The organizers of late call it a Sports Festival, which was somewhat incongruously known as Rural Olympics till now. The recently concluded razzmatazz at Kila Raipur, a vibrant village near Ludhiana in Punjab, where for four days rural folk showcased their sporting mite and cultural milieu in myriad ways, eludes perfect nomenclature. It’s a unique stage — and sight — where men, individually or in group, struggle with animals and machines for their share of attention from the unbiased crowd.
As rustic muscle power of men elicit as much applause as would the unending bullock cart or tractor races, one is awe-struck at the kaleidoscopic vicissitudes the rural congregation throws up. What is therefore more important is not categorization but characterization of the going on.
There are any number of Olympic events: hockey (in the calendar since the meet was put on board in 1933), wrestling, basketball, jumps and volleyball included. But these sports are clearly overshadowed by the Para Olympic disciplines. The races by blind girls and handicapped persons on tricycle, powerlifting by polio-affected clicked with the crowd more than the sophisticated sporting disciplines. On the other hand, the races by dogs, horses and camels were equally enchanting and not left far behind in terms of popularity and strenuous preparation.
The bullock cart race is the showpiece event, and has become the identity of the age-old show. The bulls that reach knock out stage are well sought after and fetch their owners as high as Rupees ten lac in auction, thereby bringing in a streak of commercialism into the otherwise leisure activity.
For about ten hours each day, various events were held in such a way the spectators seldom feel boredom. Its not just the variety of events, but the serialization that seemed to have achieved this wonder. The sprint for 70-plus for instance was followed by another sprint for under-12 girls, separated by a song number by deaf girls!
So many events were held on a single ground, some them simultaneously with a sizeable crowd on the ground itself. Animals, men and machinery moved together, engaging in their given activity, but remarkably not a single accident or incident of bad nature occurred. The daily crowd of 50,000 plus was self-managed, with hardly any police presence.
This meet is open for al. Anyone who has a skill can walk in, perform and communicate with the audience. So far so good, but some of them like frog eating are eyesore and do not conform to the concept of bravery the meet seeks to glorify. Cultural events between the competitions are fine, but they tend to become monotonous and repetitive.
Kila Raipur meet marks the fusion of tradition and modernity and this soul should not be lost in the name of entertainment. More so, when it is included in the future show of BBC’s ‘Long Man Standing’. Why such a mass gathering and clock wise organization did not attract major sports channel or big banner sponsorships point to the vexed problem: lack of sports consciousness in the country.