performance. They must evaluate players' merits while performing.

The main considerations are each element's level of difficulty, execution, and originality, classified into these 3 groups. The elements are classified according to how they are performed classified as; Element A , Element B and Element C. Checks are made whether the player has executed the element or not and then from the combined scores of the 5 judges, an average of the marks are calculated and subsequently points awarded to that player.

During competitions players have a time limit of 90 seconds per apparatus and must perform a minimum number of elements for each apparatus they enter. A minimum of 16 elements on pole mallakhamb, 18 elements on rope mallakhamb and 14 elements on hanging pole mallakhamb. The scores for each element are added together, so a player must choose the difficulty of elements they want to perform, how many they can perform within the time limit and at what quality of execution they can achieve. Players can earn additional points for new elements that have not been previously performed in the history of the competition.

Initially the sport of wrestling being a predominantly male activity, meant that the training technique of mallakhamb was also only practiced by men. For many decades women would not be seen in mallakhamb, but when female players did start to come forward it was evident that they could do as well if not better in many circumstances. The official mallakhamb body of India first allowed women and girls to perform on the rope mallakhamb during competitions. More recently women and girls have been allowed to participate in pole mallakhamb apparatus too, but as yet the hanging pole still eludes them at competitions.

Children may start mallakhamb as young as 4 years old, but will not start using apparatus until at least 3 months training under supervision of their coach. Players may enter competitions from under 12 years old and usually don’t participate in competitions after around 23-26 years old, as currently there are few ways to earn a living from practising the sport.

Months 1-3

For the first 3 months children at Wai Gymkhana start with basic physical education exercises, that are practised along with some yogasanas, sun salutations, and basic gymnastics.

Months 4-9

For the following 6 months players start to use the pole mallakhamb or rope mallakhamb learning the basic elements.

Months 7-12

For the following 3 months the players are introduced to more advanced elements.

Months 13+

After about 1 year of training players begin their journey towards competitive sports.

Pre-Competition

1 to 2 weeks prior to a competition, players practise their set without introducing any new elements. They do this practise without pushing themselves too hard for fear of resulting strain or other injury, to be sure that they are fit to participate. The focus during pre-competition training is purely on smooth faultless transitions between elements without injuries or falls.

Driving north during my last days in Maharashtra I decided to visit some locations that were important to the mallakhamb legend, Balambhatt’s birthplace in Kothure, and the site where he created the first mallakhamb in the Saptashrungi mountains. I didn’t stop long in Kothure as it was perhaps as poor as when Balambhatt was born there in 1780, with little more than a few cows to its name, there certainly wasn’t any sign of a possible memorial, time to drive on.

Later that day, meeting with a young local man in Saptashrungi, we began to investigate together. It was known that there was once a mallakhamb field nearby and we were directed to the site which has been built over with a new water temple, Shivalay Talav.

There stands one tree just outside the temple compound, that would also have been a part of the mallakhamb field, and is perhaps the only living thing that might have been there to witness the day Balambhatt erected that first mallakhamb. This site is a perfect location to place a memorial to Balambhatt or even a museum dedicated to his inspiring legend. Surely this might offer a much needed diversion in tourist attractions, instead of yet another concrete temple. Why not celebrate this spiritual and sporting legend with educational materials of his historical importance? The only sign left to indicate that he was ever there is a virtual pin I left on google maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/u974kMnQ69XCt6W3A Please, if you are reading this and you know someone in the ministry of culture, point them to this forgotten heritage site.