Standing Ovation | Incredible Mallakhamb | performance in Olala Festival Lienz | Austria

Incredible! Three Indians and the art of Mallakhamb
The artists invited by UmmiGummi to OLALA surprise again and again.
Culture & Scene · July 28, 2017 Silvia Ebner
For more than a quarter of a century, Hans Mutschlechner and UmmiGummi have been transforming the city of Lienz - and meanwhile Sillian, Matrei and Innichen - into an international hotspot of street art in the last week of July. And yet, the artists discovered by "Mutsch" around the world always surprise anew. The quality of the acrobatics, artistry, music, or installations shown often exceed even the very high expectations of the audience in Lienz.

A special surprise this year is the Indian group "Incredible Mallakhamb", which will take place on Friday and Saturday at 20:30 at Schloss Bruck for another Austrian champion. To bring the young Indian Anup Thakur, 25, Deepak Shined, 21 and Tamaji Momdarkar, 20, from Mumbai to Lienz at all, it was not only a nerve-racking bureaucracy around visa applications, but also a good dose of patience and humor Found that the driver of the taxi service at Munich Airport chauffeured the three most far-traveled passengers not as planned to Lienz, but only once to Linz.

The three took this embarrassing error. "We just tried to sleep a few extra hours in the car. Now we are here and Lienz is beautiful, "says Anup Thakur and laughs. He, Deepak and Tamaji are completely relaxed. They do not see that they have a journey of more than 40 hours behind them, nor are they the absolute superstars of the Indian and worldwide Mallakhamb scene. Not that they are the winners of many international awards or winners of the "Georgia's Got Talent" show as well as finalists in "India's Got Talent" and thus Indian TV stars.

Anup Thakur was not only the youngest but also the multiple winner of the Indian "Best Athlete of the Year Award". "This prize, the Shiv Chhatrapati, was the greatest moment for me and my Guru Vishal Mestri, who has been training me free since I was 8 years old, because he recognized the talent in me, despite the concerns of my parents , Now, of course, my family is proud of me. "



Right. What he, Deepak and Tamaji show, actually exceeds any notions of body domination, muscle tension and flexibility. It is also not surprising that he became an Indian yoga master as well. "Mallakhamb is even more demanding than yoga. But you need the same unity of body, soul and spirit. Nevertheless, everything is just a matter of practice, discipline and technique. In India, three-year-old children are already learning this sport. I also work there as a Mallakhamb coach and my biggest goal is to make Mallakhamb internationally known. In the meantime there are already Mallakhamb centers in Japan, the USA, China - and even in Munich. "

Mallakhamp can be imagined - simply explained - as Yogastellungen on a 2.60 meters high mast or rope. In India regular competitions take place on a national level for both men and women. These competitions have also existed for over a quarter of a century. The sports performance shown would have the format for Olympic Games.

This would probably be another dream for Anuk, Deepak and Tamaji as well as their gurus Umesh Salvi and Vinayak Dhamame from Mumbai. For the time being they are also proud of their international performances. In October she will go to Dubai and Japan. This year they were already in Paris. And today and tomorrow they are in Lienz!