58 HERITAGEMIGUEL CANDELA is a Spanish
photographer currently based in
Hong Kong. He specialises in social
features from across Asia. Miguel won
Best New Talent at the 2012 Prix de la
Photographie (Px3) Paris competition.ZIGOR ALDAMA is an award-winning
Basque journalist. Based in China, he
is the Far East Asia correspondent for
Vocento, Spain’s largest media group.
His work often revolves around social
and cultural issues.Thanks to the examples set by
Kakran and Sushil Kumar, kushti is
still alive and kicking. Dangals still
attract crowds across the country,
although stories of doping and rigged
matches abound. “The most severe
problem faced by kushti nowadays
has nothing to do with the arrival of
women or the evolution of rules, but
with the deterioration of the ethicalTop Kushti wrestlers
bow in front of a statue
of Hindu Lord Shiva,
the god of destruction,
creation, regeneration,
meditation and arts
boTTom Female
wrestlers warm-up in
Delhi. Since they began
to train, these young
fighters have been
breaking numerous
stereotypes and ignore
discrimination in this
male-dominated sport
qualities of wrestlers”, Saroha points
out. As many other kushti fans do, the
lawyer melancholically remembers the
legendary story of Gama, a Muslim
wrestler who became a legend when
he protected his Hindu neighbourhood
from an attack in Pakistan during the
1947 Partition riots. “That bravery and
high moral standard is what kushti
has always been about”, Prasad
adds. “Unfortunately, now many good
wrestlers can’t even make ends meet,
so they have to give up the righteous,
traditional way of life to get a regular job
and put fame and money first”. AGP