Archive · 27 Aug 2026
Bengaluru Exhibit Brings India’s Traditional Wrestling Culture To Life
Traditional Indian wrestling is called kushti.
Wrestlers practice and compete on soft mud floors instead of modern mats.
A new exhibit in Bengaluru shows how this sport is connected to Indian history and culture.
It includes old maces, clubs, stone weights, artwork, and textile stamps.
Photographers also show the lives of wrestlers, including successful women athletes.
Other photographs focus on akharas, which are places where wrestlers train and live.
Many akharas have money problems and receive little state support.
Visitors can play a wrestling-themed card game and try lifting a traditional weight.
The free exhibit is open until November 1, except on Mondays.
The ‘Grip, Hold, Pin’ exhibit at Bengaluru’s Museum of Art and Photography explores the living culture of traditional Indian kushti.
The display combines contemporary photography with antique artwork, textile stamps, maces, jori clubs, and stone training weights.
Prarthna Singh’s decade-long ‘Champion’ series focuses on the lives and resilience of women wrestlers.
Indrajit Khambe’s photographs document akharas as communities and living spaces beyond athletic competition.
The exhibit highlights financial challenges facing akharas, including Bengaluru’s 130-year-old Blackpalli Dilcheer Taleem, which began selling afternoon biryani for support.
- Who
- The Museum of Art and Photography, traditional Indian wrestlers, and photographers Prarthna Singh and Indrajit Khambe.
- What
- The ‘Grip, Hold, Pin’ exhibit presents traditional Indian kushti through photographs, antique objects, artwork, and interactive activities.
- When
- The exhibit is open until November 1 and is closed on Mondays; the articles do not specify a year.
- Where
- The Museum of Art and Photography in Bengaluru, India.
- Why
- The exhibit aims to explore and preserve the living culture and heritage of traditional Indian wrestling while highlighting the experiences of wrestlers and the challenges facing akharas.
- Exhibit
- ‘Grip, Hold, Pin’
- Venue
- Museum of Art and Photography, Bengaluru
- Admission
- Free
- Featured photographer
- Prarthna Singh, whose ‘Champion’ series was assembled over a decade
- Training objects
- Meel maces, jori clubs, and stone weights, probably dating from the late 19th or early 20th century
- Exhibit closing
- November 1; the museum is closed on Mondays
- Featured akhara
- Blackpalli Dilcheer Taleem, a 130-year-old Bengaluru akhara that began selling afternoon biryani amid financial difficulties