An ancient combat revived for a day

This is one sport which has long gone out of vogue but is held once a year on Vijayadashmi conducted by the Wadiyars of Mysuru.

It is the Vajra Mushti Kalaga that involves fighting by jetties hitting each other’s heads with a knuckleduster. There are references to it in the writings of medieval travelers from Portugal who had visited the court of Vijayanagara emperors.

On Thursday, the Vajra Mushti Kalaga was conducted in the presence of Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar and was witnessed by a large crowd.

The jetties or wrestlers are clean-shaven for the event and the combat is stopped the moment a fighter inflicts injuries on his opponent and draws the first blood, however small it may be. Though ceremonial, it is conducted in all seriousness, but seldom prolonged and most of the time, it lasts less than a minute.