'Mini-Olympics' in India captures attention of the world

Bullock Race draws a huge crowd every year

For three days at the beginning of February every year, Kila Raipur, a village in Punjab, India, becomes the centre of attention of hundreds of thousands of sport enthusiasts in the country as well as many visiting foreigners. The village plays host to the Kila Raipur Sports Festival, or the ‘Rural Olympics‘ as it is popularly known in India.

This year’s edition of the Games, which started on 30th January, concluded this Sunday and as usual provided plenty of fireworks and unconventional fun to everyone involved in it.

Started in 1933 by philanthropist Inder Singh Grewal to provide a platform for youngsters and adults alike to come out of their households and showcase their talents and skills in traditional rural sports, the Kila Raipur Games now attract close to a million spectators every year. The event, which is run by the Grewal Sports Committee, has also seen participation from abroad with a couple of teams from Vancouver, Canada taking part in a few events.

Kila Raipur witnesses some of the wackiest acts during its 3-day festival

The special feature of the Kila Raipur Games is the unconventional nature of the events that take place during the 3-day period. One can witness races featuring mules, dogs, camels and bullocks among other animals. Like that wasn’t enough of a deviation from the regular, the evening also witnesses acts bordering on the crazy, with people using their teeth to lift bicycles or bricks, dragging cars or tractors using their teeth or ears, lying under a moving tractor, riding a bicycle with burnt wheels and various other stunts.

The event which draws plenty of eyeballs and gets the crowd totally involved is the adrenaline-pumping bullock cart race, with the winner taking home lakhs of rupees in prize money. Some of the other entertaining events include tug-of-war, camel race, horse dance, tractor race and dog race. At the end of the day’s sporting activities, the villagers organize a cultural program which showcases the talent of folk dancers, who put on dazzling performances in the local art forms such as Gidha and Bhangra. The event goes on till at least midnight on all the three days as the crowds celebrate in a festival-like atmosphere.

Usually occurring in the first week of February, the event is one of the most unique sporting festivals in India and probably even around the world. The games celebrate sport in its own quirky way and the revelry at Kila Raipur during these three days in February is something that every sport lover should witness first hand whenever he or she gets an opportunity.