Hundred years of Boli Khela

Boli Khela (or Bali Khela) is a traditional form of wrestling in Bangladesh, particularly popular in the Chittagong area. ‘Boli’ means a powerful person in Bengali, while ‘Khela’ denotes a game. It is particularly played in the Bengali month of ‘Chaitra’ (March-April) of the Bengali calendar. This is one of the most anticipated events of this region and since Chittagong is an important business region for us we always look for such events where we get such huge audience. And this is one of the highly participated and populated events of this region.
At the present-day ‘Boli Khela’ was introduced in 1909 by Abdul Jabbar Sawdagar. His aim was to engage the country’s youth in various youth driven activities. The golden age of this sport lasted from the end of the First World War to the end of the Second World War. ‘Boli Khela’ used to be organised throughout Chittagong district from ‘Chaitra’ to ‘Baishakh’ with great fanfare. Those days many Chittagong based residents were expatriates in Yangon in Myanmar. These people had plenty of money and were the main patrons of ‘Boli Khela.’ In course of time many other influential people became patrons of this sport. Prof Abul Fazal, former vice chancellor of Chittagong University, used to arrange ‘Boli Khela’ on the university campus. A Pakistani minister from Chittagong, AK Khan, is known to have participated in ‘Boli Khela’ in his youth. Nawab Abdul Ghani of Dhaka is also known to have organised ‘Boli Khela’ at Shahbag a number of times.
Though the former grandeur of bali khela has waned, Jabbar’s bali khela still continues to attract crowds in Chittagong. A three-day fair is held on the occasion. ‘Boli Khela’ is given advance publicity by beating drums. Invited ‘Boli’s enter the arena accompanied by their ‘sahabs’ or companions and supporters beating drums. The contest takes place in several stages. The final winner is carried aloft by his jubilant supporters.
The event has been successfully been organised for the last 99 years and this year the organisers celebrated the 100 years of ‘Boli Khela.’ Every year millions of people from across the country come to experience this festival. This event now has become a scope of reunion and entertainment for mass people from all age, race, and religion and income level. This event is inline with our continuous effort to promote national culture and heritage.

Courtesy of The New Nation