Minister promises to restore ‘garadi mane’, promote ‘Nada Kusthi’

Pairing of wrestlers ahead of the Dasara wrestling competitions was held in Mysuru on Sunday

Minister in charge of Mysuru district H.C. Mahadevappa on Sunday gave an assurance of restoring “garadi mane” (the place where the wrestlers practice their sport and workout) in Mysuru city and to promote “Nada Kusthi” (traditional wrestling), organising bouts on days other than Dasara festivities.

The Minister also said that he will talk to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in this connection and also told the local wrestling associations and the people promoting the sport to hold a meeting after the Dasara festivities for working out plans for developing the “garadi mane”.

Dr. Mahadevappa was speaking after launching the wrestling teams ahead of the Dasara wrestling competitions, here. The pairing of wrestlers is done before the matches take off before the festivities commence. “Jodi Kattuva Karya” was also attended by senior officials, including Police Commissioner Seema Latkar and others.

Tracing the history of the traditional wrestling in Mysuru and recalling the days when the bouts here were attracting large crowds, the Minister recalled the names of popular wrestlers of those times and the popularity of their wrestling matches. He remembered how the sport was promoted during the time of Mysuru Maharajas.

Dr. Mahadevappa recalled the names of over 50 wrestlers and the Minister was even assisted by veteran wrestlers, including ‘Tiger’ Balaji, and also the upcoming wrestlers carrying forward the legacy of wrestlers whose matches are remembered even today.

The traditional sport got its due since the time of Mysuru Maharajas, and the region witnessed wrestlers and enthusiasts from across the country arriving for the bouts organised here during Dasara festivities. Wrestlers from as far as Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab compete for the coveted prizes in Dasara.

Mysuru Dasara is one such event when traditional wrestling (Nada Kusti) comes alive. A few years ago, Mr. Siddaramaiah, during his earlier stint as the Chief Minister, had announced ₹5 lakh each for giving a facelift to each garadi and 50 such gymnasiums had been identified for restoration.

At that time allocation of ₹2.5 crore for the restoration of ‘Garadi Mane’ was expected to benefit the ‘garadis’ of Mysuru. However, it is not clear how many were actually benefited from the allocation.

Though it was not specified how many garadis in Mysuru would get the benefit, wrestlers here had felt that some garadis here had been languishing and they hoped to get funds for them. The city once had over 150 garadis and now there are less than 50.

Some wrestling groups had suggested establishment of a permanent fund so that the tradition did not suffer for want of funds.

Another form of wrestling, Vajra Musti, is organised on the Mysuru palace premises during the festivities.

Published - September 22, 2024 07:30 pm IST