Kila Raipur Sports Festival 2014: India's Rural Olympics

Roaring crowd, adrenaline-pumping stunts and some of the quirkiest sports activities ever… Yes! Finally I was at Kila Raipur Sports Festival in Ludhiana.

Held from 31^st Jan till 2^nd Feb this year, this festival - locally known as Rural Olympics - is one of its kind. This bizarre sports event is organised at a small village in Kila Raipur, about 20 kilometres from Ludhiana (Punjab). Before I take you through my experience, we could use a little history of the Rural Olympics. The event was first organised by Inder Singh Grewal in the year 1933. From a recreational congregation to evaluate Punjab’s farmers’ strength and endurance, the Rural Olympics have grown to an enthusiastic array of various sporting events inviting participation from all of India, and even outside.

Besides the usual sports like Hockey, Volleyball, races (100, 400 and 1,500 metres), long jump, and kabaddi, some amazing rural sports are also a part of the Kila Raipur Sports Festival. I was particularly stumped by the no-nonsense bullock cart race. Watching those beasts galloping to the finish-line with loud drums thudding is an adventurous and adrenaline-pumping experience, even if you are just watching.

No wonder the winner of this race gets a handsome cash prize.

Presenting some other events I enjoyed watching...

Horse Dance

Camel Dance

Horse Race

Pegging

Besides horses and bullock carts, races were also held between tractors, mule carts and dogs. The indigenous martial arts stunts demonstrated by the young Sikh performers were no less extraordinary.

Riding two, sometimes three horses, playing with fire and skilled acrobatics performed by Nihang groups were spectacular and valorous alike.

 

Bizarre seems to be the word of the day at Rural Olympics. Where else would you see activities like people lifting bicycles or ladders with their teeth, pulling cars with their hair, teeth or ears, and other daredevil stunts on bikes and horses?

Unlike other regular sports events one need not be trained to compete, at least in some competitions. Participants can range from teenagers to octogenarians, and even beyond.

The fun doesn't end here as each evening there's a cultural feast with folk singers, Bhangra, and Gidha performers, which happens on all three days of the festival. Now that I’m back and looking at these photographs, it is so amazing to see such an incredible event happening in the Indian hinterland since over seven decades. But all we care about is cricket and Bollywood.

Kila Raipur Sports Festival 2014 showed me a lot, and taught me a little more. I hope you too go there next year.