For Pakistani dock workers in Dubai, kushti is a way of life

Dubai: Every Friday evening in Dubai’s bustling Deira district, a sandy lot is transformed into the ring of champions. It is kushti wrestling night and Kala Pehlwan is ready to fight.

As the sun sinks below towering palm trees, dozens of men — many in tunics, others in Tshirts — begin to form a perfect circle.

Most are Pakistani or Indian, from the crossborder region of Punjab, where kushti is a beloved pastime. They are also a pillar of the UAE’s workforce.

The wrestlers unabashedly strip down to their underwear, donning yellow, red, or even floral- patterned loincloths.

Spectators dart into the ring to film fights. Others watch in rapture, breaking out in cheers at decisive moments in the match.

The winner is declared when a fighter manages to pin his opponent to the ground on his back.

If the fight starts going over 20 minutes, the referees declare a tie. Kala

Pehlwan, 26, huddled with friends and came up with a plan. They would find a challenger — not from Dubai, but from their hometown of Muzaffargarh in the Punjab region of Pakistan.

Within days, they had gathered the money, throwing in 50- 100 dirhams each to pay for a plane ticket.

“I can’t meet you tonight I’m going to the airport,” Kala Pehlwan tells AFP one Monday evening.

Two days later, AFP met Kala Pehlwan at his workplace, Dubai’s gleaming Waterfront Market.

Row upon row of icetopped stalls are laden with fresh fish from Oman, Sri Lanka and beyond.

The stalls bear the names of Emirati owners, but South Asians are the face of the market.

“We have connections from Pakistan at the fish market,” says Kala Pehlwan. This is where he learned about the kushti matches when he arrived in Dubai six years ago.

The brawny fighter enters the delivery area, crossing paths with his mentor, Mohammed Iqbal, who is pushing a cart of fish.

“When I enter the market everyone is excited. They recognise me and know my name. And if there is any problem, they come to help me because I’m famous,” Kala Pehlwan grins. Kala

Pehlwan says kushti is a way of life back in Muzaffargarh.

“In our town, it’s a tradition to learn wrestling. Everybody grows up on kushti. They do not have bad habits like cigarettes or drugs. Everyone is trying to be fit for a fight.”

Kala Pehlwan — whose real name is Mohammed Arsalan — took his nom de guerre from a hometown legend who shares his fighting style.

He says a proper diet, coach and training are key to success. Eating right is his biggest challenge in an expensive metropolis.

Here, the fish market has some benefits.