honorable mention
Arpan Uzir india
title
Kushti - a practice on the verge of extinction
The practice of Kushti is dying out in recent times and is being replaced by more contemporary forms of wrestling. As such, I believe and plan to explore the practice of Kushti across the country, bringing out the life stories of the Pehlwans for the world to see through captured inimitable moments and empower to make a positive change in our world.
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entry description
The curiosity to investigate the common and capture the everyday has led me to work on various photo series; series that encounter with the lives and lifestyle of people. In a fast changing world with contemporary forms of art, an age old tradition of Indian wrestling established centuries ago finds its way to survive in the lives of few remaining wrestlers who have made it a way of life more than a sport. This series is about a traditional form of Indian mud-clay wrestling; ‘Kushti’ and practitioners of this wrestling art called the ‘Pehlwans’, in Kolkata, India. An Akhada that houses three generations of Pehlwans, who start their daily rituals at sunrise followed by a series of exercises to get their bodies warmed up before setting foot in the Akhada.The practice of Kushti is dying out in recent times and is being replaced by more contemporary forms of wrestling. As such, I believe and plan to explore the practice of Kushti across the country, bringing out the life stories of the Pehlwans for the world to see through captured inimitable moments and empower to make a positive change in our world.
about the photographer
Born and brought up in the state of Assam in India, with a degree in Civil Engineering and passion for travel and photography; I am fortunate to invest more time into photography, travelling and capturing stories from the places I visit and people I meet.back to gallery