A Focus On Wrestling

India has a long history of wrestling, but the sport is often confined to muddy akhadas - until an Olympic medal or a film brings it out of obscurity.

One Bengaluru-based photographer and cinematographer has a nostalgia for the sport and his photos on the subject are on display in the city.

Wrestling was part of Navroze Contractor's childhood - and a chance visit to an akhada in north Karnataka brought the feelings flooding back.

"It happened that I was riding through Dharwad and I stumbled upon this akhada. I went inside and it reminded me of my childhood akhada in Ahmedabad," Navroze told NDTV.

"When I started talking to the pehelwans, I came to know that in many places in north Karnataka, people would not give their daughters to their family if they did not have a wrestler in the family. 15 years ago I was shooting a film with Ketan Mehta, we actually saw there was a man who was a wrestler, an elderly gentleman. And his daughter wanted to get married to a man who was also a wrestler. And he challenged him and said, only if you defeat me you can marry this girl. And for 10 years he couldn't defeat him so the girl was almost 35 when she got married."

Naozar Daruwala, owner of Crimson Art Gallery said, "He has used no lighting, he has gone into those dark spaces of the akhadas and captured the imagination and aspirations of young children who would like to be wrestlers in the future."

The buzz over an Olympic medal - and a hit film - had people in this country talking about this sport - at least for a while.

"Sakshi (Malik) at the Olympics and then Sultan and then Aamir Khan is going to release a film which is also going to be on wrestling...so the boys and the fighters are looking forward to it, but they know it is far - fetched from reality. They are all very rooted in their exercises and passion," Navroze said.

In this era of modern gyms and sportswear - the photographs are images from an ancient sport.