Recent stories: Fighting in the mud (Uncompleted story) March 2017

The traditional Indian wrestling isn't just a sport - it's an ancient subculture where wrestlers live and train together and follow strict rules on everything from what they can eat to what they can do in their spare time. The wrestling takes place in a clay or dirt pit. The soil is mixed with ghee and other things and is tended to before each practice. They live together as a community. they practise on the ground floor and live on thefirst floor. Drinking, smoking and even sex are off limits. They never get married while they are part of the community. in the matter of fact this sport is known as the oldest sport in the world. For all of their devotion to the sport, the wrestlers’ prospects for either glory or financial rewards are meager. Wrestlers who are successful usually earn $170 to $500 per competition in prize money. But, as traditional sponsors drift away from Kushti, wrestlers are lucky if they are able to attend two or three prize tournaments a year. Most have to work a day job just to pay for the costs of living. Though still popular in pockets of rural India, the traditional sport’s fan base at the national level continues to shrink as more Indians flock to the cities and turn toward sports that are more TV-friendly, like cricket, whose fast action makes it ideal for broadcasts. In the past, wrestlers could train and compete in Mumbai, which offered work in textile mills along with the prize tournaments. A successful wrestler might even one day earn himself a job at the Railway Ministry or the state police department through a government quota reserved for athletes.