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It is not for naught that a historian like Ramchandra Guha calls India the ‘most interesting nation’ in the world. The country’s rich cultural heritage has been often the talking point for chroniclers of history both within and outside India. However, discussions revolving around India’s cultural pedigree seldom mention India’s equally rich sporting heritage. Much like all else in the country, many indigenous sports in India possess that slice of exotica which makes them unique, in a very Indian sense. Let us now take a look at ten such indigenous Indian sports.
#1 Vallamkali
An integral part of Kerala’s culture, Vallamkali is a form of canoe-racing which is conducted during the festival of Onam. Vallamkali is often referred to as Snake-boat racing since the race of Chudan Vallam (Snake Boat) is the premier event of the festival.
The sport is primarily conducted using paddled war canoes. The Nehru Trophy Boat race conducted annually at the Punnamada lake near Alappuzha is, apart from being a major tourist attraction, also a source of immense joy for the residents of Aleppey.
The canoes used in the snake boat race range from 100 to 120 feet and can carry upto a 110 oarsmen. The first snake-boat racing event was held in 1952 and the Nadubhagam Boat Club was the first champion.
Interestingly enough, the snake boats were designed as battleships at the behest of King Devanarayana if Chembakassery way back in the 14th century. To this day, the snake boats that compete in Vallamkali adhere to the specifications of the boat that was designed nearly 650 years ago.
#2 Yubi Lakpi
Yubi Lakpi is rugby, with an oily twist. The game, which originated in Manipur involves two teams battling for a coconut dipped in oil, in the place of a ball. The players are required to carry the coconut across the goal-line to a box.
What adds more interest to the game is that the players smear their bodies with mustard oil and water, making the task of grabbing the player with a ball inexplicably hard. In Manipur, it is largely believed that Yubi Lakpi is the forbear of modern rugby and that the western world stole their idea of the sport. Emma Levine, an English writer who researches Asian sports, too wonders if Yubi Lakpi could indeed have been rugby’s root.
#3 Thoda
A sport, inspired by the Indian epic, Mahabharata, Thoda focuses not only on prowess in archery but also involves the replaying of the battle of Kurukshetra. The sport, which is played against the verdant landscapes of Kulu and Manali in Himachal Pradesh, witnesses players grouping themselves as Pandavas and Kauravas,in accordance with the epic. The aim of the sport is to strike the member of the opposing team with the arrow, below the knee.
The name, Thoda, is derived from the piece of wood affixed to the head of the arrow, which insulates the players from any possible harm. The arrows are normally 1.5 to 2m long and are designed by traditional artisans, with diligence.
#4 Thang-Ta
Involving the use of weapons such as spear, axe and sword, Thang-Ta is a traditional sport in the state of Manipur. The game was devised by the Meitei people of the state.
Thang, in Manipuri means sword and Ta means spear, thus giving the sport its name. The game shares many a common trait with Banshay, practised across the Manipur border in Myanmar. However, Thang-Ta isn’t all about the dextrous use of the sword and spear. A sport that is part of ritualistic practices in the state, Thang-Ta also involves dazzling dance movements that are intended to enrapture the spectators. In its own way, Thang-Ta resembles a war dance.
While Thang-Ta is a part of many Tantric ritual practices, when used for purposes of demonstration, the sport transforms itself into a true visual delight, incorporating spear and sword dance moves.
#5 Mallakhamb
A sport, the history of which can be traced back all the way upto 1135, Mallakhamb is a gymnastic sport wherein the players are required to perform acrobatic feats either on a wooden pole or a rope.
The sport, which was originally conceived as an exercise for wrestlers (which explains the ‘Malla’ in the title, Malla means wrestler), the sport was widely popular in Hyderabad and Maharashtra for centuries, it was Balambhatada Deodar, fitness instructor to Peshwa Baji Rao II, who made the sport popular by revising it.
The sport generally involves the players having to perform acrobatic acts on a pole about 2.6 metres long with a circumference of around 55 metres. Another version of the sport witnesses the players performing acrobatic feats on a rope.
Incidentally, this supposedly ‘unknown’ sport in India has a global organisation ‘Mallakhamb Confederation of the World’, in charge of overseeing its affairs. In India, the Mallakhamb Federation of India is the supreme body vested with the administration of the sport. The orgainsation has been conducting National Level Mallakhamb tournaments for the past 25 years.
#6 Kalaripayattu
Kalaripayattu, a martial-arts form which originated in Kerala in the 13th century is purported to be one of the oldest fighting forms in existence today. The game, which is inextricably enmeshed with the culture of Kerala, is practised in various forms.
The sport, which is practised across Kerala and parts of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, involves strikes, kicks, grappling and weaponry among other features. The original form of the sport was practised by the Ezhava community in Kerala, who handed it down to other communities in the state. Owing to its association with a number of different communities, separated either by space or culture, Kalaripayattu is practised in a number forms today.
The sport or ‘art’ of Kalaripayattu is taught to students at a ‘Kalari’ or school. Venmazhu (Axe), Ambu-Villu (Bow and Arrow), Ponti (Small Club), Thotti (Hook Spear), Kaduthila (Curved Sword) and Trisool (Trident) were the weapons historically used in Kalaripayattu.
Kalaripayattu is also linked with the history of Kerala’s most popular dance form, Kathakali. It is often said that Kathakali practitioners, who were also Kalaripayattu performers, tended to be better dancers.
#7 Chowka Bhara
If you grew up in India in an household with grandparents, it is very much likely that not only have you come across the game of ‘Chowka Bhara’, but have indulged yourself heartily in the same. The game, which is a miniature version of Ludo, is played with materials that are easily available in the house and most likely to be discarded as trash.
Seashells, tamarind seeds and bangle bits are some of the things that are used to play the game. The game, which is supposed to have been referenced in the Mahabharata, is among the oldest board games in the world and continues to be played across India to this day.
Played by two or four players, the game requires each player to move his or her set of ‘coins’ to an inner square called ‘Home’, while the opponents try and thwart the journey so as to reach the ‘Home’s first and win the game. Seashells are generally used to serve as dice.
#8 Insuknawr
Played in the state of Mizoram, Insuknawr is a game that tests not only the physical ability of a player, but also his mental strength. Devised by the people of Mizoram, who relied on wooden mortar and pestle for husking rice, the game was once seen as a rite of passage for young men.
The game involves the players holding onto the two sides of a wooden pole, with some portion of the pole jutting out of their armpits. In what can be described as an altered form of tug of war, the players try to push one another outside a circle which circumscribes the area of the play. The centre of the pole should be in alignment with the centre of the circle.
#9 Silambam
Played mostly with a bamboo staff, Silambam is a sport which originated in Tamil Nadu centuries ago. Sangam literature in Tamil records the practice of Silambam as early as the second century BCE.
The name originates from Tamil and Kannada. In Tamil, ‘Sillu’ means hill and ‘Bambu’ is bamboo in Kannada. The name is an allusion to a particular type of bamboo sticks that used to be available in the Kurinji Hills in Kerala. Today, the game is practised by the Tamil communities in Sri Lanka and Malaysia. Incidentally, the game has a close affinity to the sport of Kalaripayattu, practised in Kerala.
In a nutshell, Silambam is a sparring contest played with bamboo staffs, with each player attempting to strike his opponent most number of times. At the end of the game, the player with the most strikes is declared the winner. Although, it is the original version of Silambam, played with the bamboo stick which is most popular, it is also played with other weapons such as Maru (A weapon made with deer horns), Aruval (Sickle), Savuku 9Whip), etc.
Among the many disciplines in Silambam are Nagam-16, Kallapathu, Kuruvanchi and nilaikallaki.
#10 Pallanguli
The Pallanguli board was a ubiquitous entity in South Indian households at one point in time. A board game, it takes a long time for the game to complete.
The Pallanguli board has two rows with seven columns each. Six seeds (traditionally, the game was played with tamarind seeds) are placed in each of the 14 squares or cups. The player with the first turn picks up the seeds from a cup on his or her side and begins by placing them in the remaining caps anti-clockwise. This exercise is then repeated with the seeds in the next cup. This continues till the player reaches a cup or square which is followed by an empty cup, at which point, the players switch turns.
The game is said to be over when a player cannot fill any of the cups with six seeds.
