Nandini Sarkar and Aastha Verma, two girls from Varanasi, have shattered a 450-year-old glass ceiling at the medieval wrestling ring.
In a major break from tradition, the akhara that's managed by the Sankat Mochan temple trust has permitted girls to practise and wrestle at its hallowed mud pit, dedicated to the bachelor god, Hanuman.
It took the two feisty 20-yearold girls, who are still pursuing their bachelor courses, almost a decade to convince the trust's mahant to be allowed to practice and spar at the akhara. Aptly, their freedom to enter the mud pit came on August 15 this year, which coincided with the Nagpanchami festival.
The akhara will now hold fights featuring women from Diwali.
Read more of this in a story by Rohan Dua published in Times of India....
