A martial art form in terminal decline 

Jettys engaged in a bout during Vajra Mushti Kalaga held as part of Dasara at the Mysuru Palace on Tuesday.
| Photo Credit: M.A. SRIRAM

The ‘’vajra mushti kalaga’’ is a form of wrestling different from the conventional grappling and entails two jettys taking a swipe at each other’s head with a knuckleduster.

Whosoever draws the blood from the opponent’s head first is declared the winner. Though this form of wrestling was popular during the period of the Vijayanagar rulers who reigned between the 14^th and the 17^th centuries, it has gone extinct and takes place only during Dasara.

It was held at the palace premises on Tuesday to mark the Vijayadashmi of the Wadiyars and was witnessed by a large crowd.

The fight is real and the jetty’s make all efforts to draw blood from the opponent’s head and a referee intervenes on noticing the first drop. Sometimes the fight is over in matter of seconds but is nevertheless conducted.

Medieval travellers from Portuguese noticed this form of wrestling during the Navaratri celebrations in Vijayanagar empire and have left detailed accounts of it. Historically this form of martial art was popular and has a hoary past but has been on a decline and has gone out of vogue in modern times.