'Kushti' is a Hindi term for mud wrestling, and the place where its done is called an 'Akhada'. The wrestlers are caIled as 'Pehelwan'. I got a chance to meet Jwala Tiwari (the man with a black beard in the pictures) , the owner of the akhada at Armenian Ghat, Kolkata. He is a former national level mud wrestler, now struggling to maintain the Akhada all by himself, without any Government funding. The mud on which the wrestling is done is very special. It is brought from the banks of river Ganga, and then mixed with oil, salt and neem leaves. Every morning a pehelwan has to plough it and then crush the mud with hands as a part of warmup before wrestling. It becomes very soft . The wrestlers keep rubbing the mud on their body and face from time to time to maintain the body temperature. The neem leaves have medicinal values and prevents the skin from diseases. The wrestlers massage each other after their match with the mud, the oil and salt mixed in it plays a vital role here as it helps to soothe the muscles.
Few wrestlers break their ears and do some thing to make a few other parts numb, to eliminate a few weak points during matches. According to Jwala Tiwari if kushti is practiced properly, no one is hurt. But people practicing it wrongly hurt their opponents.

"Pehelwani saamne wale ko dekh kar bal lagane ko kehte hain." -  Jwala Tiwari.
"Wrestling is judging your opponent and using your strength accordingly" ( translation )