The big Gujarati women wrestling it out : Part 1

Ever heard about Gujarati women wrestling ? These women are typically known for their calmness, composure and their love for traditions. Gujarat is a state along the western coast of India. People of Gujarat are the most welcoming people I have ever seen. Once you are among them they consider you as their own . These people are so jovial and warm that you just cannot imagine the Gujarati women wrestling.

It was in 2020 when I was there for some of my official work. Covid was at its peak. We were allowed to visit our office for a day in the week and for the remaining days, we used to work from home. One such day, when I was returning from office, I saw a woman of approximately 45 years sitting in the park. She was wearing a blue saree and was quite healthy. Her appearance reminded me of one of my school teachers who had participated in a wrestling match in the annual sports day of our school. She was looking worried and was gazing mournfully at the fountain. The park generally closes at 8 pm every day by the whistle of the security guard.

I generally used to take a stroll down the park before entering my house. Owing to corona, the park hardly had any one in it. As soon as I finished my last lap, the security blew off the whistle indicating that its time to leave. The lady was so engrossed in her thought that she failed to hear it. I went on to her and said, “Ma’am the security is blowing the whistle maybe we should leave, otherwise the security would lock the gate”

The lady took off the mask from her mouth and said, “So what’s your problem?”

Her answer surprised me. I said nothing and walked out from that place. Honestly, I was livid by her response. All I wanted was to help her . Had she been of my age, I would have taught her a lesson. I returned home promising myself that from now on I wouldn’t offer any unsolicited help to anyone.

It was exactly after a week when I was returning from my office again. This time the lady was walking outside the park. She looked at me and this time and I gave her a look indicating that she can go to hell. As soon as I crossed her I heard, “I shouldn’t have talked to you like the way I did that day, I’m sorry”. I turned back and she continued,” I hope you don’t mind”.

I said,” It’s ok aunty but I thought maybe you did not hear the whistle, anyways its ok”

She said,” Yeah you were right ,I did not hear it. I was thinking about something else. “

I said,” You looked like something was bothering you. Let me know if I can help you in any ways”

She smiled a said,” A lot of things dear”

I came to know that she had lost her job in the lockdown. Her husband’s business was running in a loss. Her financial conditions was the cause of her concern. She said to me that I was privileged to have a job in this unusual circumstance and asked me whether there was any opening in my company for her to fit in as she needed money immediately.

She gave me her mobile number and I came to know that her name is Chetna Desai. Within a month, she got a job in my company and from then on she started treating me like one of her family members .She had no children so I started getting the treatment of her son.

We used to visit each other’s house quite frequently. She started sharing a lot of things with me. One fine day, I said to her “You know, you remind me of my school teacher”(I don’t exactly remember why I said it).She replied,” Oh! is it? What subject would she teach?” I replied,” Science and physical education “.She said, “Well I am a science student myself”

I said,” You know she participated in the wrestling contest of our annual sports day and won it.”. The difference between her and you is that you cant wrestle. She smirked and said, “Don’t you think you are judging me very quickly”. I desperately wanted her to agree for a wrestling match. In order to add fuel to the fire, I said, “If you can defeat any woman of your age and weight, I will give you a thousand dollars. She thought for a while and said, “Ok done”

My life’s dream was getting fulfilled now. I needed to find another woman of her size and age to make my dream come true. Deep within me I had a doubt too, whether the wrestling would actually happen or not.

It was after 3 days of this incident when I heard someone ringing the door bell of our house. I opened the door and found out a woman of approximately Chetna’s age. She was wearing a yellow saree and her configurations were exactly the same as Chetna. I asked, “Yes who is it?” Chetna peeped out from her back and said, “You will loose a lot of money today, hahaha”

I couldn’t believe what I saw and heard. Two women coming up to me and agreeing to wrestle. I couldn’t fathom that even in my wildest of dreams. I took them into my room , made them sit on the couch and asked them “Are you sure you want to wrestle?”. Chetna nodded her head in agreement and said, “Do you doubt that?”

I came to know that the name of the other lady was Sheetal and both of them used to work in the same company before lockdown began. Both were equally matched and I already knew their match would be great.

I took them out into the garden and made them understand the rules. No kicking, no punching, no pinching or hairpulling. Its a pure test of strength three round contest. The woman who pushes the other woman out of the circular ring(which I made by a rope) would be the winner. Both Sheetal and Chetna tied their saree pallu in their waist and were ready to wrestle. This was the first time I was going to witness two Gujarati women wrestling