Hazara traditions: Big men prove brawn and bravery with balls of stone

KARACHI: In the olden days in Hazara, someone from the bride’s wedding procession would throw down the 80kg stone and the gauntlet and wait for someone from the groom’s side to take up the challenge of lifting it.

“If they failed to lift it, sometimes the procession would be stalled for days,” explains Munnir Abbasi, who organised the stone-lifting competition at Railway ground near Kala Pul for young Hazarewal men who want to keep the tradition alive.

Today the sport, Gutti, has survived in the form of a four-category event with stones that range from 80 to 120kg. Mostly men between 18 and 23 years of age take part but there are no official age restrictions. According to Abbasi, however, only men who have been practising and know they can manage, take part because in this age of technology news travels fast. “There is the insult factor,” said Abbasi. “If someone takes part in a Karachi competition, and fails, news of it will be discussed in his village [up north] for days.”

The rules are tough. The stone cannot touch your body and there are only a few finger holds drilled into the cement ball. You cannot use your thumbs to lift it. The man must use his palms to grip the stone and try and do as many sit-ups as possible. Some barely manage five.

On Monday, the winner of the event was 18-year-old Naveed Khan, who said he had been taking part for the last three years. “We should take care of our health and exercise every morning,” he told Express News. The consensus was that they would dedicate at least half an hour a day to building muscle. Ghulam Mustafa, 22, came second and 24-year-old Zafar Iqbal came third. The men weighed between 85 and 95kg.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 28^th, 2010.