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ABSTRACT
Pehlwani (Indian wrestling) and bodybuilding are sports characterized by an intense focus on the body and by an almost lifelong commitment to regulating and maintaining this body. Both these sports also align with cultural, hegemonic ideals of what it means to be a man. Finally, both these sports, in the context of Pakistan, also form exclusively male communities based on admiration, love and respect. These communities, however, are reliant on the invisible labour of women (wives, sisters and mothers). This study seeks to understand these sports through a homosocial lens and understand the key features of this homosociality. It also aims to compare these sports and identify similarities and differences. It also seeks to highlight how within hegemonic structures there are spaces for alternative conceptions. This article is based on a qualitative ethnographic study conducted in July 2021 in the cities of Lahore and Gujranwala in Punjab, Pakistan. It consisted of over 30 interviews with various athletes as well as participant observation.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes
1. During the research we found out that the Persian pehlawaniand the culture around traditional gym or a zoorkhaneh has been declared part of UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage.
2. There are several more sources to this tradition such as the Mongolian Bokh and the Burmese Naban.
3. Most of this information comes from the website of the PBBF (https://nocpakistan.org/sportsfederationsnew.php?sptid=5)
4. Discipline for Foucault was not something that is imposed externally but rather different disciplines require a particular orientation of bodies in space and time. Both these sports require dietary discipline, a discipline when it comes to exercise and working out, and finally about self-presentation (Foucault, Citation1975).
5. We never really liked the term because it assumes that there is an erotic (obviously heterosexual) and there is a homoerotic which needs qualifiers. However, it is used here in the sense to stress the male nature of the act.
6. Arxer however is cautious of these bonds considering them an appropriation of alternative masculinities to create a hybrid hegemonic masculinity.
7. This should not mean that biology is natural. According to Butler, gender is the way through which a ‘natural’, ‘sexed’ body is produced.
8. It is for this reason that Frembgen calls the professional masseur (malshi) a marginalized and denigrated figure
9. The male physique perhaps does not need queering as it has a long and storied history all the way from Tom of Finland to the BDSM-based aesthetic of nightclubs in the 80s (notably emulated by Freddie Mercury) but to the best of my knowledge nothing of this kind has been attempted in our cultural contexts. The only instance that comes to mind is the artistic ‘Mussulman Musclemen’ series.
10. Various bodybuilding competitions are held throughout Pakistan with the winner getting the title of ‘Mr’. Mr. Punjab is chosen, as the name shows, from competitors from Punjab by the Punjab Bodybuilding Association (PBBA).
11. Several women that were involved in fitness were found. I remember driving past a gym in Lahore and the driver telling me, ‘Yahanbabiyanbhi gym lagatihain’ (Babes workout here also). Sadly, they were not what we were focusing on.
12. However all this religiosity could’ve been because we were present or it could be the practice of this particular school. We have our doubts.
13. The langothas also entered everyday language. The expressionlangotkassna(literally to tighten your langot) means to be prepared for something. Similarly a langotiyayaar(literally a friend of the langot) is a childhood friend.
14. This is called suhagaphairna.
15. This is done not only for relaxation but also ostensibly so that the wrestler sweats more. The reasoning being that sweat develops the body.
16. The making of the sardai is an elaborate process. Almonds, cardamom and various other things are crushed for 30 minutes and slowly water is added. When a liquid paste is formed it is sieved through a fine cloth. Sardai has a winter variant also in which milk and ghee is added to the water and boiled. Once boiled various dry fruits are added. This winter variant is called dodhi.
17. We weren’t there for this but all this has been gathered from watching their videos and hearing their stories.
18. These are our rather bland attempts to translate the colloquial but nothing can really convey the heroics of X being called Gujran di shan, fakhr-e-Punjab, shagird-e-Lahori ustad!
19. Bulking is gaining weight and fat and cutting is then attempting to convert that weight gain into lean muscle.
20. There are great debates as to whether to follow a total body workout routine, a bro-split (an arm day, a leg day etc.) or a push/pull routine (workouts in which you push like for example the bench press and on the next day in which you do pulling exercises like the pull-up).
21. Once again this was not observed in person.
22. We were told of a competitor who despite being ‘huge’ and having a ‘narrow waist’ lost because his costume was faded.
23. He was however quick to point out that kushti is not just about ghussa but about remaining calm and collected also.
24. We were also surprised by the focus on masturbation (specifically on not doing it). No one mentioned it in the interviews but we were told multiple times by the pehlwansthat masturbation weakens a man especially the knees. The bodybuilders mentioned that testosterone contributed to muscle development and since it is ‘lost’ during ejaculation you lose muscle. Several remedies were given to boost testosterone such as eating a mixture of dates, almonds, walnuts and raisins or eating sautéed goat testicles.
25. At this point we were shown a video in which someone sticks a sticky note on the back of a large muscular man and he cannot reach it despite his best efforts.
26. You cannot, for example, move too close to the judge because your upper half will move out of the spotlight and the resulting shadow will make you appear less defined.
27. There is also something called noorakushti which is the equivalent of pro-wrestling. It is frowned upon by many purists.
28. Ironically, we had been profusely praised by others for documenting this ‘dying part of our culture’ and the ‘last pehlwans’ (akhripehlwan).
29. We know of at least one YouTube channel which ostensibly is about the pehlwan lifestyle but is very obviously intended for titillation. It is obvious from the choice of title, thumbnails and most blatantly the comments. The channel can be viewed here: https://bit.ly/3FFfqTF
30. We were told this much when one of my respondents said, ‘This is not our sport. It is of foreigners. Our sports are kushti and kabbadi’.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Saad Ali Khan
Saad Ali Khanis currently working at the Centre of Excellence in Gender Studies at Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad as an Assistant Professor. Saad Ali has been associated with the Centre for the last seven years, where he has taught courses including Gender and Mysticism, Gender and International Politics, Understanding Masculinities and the Social Construction of Gender, among others. In his Ph.D. research, he analysed gender dynamics within the Sufi culture of Pakistan with a special focus on contemporary Sufi women. His research interests include masculinity studies in Pakistan, contemporary Sufism, gender and Sufism and anthropology of Sufism in Pakistan.
Afrasiyab Khan
Afrasiyab Khanis an anthropologist primarily interested in the intersections of power and gender. He has worked with drug addicts and carried out archive research on feminist research in Pakistan. He is also an amateur documentary filmmaker and has made documentaries on various archaeological sites in Pakistan. He is an expert in qualitative research and in using people’s everyday experiences to construct theoretical concepts and knowledge(s) while trying to create studies that are not only different but also easy to understand.