Inward Calm

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“Inward calm cannot be maintained unless physical strength is constantly and intelligently replenished.”
(Buddha – Hindu Prince Gautama Siddharta, founder of Buddhism, 563-483 B.C.)

This picture was shot at the little akhara (gymnasia) located nearby Scindia ghat along the Ganges in Vanarasi (Benaras).
Like many people in the Eternal city this pehlwan (wrestler) comes here every morning at dawn or before sunset in order to perform his daily physical training routine.
Since the Mughal Era it became a way of living deeply connected to culture of Northern India, this art of wrestling is a synthesis of native malla-yuddha and Persian Varzesh-e Pahlavani.
Through time Western training methods and nomenclature from Iran and Europe were introduced into Pehlwani.
Wrestling competitions, known as dangals, held in villages can have their own rules variations.

Bright Angel

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“Artistic temperament sometimes seems a battleground, a dark angel of destruction and a bright angel of creativity wrestling.”
(Madeleine L’Engle – American writer, 1918-2007)

This picture was shot at the little akhara (gymnasia) located nearby Scindia ghat along the Ganges in Vanarasi (Benaras).
Like many people in the Eternal city this pehlwan (wrestler) comes here every morning at dawn or before sunset in order to perform his daily physical training routine.
Since the Mughal Era it became a way of living deeply connected to culture of Northern India, this art of wrestling is a synthesis of native malla-yuddha and Persian Varzesh-e Pahlavani.
Through time Western training methods and nomenclature from Iran and Europe were introduced into Pehlwani.
Wrestling competitions, known as dangals, held in villages can have their own rules variations.

The Effort that Matters

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“The one thing that matters is the effort.
It continues, whereas the end to be attained is but an illusion of the climber, as he fares on and on from crest to crest; and once the goal is reached it has no meaning”.
(Antoine de Saint-Exupéry – The Wisdom of the Sands, translated from French by Stuart Gilbert)

This young man is a pehlwan (Indian wrestler) and he is using a pair of wood painted cylinders of 45 Kg weight each called “jodi” for his daily training.
I took this picture last Thursday in the begining of the afternoon under 48° at the little akhara which not far from Aurangzeb’s mosque in Kashi, the oldest part of Varanasi (Benaras).

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The Smallest Acts

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“Put your heart, mind, intellect and soul even to your smallest acts.
This is the secret of success”.
(Swami Sivananda)

This is a picture of Vinod who is a pehlwan (Indian wrestler), while Pritviraj (an other pehlwan) is giving him a facial massage during their training at the gym, the akhara which is at Scindia Ghat along river Ganga in Varanasi (Benaras).

The Intention to Understand Ourselves

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“To transform the world, we must begin with ourselves; and what is important in beginning with ourselves is the intention.
The intention must be to understand ourselves and not to leave it to others to transform themselves or to bring about a modified change through revolution, either of the left or of the right.
It is important to understand that this is

 our responsibility, yours and mine…”
(Jiddu Krishnamurti)

Those are wood painted cylinders called “jodi”, each is 45 Kg weight.
They are used in twisting rotations by pehlwan during their physical training.
I took this picture in a little akhara which not far from Aurangzeb’s mosque in Kashi, the oldest part of Varanasi (Benaras).

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“The Navel of the World”

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“The oldest living city in the world”.

According some people, India is said to be the ‘navel (nâbhî) of the world, and Kâshî, the navel of India, then Manikarnikâ ghat is the navel of Kâshî.
At Manikarnikâ ghat stands the sacred fire (dhuni) which might be the oldest fire, this is where every pious Hindu hopes to be burnt, at the Mahâshmashâna or “Great Cremation Ground of the entire Universe”.

Last morning I shot this close-up of a wrestler’s torso while I was visiting the Akhara near Scindia ghat.
This is the place along river Ganga where I took pictures of pehlwani (indian wrestlers) last January in Vanarasi (Benaras).
There is no editing to this image.

Body language

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“The oldest living city in the world”.

This is a close-up of Pritviraj and Vinod, during their training at the gym, at sunrise near Scindia Ghat along river Ganga in Varanasi (Benaras).

Pehlwani (Devanagari: पहलवानी, Urdu: پہلوانی), Kushti (Devanagari: कुश्ती, Urdu: کشتی), or modern Indian wrestling, is a synthesis of an indigenous Aryan / Hindu form of wrestling that dates back at least to the 5th century BC and a Persian form of wrestling brought into South Asia by the Mughals.

A practitioner of this sport is referred to as a pehlwan (also spelled pahlwan in Persian, champion, literally a Parthian).

Generally speaking, a Hindu teacher of wrestling is known as a guru and a Muslim teacher as an ustad.

The Indian wrestling form has undergone several changes in both the nomenclature and training methodologies through the ages.
The more prominent influences include the introduction of Persian nomenclature and western training methods.

Wrestling competitions, known as Dangals, held at village levels, have their own rules which vary from place to place. Usually, a win is awarded by decision from the panel of judges, knockout, stoppage or submission.

Join the photographer at www.facebook.com/laurent.goldstein.photography

Corps “accords”

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Please do not use any photographs without permission (even for private use).
The use of any work without consent of the artist is PROHIBITED and will lead automatically to consequences.

“The oldest living city in the world”.

This is a close-up of Pritviraj and Vinod, during their training at the gym, at sunrise near Scindia Ghat along river Ganga in Varanasi (Benaras).

Pehlwani (Devanagari: पहलवानी, Urdu: پہلوانی), Kushti (Devanagari: कुश्ती, Urdu: کشتی), or modern Indian wrestling, is a synthesis of an indigenous Aryan / Hindu form of wrestling that dates back at least to the 5th century BC and a Persian form of wrestling brought into South Asia by the Mughals.

A practitioner of this sport is referred to as a pehlwan (also spelled pahlwan in Persian, champion, literally a Parthian).

Generally speaking, a Hindu teacher of wrestling is known as a guru and a Muslim teacher as an ustad.

The Indian wrestling form has undergone several changes in both the nomenclature and training methodologies through the ages.
The more prominent influences include the introduction of Persian nomenclature and western training methods.

Wrestling competitions, known as Dangals, held at village levels, have their own rules which vary from place to place. Usually, a win is awarded by decision from the panel of judges, knockout, stoppage or submission.

Join the photographer at www.facebook.com/laurent.goldstein.photography

Jeu de mains

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Please do not use any photographs without permission (even for private use).
The use of any work without consent of the artist is PROHIBITED and will lead automatically to consequences.

“The oldest living city in the world”.

This is a close-up of Pritviraj and Vinod, during their training at the gym, at sunrise near Scindia Ghat along river Ganga in Varanasi (Benaras).

Pehlwani (Devanagari: पहलवानी, Urdu: پہلوانی), Kushti (Devanagari: कुश्ती, Urdu: کشتی), or modern Indian wrestling, is a synthesis of an indigenous Aryan / Hindu form of wrestling that dates back at least to the 5th century BC and a Persian form of wrestling brought into South Asia by the Mughals.

A practitioner of this sport is referred to as a pehlwan (also spelled pahlwan in Persian, champion, literally a Parthian).

Generally speaking, a Hindu teacher of wrestling is known as a guru and a Muslim teacher as an ustad.

The Indian wrestling form has undergone several changes in both the nomenclature and training methodologies through the ages.
The more prominent influences include the introduction of Persian nomenclature and western training methods.

Wrestling competitions, known as Dangals, held at village levels, have their own rules which vary from place to place. Usually, a win is awarded by decision from the panel of judges, knockout, stoppage or submission.

Join the photographer at www.facebook.com/laurent.goldstein.photography

Pritviraj, pehlwan

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Please do not use any photographs without permission (even for private use).
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“The oldest living city in the world”.

I took this picture at sunrise near Scindia Ghat along river Ganga in Varanasi (Benaras).

It is part of the series about Indian wrestlers in Varanasi which I show here with no PP work.

Here Pritvitraj is posing in a very classic way, he is the local champion of Girkoraman Kushti and trained by a Russian coach.

The gym where we did those pictures is facing river Ganga which gave this vivid colors so early in the morning.

Pehlwan means wrestler in Hindi.

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