This monograph is not an exercise in replication or description of this exact sort it is a work of interpretation-to adapt an old adage, 1001 words offered in place of what would otherwise be a mere picture. The moves, countermoves, and techniques of Indian wrestling must be filmed or photographed to be appreciated and understood fully. Those who look for a detailed explication of moves, countermoves, and techniques will undoubtedly be disappointed. This is a study of wrestling as a system of meaning, and it must be made clear at the outset that I have not undertaken to study the technical aspects of the sport. If these terms are not in common usage, and it seems that even non-Banaras wrestlers have the same pronunciation, I have conformed to the wrestlers’ predilection. In part this may be a function of the linguistic interface in eastern Uttar Pradesh, and in part because wrestlers have developed a slight accent of their own when talking about the specifics of their art among themselves. Therefore, transliteration usually conforms to the standard Hindi pronunciation, but in some cases the wrestlers with whom I spoke affected a particular pronunciation of specific words, as, for example, bethak (deep knee bend) rather than baithak. All of my interviews were conducted in Hindi. Although the common language spoken in Banaras is Bhojpuri, almost everyone also speaks some version of Hindi, Urdu, or a combination thereof. Diacritics are excluded from the text but have been included in the glossary.

Transliteration has been done with an eye toward readability and simplicity. A translation of single words or short phrases appears in the first instance of use and sometimes again if the same word or phrase is used subsequently much later in the text. All other citations are quoted verbatim even when the English usage is idiosyncratic and not consistent with the prose style or spelling conventions employed in the main text.

In citing classical Sanskrit texts I have referenced the chapter and verse of the original source and have also cited the secondary source of the translated material.

I have made every effort to ensure that the translation of material from Hindi to English is as accurate as possible. Mary Ellen Stewart Alter Note on Translation The Wrestler's Body: Identity and Ideology in North India. Berkeley: University of California Press, c1992 1992.

Wrestling interview rhythm heaven