Mallakhamb at a glance
While we celebrate June 15 as Mallakhambh Day, here’s a quick read to give you a chance to revisit the age-old sport
■ Over the years several apparatus were tested for Mallakhamb, but for sport, only six are used.
■ On April 9, 2013, Madhya Pradesh declared mallakhamb as the state sport. And today, 20 states have included it among others as a state sport.
■ Founded by Dr Jaydeepsinh Jadhav, following are the official organisations:
Mallakhamb Confederation of World, MCW Asian Mallakhamb Federation, AMF South Asian Mallakhamb Federation, SAMF Mallakhamb Federation USA
■ The Mallakhamb Federation of India is the official Indian National Federation.
■ Though mallakhamb has been recognised as a national sport by the Indian government, the sport is yet not a part of Indian Olympic Association’s games list, in spite of the Association also acknowledging the national status of mallakhamb. The Mallakhamb Federation of India is currently fighting for its inclusion in the Olympics.
■ A traditional Indian sport, Mallakamb involves a gymnast performing feats with a vertical wooden pole or rope. The word, Mallakamb, also refers to the pole used in the sport.
■ Mallakhamb or Mallakhamba is derived from malla or mallar meaning a wrestler and khamba or kambam meaning pole. It literally means “wrestling pole” and the term originally referred to a traditional training implement used by wrestlers.
■ The earliest mention of Mallkhamb can be traced back to the 12th Century where it is mentioned in the classic “MANASOLHAS” (1135 A.D.).
■ Though it was said to be practiced in medieval Maharashtra and Hyderabad, Mallakhamb wasn’t so popular and well recorded until the 18th century when it was revived by Balambhatdada Deodhar, the fitness instructor of Peshwa Baji Rao II.
■ Though Deodhar used it as means of staying fit, today Mallakhambh has become more of a performance art rather than a method of training.
■ COMPETITIVELY there are three main variations of Mallakhamb: Pole or fixed, hanging or rope.
IN pole, a vertical wooden pole is fixed to the ground on which athletes perform feats. The pole is made of teak or sheesham wood. IN hanging mallakhamb, the wooden pole is shorter and is hung from chain or hooks and has a gap between the pole and the ground. IN the rope variation athletes perform exercises while haning on a rope which is 5.5 mt long and 1 to 2 cm thick.