Wrestling, kushti, rules the farmlands, as it has for centuries. It had pride of place in the courts of Chalukya kings and Mughal emperors. It was embraced by Hinduism and its epics, and has led its own untroubled revolution against the caste system. The British loved it when they first came to India, then rejected it during the freedom struggle. No, wrestling has never been marginal -even if it is largely ignored in modern-day narratives of sport and culture. From the Great Gama to Sushil Kumar - whose two Olympic medals yanked the kushti out of rural obscurity and on to TV screens - and the many, many pehalwans in between, Enter the Dangal goes behind the scenes to the akharas that quietly defy urbanization, and to the indifferent federations that have done the sport no good. A book that goes to the beating, living heart of wrestling.
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