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Directions for questions 16 to 18:
The passage given below is followed by a set of three questions. Choose the most appropriate answer to each question.
At a nondescript tin shed in Mumbai’s Lower Parel, a young manlights a lamp in front of a photo of Hanuman before stepping into the red mud pit where he is being trained in kushti by Prakash Ranwade, national wrestler and secretary of the Bombay Wrestling Association. This is the 85-year-old Laxmi Narayan VayamShala,possibly among the oldest kushti akharas in India.
In the 18th century, the Maratha rulers of Kolhapur promoted kushti enthusiastically, including encouraging women to take up training. Later, the British encouraged pehelwans by employing them in securityservices and the police force, etc. Then, in the early 20th century, it was the turn of the mills to play patron by employing the pehelwans.
But kushti is finally vanishing from Mumbai. The taleems or training houses have been slowly shutting down.“Earlier we used to have at least 25 taleems around Parel and Lower Parel. But today there are only four or five, and they are struggling to survive,” says Tanwade. At Laxmi Narayan VayamShala, there are only eight wrestlers, who practice on the groundfloor and live on the first floor. They used to come from all over Maharashtra, but not so much anymore.
“I used to learn kushti but now I play cricket. There is no partner to wrestle with and no future either," says Class 10 student Akanksha, thedaughter of Ramachandra Patil. Her father represented Maharashtra twice in the national wrestling championships, and she would have liked to make him proud.
But some signs of hope are sprouting. A State-level championship was held in Nagpur after 28years, and the Maharashtra Chief Minister has also promised to lend support. The few remaining taleems might yet get back their glory days
The passage given below is followed by a set of three questions. Choose the most appropriate answer to each question.
At a nondescript tin shed in Mumbai’s Lower Parel, a young manlights a lamp in front of a photo of Hanuman before stepping into the red mud pit where he is being trained in kushti by Prakash Ranwade, national wrestler and secretary of the Bombay Wrestling Association. This is the 85-year-old Laxmi Narayan VayamShala,possibly among the oldest kushti akharas in India.
In the 18th century, the Maratha rulers of Kolhapur promoted kushti enthusiastically, including encouraging women to take up training. Later, the British encouraged pehelwans by employing them in securityservices and the police force, etc. Then, in the early 20th century, it was the turn of the mills to play patron by employing the pehelwans.
But kushti is finally vanishing from Mumbai. The taleems or training houses have been slowly shutting down.“Earlier we used to have at least 25 taleems around Parel and Lower Parel. But today there are only four or five, and they are struggling to survive,” says Tanwade. At Laxmi Narayan VayamShala, there are only eight wrestlers, who practice on the groundfloor and live on the first floor. They used to come from all over Maharashtra, but not so much anymore.
“I used to learn kushti but now I play cricket. There is no partner to wrestle with and no future either," says Class 10 student Akanksha, thedaughter of Ramachandra Patil. Her father represented Maharashtra twice in the national wrestling championships, and she would have liked to make him proud.
But some signs of hope are sprouting. A State-level championship was held in Nagpur after 28years, and the Maharashtra Chief Minister has also promised to lend support. The few remaining taleems might yet get back their glory days
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