Ricky Gestro, The Kusti (Student)

This set is from a larger body of work I captured and created as part of my Advanced Diploma of Photography Research project at Central Institute of technology in 2015. I travelled to Varanasi, India for a month long journey to look into the heart and soul of humanity and celebrate it. Kushti is India's traditional wrestling on soil. This ancient 2000 year old sport used to hold great importance in Indian societies of the past, its popularity over the recent years however, has dwindled tremendously. At present Kushti is only practiced in a handful of pockets around India. Even in these places the future of the sport is uncertain. The government constantly pressures traditional Kushti schools to abandon ways of the past, embrace international wrestling standards and compete and win medals at the Olympics. The kushti dedicate themselves entirely to the sport. Gruelling training, strict diet and celibacy for the duration of their careers are necessary if they hope to ever achieve their dream… To become a champion ‘Pahlwan’ (wrestler) which in India still means glory, respect and power.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.