Mangalore: Decibel Levels Soar at Rural Sports Meet

Sudipto Mondal / The Hindu

MANGALORE, Nov 16: A cloud of dust rising above a wall of cheering people in the middle of the Urwa grounds on Saturday afternoon helps one locate the action zone. As one draws closer, the noise of drums, pipes, whistles and over 700 people send the decibel level soaring.

The event is tug-of-war and the occasion is the second annual Tulunaduda Gobbulu (rural sports of Tulunadu) inter-collegiate competition organised by the Dakshina Kannada Gramina Kreeda Parishat.

Going by the large number of spectators, perhaps it is safe to assume that traditional sports are popular with the youth here.

No less popular is the only other event of the day, ‘Lagori’, a game where one team tries to build a tower of small stone slabs while the other team tries to prevent it by striking the first team’s players with a ball. Given the pace of the game it proved to be a big draw.

But several people were a tad disappointed by the fact that only two games were scheduled. “There are so many more games played in the villages,” said Sumitha (18) of Gokarnath P.U College. Her friends Meghna , Sushma and Prabhavati rattled off the names of some sports that are popular in rural areas.

‘Kutti-Donne’ (also known as ‘Gilli Danda’ in north India) is named as a favourite. Sushma suggests ‘Jibbili’, a game where players have to hop, skip and jump. Meghna suggests ‘Under-over’, a game that is similar to dog-and-the-bone.

The man behind the event, Ullas Kumar, secretary of Dakshina Kannada Gramina Kreeda Parishat, explained that the number of events were limited because of funds and time constraints. “We tried the rural sports competition on an experimental basis last year. We did not know that it would become such a big hit,” he said. This year saw the participation of 24 colleges from all over the district.

“We have now handed over the competition to the Pre-University Board and Mangalore University. They will organise the competition in the coming years.” Mr. Kumar said and added that the logistics were too complex for him to handle.

Grouse

Sumitha and her friends had another grouse. “Why are we not allowed to participate in the tug-of-war,” asked Ms. Prabhavati. She felt that the organisers were underestimating girls. “If they can do it so can we,” she said.

Agreeing that their grouse was very valid, Mr. Kumar expressed the hope that the future organisers of the competition would be able to introduce gender equality in the competitions.