Drum beaters are beating the drum at length to lure people towards Malakro, a local sport being played on the eve of the annual Urs of Hazrat Ghulam Shah, a renowned Sufi saint some 30 kilometers from Sujawal.
Malakhra or Malha is also known as Sindhi wrestling and is popular in every nook and corner of the province and is now flourishing in Punjab, Balochistan and some parts of India as well. Despite growing inflation, people having limited resources turn up to watch their favourite Pehalwans-wrestlers locking horns with their rival on a muddy surface. Abdul Shakur Jat who supervises the matches of traditional and unique sport in different festivals said that sometimes the matches were played on plain surface that exposed the wrestlers to risk of serious neck and head injuries adding that the local Sindhi wrestlers were so keenly attached to this sport that they usually did not take precautionary measures.
This is also known as the sport of a common man because it provides pure entertainment to people living even in far flung areas and away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Since these people do not have many opportunities to get entertained, they eagerly wait for any cultural festival to see noted wrestlers taking on each other. There are 83 locations in Sindh where malh malakhra matches are held annually and all are associated with the shrines. These also include 17 very important annual malakhera events held on the urs of Hazrat Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai at the fair of Bhit Shah, the urs of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sehwan, the urs of Sain Summan Sarkar and the urs of Hazrat Sachal Sarmast and Sheikh Salamat others.
Jiayandal Khan laghari, a local wrestler, expressed his disgrace over the attitude of the Sindh Government towards promotion of this game. “We usually feel alone while representing our cultural sport that traces its roots some 5000 years back, because we do not have any official support”; he said and added that several Pehalwans had left this world amidst poor financial conditions and in destitute. He further said that there were many of his colleagues who did not get any help from government events when they were on death bed.
In this sport the two wrestlers cuddle each other in a way to overpower each other and the one who succeeds in overpowering the opponent gets warm hearted appreciation from the frenzied crowd. People present in the crowd mostly give currency notes of 500 to 1000 in appreciation of these wrestlers. A wrestler after his victory is announced celebrates its by smashing his hand on his thigh in aggression and then waving his hands to the massive crowd gathered around him.
