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Indira Daimary commutes an hour to attend khemlainai classes, a traditional Bodo form of wrestling, at the Dao Hari Training Center in Udalguri every morning. According to an article written by Sayantani Deb published in Indian Feminism, this sport is not just a sport or hobby for Daimary as it helps her put food on the table. This sport has helped several girls in Assam’s Bodoland to lead a decent life.
Brought up in a middle-class family of Udalguri in Sarubhengra village, Daimary always wanted to serve as a support to her parents. “Being the eldest daughter of a daily wage worker, I faced poverty all my life. Managing everything, from food to clothing to education, was difficult for my parents,” said Daimary, now 20 years old. .
After learning about the sport at a social gathering back in 2016, Daimary entered the professional arena the following year and never looked back. Not only does this sport help her get fit, but it also brings home money after winning championships. “I couldn’t finish my education because of financial problems, but I want to at least fulfill the wishes of my three sisters, one of them wants to be a nurse and work in a famous hospital, so I plan to send it to Hyderabad to deal with it further. education,” said Daimary.
She is the sole income earner in her family and has renovated the house with her income. For teenager Sangita Kisko of Garubhasha village in Chirang, the sport caught her by surprise when she least expected it. She said, “I started learning Komlainai at the age of 10. Everything was going well until my father, who was a government employee, decided to live separately. My mother was unable to meet with the ASHA’s minimum wage production.”
“I was then studying in a private English medium school that was charging good fees for admission, in class 10, which required a re-admission process, I decided to go there as my mother could not afford the fees. ” This is when she participated in a khemlainai competition and unexpectedly won, receiving Rs 5,000 cash prize.
“It helped me get into the same school,” she said. “For me, khollanai is everything. She showed me the way, giving me the confidence to continue both sports and studies by braving all the difficulties,” she added.
The game shows the rich culture, traditions of the Bodo people, who lived in the forests several centuries ago where they developed a self-defense system to protect themselves from wild animals. Similar to kushti, khomlainai participants are identified by aranai (a traditional Bodo cloth around the waist), which is green or red. The player wearing the green candle is called ‘matha’ while the player wearing red is ‘agor’. All the words used in the game belong to the Bodo language, such as khulum sewa (salute), juri (start), aobha (stop), sangrang (ready), su-bijitgiri (judge), bijitgiri (judge), khomlaigra (wrestling/ player) and derhasa (winners).
A great sports competition is held during the Bhaokhungri festival organized in Kokrajhar every April. The Bodoland Territorial Government (BTR) organizes to participate in sports around the world and reduce the gap between the communities in the Bodo region. Even Nepalis, Gorkhali, Rajbonshi Bengali, Bihari and Assamese people have taken up the sport, which is a way to promote harmony.
Guno Shankar, General Secretary of the Assam Komlainai Association said, “The youth welfare and sports department of the BTR government provides Rs 10 lakh annually to promote khemlainai, along with other indigenous sports. Now, the association organizes an open khomlainai championship. (where anyone can participate, regardless of age, however, it is necessary to organize the junior, middle and senior leagues (both men and women) on a large scale, for that, we need financial support and more.” Shankar said that organizing seminars, training of teachers, judges and judges has become a problem. “A big increase in donations is the need of the hour. The Assam government should support us financially,” he said.
“Fortunately, we have a number of philanthropists from different sectors of society (businessmen, local leaders, academics, sports lovers and charities), who sponsor the players’ uniforms or the costs of food, accommodation. and transportation. They cannot support us financially, they donate rice, vegetables, fruits and eggs to their farms,” he added. According to Mijing Narzary, a coach at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) Kokrajhar headquarters, the three district champions will get Rs 20,000, 10,000 and 5,000 respectively. In open competition they get Rs 70,000, 60,000 and 50,000 respectively. Match referees earn Rs 2,000-3,000 per day.
With the growing popularity of the sport, Narzary said new training centers have come up in Assam. Besides, Bodoland Territorial District Districts (BTAD) training centers for khomlainai are flowing in districts like Goalpara, Sonitpur and Karbi-Anglong. “In the residential centers, the food is provided by the administration. However, in the regular centers, the students bring their own food or cook it,” he said.
There are 20 registered educational institutions, at least three of which are residential, where girls and boys between the ages of 7-25 receive training, he said. The game got a big boost in 2013 when it was included as part of SAI’s Indigenous Games and Martial Arts (IGMA) Scheme. Archery, kabaddi, kalaripayattu, mukna, thang-ta, silambam, malkhamb and gatka were other disciplines that were part of the plan.
“The recognition changed the way people saw Khollainai. First, SAI selected 10 boys and 10 girls under the age of 14 and gave them training, shoes, uniforms and a scholarship of Rs 6,000 per year. , “said Narzary. “If the Indian government organizes khemlainai competitions at the national level, a day will come when these players can join the armed forces, the police and the army,” said Narzary. He thinks that all women, regardless At their age, they should learn self-defense sports.
Everyone involved in the game somehow wants a stadium designed to come to Assam as women players think there is still scope for improvement. “We need better accommodation during competitions, we are often put in schools with poor floors and toilets. In addition, we need an official female coach to attract more girls to the sport,” she said. said Nigita Narzary, a player and coach of Khomlainai. .
Indira Daimary concluded, “I am trying in every possible way to create awareness about the game among the youth.” Also, Guno Shankar dreams that one day the sport will get recognition from the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and will be played all over the world. (ANI)
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and has been pulled directly from an aggregated feed.)
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