Suria Akhara – Varanasi – India
The visit to Suria Akhara started as a passenger on the back of a motorbike, weaving through the tiny streets and alleyways of Varanasi. On arrival, we had to squeeze past a cow tethered to a wall before walking through the gates.
I would have never have found this place without the local knowledge of my guide Prakash Sahani who had arranged for the members of Suria Akhara to put on a display of traditional exercises.
Hot and Humid
Varanasi has a humid subtropical climate. On average, the temperatures are always high. This is a very specific climate that often occurs in areas that are slightly higher up. The summers are very hot and wet. Winter months are fairly dry.
Langot (Langota)
The Langot is worn by the Pahlawan for training, exercising or sparring in the dangal at traditional wrestling akharas. These are not speedos.
These are not Speedos
All the members of the akhara dress in the traditional cotton langot, the colour predominately red in honour of the God of strength Hanuman. It has to be said that some previous visitors have laughed at seeing the langot. This is to my mind very disrespectful considering that this is the customary and traditional dress code inside the confines of the akhara.
Remove Shoes
It goes without saying that it is also customary to remove your shoes on entry, luckily Prakash (guide) had warned me and I arrived wearing sandals that could be removed easily. The beaten earth inside the akhara has a very nice feel to it.
Training
The training was already in progress as we arrived, so on asking Prakash to take photographs I switched my video camera on and began filming. The workouts consisted of gada, hand nal, head nal, dumbbells and jori clubs. This followed by a display of bodyweight exercises.
Ceremonial Jori
Finally, I had a quick tour around the buildings a was shown the ceremonial jori clubs that are used during competitions and festivals.
Suria Akhara Ceremonial Jori
Best Training Footage
The following videos contain some of the best training footage I recorded in Varanasi and has inspired me to return next year for the Cobra festival, which features the swinging of the ceremonial jori clubs mentioned earlier. Although I am not a wrestler I do train with clubs and gada mace and found the events on this day awe-inspiring.
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