Your write-up reminds me of my childhood days in Ittigegud, an old part of Mysore town, and the countless days we spent in watching wrestling matches in Exhibition grounds(doddakere)akhara. We were in awe of ‘Mooga’, a legendary wrestler. Infact if an opponent wrestler would want to seriously challenge Mooga, all that he would do was to scratch his nose, nd there you had it! Mooga would pounce on his opponent with all his rage. Mooga’s opponent stood a better chance when Mooga was wrestling in anger than otherwise. What I also fondly remember was Mooga’s father carrying a polythene bag with the hope of carrying Mooga’s spoils of the day-cash prize!

Wrestling tradition of Mysore town is indeed a fine research theme. Tell me, has there been a serious study of toddy-drinking tradition of old Mysore province and more specifically of Malenad belt from Kollegal to Sirsi-Siddapura? This one offers a great opportunity to reminisce owr own champagne tradition as well as build up a critical mass to revive interest in re-building ‘Brand Toddy’ as a commercial venture. Well, it is a great eco-friendly organic low-fat no-carbondated drink for desi dudes. By the way, do we have a desi equivalent for ‘cheers’?

j.raipura