It was a wrestling match, the kind that has rarely been seen before.
The contestants were not young burly men with sweaty bodies but frail, white-haired women who refused to remove their six-yard saris during the match.
This wrestling match, held in Ehmamau village on the outskirts of Lucknow a day after Nag Panchami, is a part of a 200-year-old tradition that had remain largely unheard.
This year, the organisers invited a group of scribes to witness the event because they felt there was an urgent need to preserve it.
“The tradition of women wrestling was started by Begum Noorjehan who wanted women to realise their physical strength. It was an all women affair and men were strictly barred from having a peek,” said Shruti, a young graduate who made sure the event got publicised this year. The wrestling match, meanwhile, presented an interesting sight as 70-year-old Ramkali flung 66-year-old Nankai to the ground and won a thunderous applause from the spectators.
Ramdei, 45, entered the wrestling ground with her sister-in-law Devkali, 38, as her opponent and the match ended in a tie.
Interestingly, a bowl of hot mustard oil with turmeric stirred into it was kept at hand and those who stirred strained muscles or twisted arms were quick a quick massage on the spot. The winners in each round were given a sari as the first prize while the runners-up got a consolation prize of `51 each.