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.
