 |
||
|
||
|
||
Author: Express News Service
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: December 31, 2009
BACK home in Munich, Germany, that shade of oranje is usually reserved for football jerseys of their northern neighbours Netherlands; while Salami is more a sausage filling than a show-stopping manouvre after a body-twisting climb onto a Mallakhamb pole. But for the group of7 German youngsters who easily slip into Mallakhamb's traditional saffron colours, and lithely ascend the different levels of the sport's routine pyramid, their maiden trip to India is all about striking a chord with every surrounding element that forms the basis of Mallakhamb. On their 10-day trip to the city where they will stay with Indian families, the seven Germans are as keen to step barefeet onto the fine and coarse mud-soil of Shivaji Park as well as learning from the easy elasticity of young Indian exponents who seem to mount the pole with the sprightliness of cats.
The seven - Ruth Anzenberger, Wanda Weiss, Johanna Karczmarek, Isabelle Kreusch, Beatrix Hebler, Johannah Mayinger and Moritz Schuller (the lone boy) - are all in the age-group 12-14 and have been initiated into the Indian gymnastic form since 2004 at the Yoga Forum in Munich, with city coach U day Deshpande making a trip to Germany every September when a week-long course gets interested Germand soaring up on thick ropes and the sturdy pole. The amazement and the sweaty nervousness over having to accomplish the feat - using mere toes and fingers to grab a foothold over the pole - pas been overcome over the last four summers, and coach Jutta Schneider, herself a yoga instructor, believed it was time to take her wards straight into the hub of Mallakhamb. Instructions for the Indian sojourn were clear - drink bottled water, leave footwear outside when entering an Indian home and play the perfect grateful guests to enthusiastic Indian hosts - children (also e-mail buddies) in Mumbai who train in Mallakhamb daily at the Samarth Vyayam Mandir here. ,
"I think every German kid should have at least two opportunities to travel to India. The second time, they can entirely concentrate on Mallakhamb since they will be used to their surroundings and culture by then," Schneider said on the second day of their visit to the Shivaji Park set-up - a corner· carved out with a couple of poles erected and a crossbar from which the curling rope dangles. Back home in Germany, the course lasts a mere 7 days in a year, though some dedicated learners like Ruth· Anzenberger have set up ropes in their backyards and practice often. A holistic introduction to the local culture means the Germans will also take short classes in playing the flute, some Kathak and even a stint with Warli painting and mehendi.
"Still hot and we're in winter, innit?"
asks Isabelle Kreusch adding with a twinkle in her hazel-eyes, "but it's
a very good experience to travel here and learn a few advanced positions of
the sport." We might be deep, into December, but for these inhabitants
of cooler climes, anything more than an hour out on the pole is harsh on their
skins.
Schneider explains: "We'll focus on few positions and different formations,
but it won't be as concentrated a training session as back home because of
the climate," she says.
Unlike in India where mallakhamb can get very serious and competitive with all its diligent I frills, the Germans look at the activity as a fitness routine or at times, just learning another art. "Mallakhamb needs courage, and it's a huge activity for kids to gain some self confidence. We don't look at it as sport, but many children have shirked away their shyness after learning the rope-tricks and mastering the pole. S Many times it's about proving to their parents what they are capable of. When they feel it's possible to stand on that pole, it's a different high," the coach adds. "Jai Hind" - a declaring salutation at the end of the pyramid has thus become the buzzword, a confident announcement of having achieved the pinnacle of physical elasticity for these group of Germans.
The lanky and agile Deshpande is a popular figure at Munich's Yoga Forum - an Indian arts centre set against a scenic back-drop of mountains and a serene lake. "The centre's very popular with the Munich crowd, and most parents introduce their kids to Mallakhamb there. Deshpande has great understanding of children and knows how to transport knowledge of mallakhamb and hold their attention. Convincing them to come to India wasn't tough," Schneider says. Indian families happily volunteered to host the youngsters with the entire touring working as a good exchange' programme for when Indian 'students travel to Munich for demos and training.
It's been a decade and half since Deshpande has been conducting workshops in Germany' (he transported the long, heavy, pole that could be assembled from 3 parts), and Munich conducted its first week-long training under German instructors. Here in India, though, it's all about befriending both the art and the environment. "It's different here. People leave their shoes out when entering houses, here they can just plonk down a pillow and start to sleep, there's no fussing about space and separate rooms and even furniture and how it's set up is different. But people are friendly, and 'they even cook fresh breakfast every morning," Schuller, the' only boy in the group of 7 said.
The insistent honking of vehicles on India's crowded roads is, another phenomenon labelled strange by this group of teenagers. But stranger still was when they first watched an Indian demo group deftly curve "and bend themselves suspended in air with only the toes and fingers clutcing the pole. "It's not so strange anymore. We're comfortable with Mallakhamb now," says Wanda Weiss, the wide-eyed 14-year-old Municher.
|
||
|
||
|
||