Sandwiched between the flower market and the Hooghly River by the iconic Howrah Bridge is Kolkata’s akhara, founded in 1961 and one of the few remaining in India. The pahalwans (a Persian-derived term for wrestler) practice every day at dawn until it’s time for work, not just for sport but for spirituality.
This is Suraj Kant or to his boys Suraj Bhaiya, the son of his father, who until his passing in 2023 was Guruji of this akhara. A state and national wrestler in his own right, Suraj’s priority has been to maintain the legacy and ethos of the akhara, passing on the wrestler’s code, not least to those fighting other demons, as well as regular modern day distractions.
At 4am the wrestlers wear the traditional langot and rub their bodies with mustard oil before tending the mud on which they wrestle. Coming from the sacred river, the Hooghly is laced with the water of the Ganges, the mud has neem, turmeric, ghee, salt, mustard oil and milk added and is worshipped and tended every morning – following the traditions of the pahalwans and the akhara; before the wrestlers return to the busy city.
