Youngsters stun audience with performance atop pole

BANGALORE: Open ground was the stage, while an eight-and-a-half foot-high pole and a rope were the props. And the performers, young boys and girls, left the huge audience awe-struck with their daredevil acrobatics and asanas on the props.
Mallakhamb (meaning, atop the pole) was performed at The Times of India International Folk Festival on Saturday by students of Uday Deshpande, leading coach of the folk art from Maharashtra.
Visitors who had come to the festival in groups were treated to some awe-inspiring asanas such as Chakrasana, Sethubandasana, Halasana, Ardha shirshasana, Vajrasana and Shvanasana.
The acrobatics on the eight-and-a-half foot-high Mallakhamb (Indian gymnastic pole) showed their courage, confidence and adeptness. "It is a cultural dimension to the rich heritage of India," said an official who accompanied the team.
The rope Mallakhamb, in which young children performed asanas by holding a big rope hung from a huge tree kept the audience on the edge of their seats ? especially when they held the rope in their toes and legs and suspended their bodies in air.
Padmasana, Natarajasana (bending back the body), Shavasana and pyramid formations on the rope won a huge round of applause from the crowd, which cheered every performance of the team.