Wushu gold medallist Khusbu Kumari (17), daughter of a humble farmer of Barmasia, 2km from Dhanbad, swiftly swings her lathi and does numerous tricks to the awe of many.
She is among 35-odd girls busy learning the tricks of using traditional arms like sword, spear, axe and lathi under wushu expert Mahavir Prasad Mahto (52) on Barmasia middle school grounds in the run-up to Ram Navami on April 15, when they will showcase their skills and compete against other akharas in a procession at Purna Bazar in Bank More, Dhanbad.
Mahto said the special training for Ram Navami show generally begun about a month ahead of the festival every year.
He, however, runs his regular akhara on Dahuatand grounds in Barmasia, where around 50 students including 35 girls train under him in various forms of martial arts like wushu, judo and karate besides traditional weapons and yoga from 7.30pm to 10pm everyday.
"I started imparting self-defence training in 1991 with just four girls after the death of my younger brother Shankar Mahto who was a martial art expert. Gradually the number has risen to 35 at present. In fact children of some of my old students are also training under me," said Mahto, who had received training in martial arts from local expert Gautam Banerjee.
About his students, he proudly says, "Several of the my students have won gold, silver and bronze in national-level wushu tournaments. Among them is Khusbu Kumari, a class XI student of Pranjivan Academy, Dhanbad, who recently won gold medal in inter-state wushu championship in Ranchi.?My daughters Prity Mahto (25) and Kusum (23), whom I trained, are now working as physical educations teachers in Dhanbad Public School and Kamal Katesaria Montessori School," said Mahto, adding majority of his students were from adjoining villages like Manaitand, Gajuatand, Dhokra, Aamtal, Belgarhia, Nipania etc.
He added he never asked for any fee. "But my students give me a token amount of Rs 25 per month," said Mahto, who runs a cable operating network for living.
His love for the craft, however, has given the girls much-needed confidence.
Khusbu said the self-defence training gave her the much-needed confidence. "I joined the classes five years ago and now I feel confident and empowered. As of now I'm looking forward to the Ram Navami procession," said the teenaged girl.
Mahavir Mahto, father of another trainee Neha Kumar, said the self-defence training was more important for girls than boys. "All parents should let their girls learn the craft. I feel proud that my daughter is participating in the show as their team had won several accolades by the district administration and police on a number of occasions ," said the father of the Class XII student.
