HARSHINI J. KARUNARATNE photographer | vj | projection designer
Every Friday in Dubai, before the evening prayers, a group of Pakistani men gather to wrestle. The men assemble in a circle and take their seats, perching on small slabs of rock so their kurtas don’t get dirty. Stragglers shuffle in and form a standing ring around the crowd. As the sun sinks lower in the sky, casting long shadows across the dirt, the group grows quiet. They are spectators awaiting their spectacle.
And then, two wrestlers, the pehlwan, emerge.
This series was published as a photo essay in the Spring 2017 issue of Al Noor: The Boston College Undergraduate Middle Eastern Studies Journal. Read the full text here.
Pehlwani, November 2015
Preparing the arena
The wrestlers shake hands before beginning
Wrestling in the sands. The referee and other spectators watch on.
The winner collects his earnings from the crowd
All in good fun
This series was published as a photo essay in the Spring 2017 issue of Al Noor: The Boston College Undergraduate Middle Eastern Studies Journal. The text looks at the practice of pehlwani through the lens of ritual and performance.