Lathi Khela and the power it weilds

Lathi is a long, slender wooden stick usually measuring 6-8 feet long and used in many martial art forms across India. From Silambam and Kuruntadi of Tamil Nadu to Gatka of Punjab, the use of a wooden staff is congruous to the practice of the martial art.

But nowhere else did the Lathi evolve into its own martial art as in Bengal, in the form of Lathi Khela – a visually arresting form of stick-fighting.

The name Lathi Khela when broken down in Bengali means bamboo stick and sport. And as the expression rightly suggests, Lathi Khela is a lathi, a special bamboo stick wielding martial art form from the formerly undivided Bengal (today’s West Bengal and Bangladesh) during the pre- British and colonial era.

It is usually fought one-on-one, using lathi, a stick made of male bamboo, usually 6-8 feet long or sometimes a smaller version called nori. Fighters wield sticks with skills, where the stick is held in the middle and rotated (called banethi) and when the stick is held at one end and used to strike (called halwa). 

Stick wielding was a common practice in south Asian countries and dates back to the time when rural folks used sticks as a weapon to guard their lands and animals. A famous proverb in many south-asian languages and in Bangla says ‘the right or power belongs to the one who wields the lathi.  Similarly, the rich landlords of British era Bengal, the affluent Zamindars, used to hire and train, Lathials. The lathials, are skilled men who were schooled in the martial art of Lathi khela and were trained in the art of wielding lathis. 

They were not just hired hands of zamindars, who enforced their orders over the indigo farmers. They were also the local authorities and sportsmen who competed in lathi khela games organised by the opulent crust of the society for fancy. 

In early 20th century, The Bratachari movement by Gurusaday Dutt and founding of an akhada by Pulin Behari Das and other nationalist movements by Bengali reformers had rekindled and revived the art of Lathi Khela among Bengali youngsters. 

Ever since the zamindari system was abolished, the lathials dispersed and then began the downfall of lathi khela.  An annual competition of Lathi was once held in Bangladesh, due to lack of participation and enthusiasm around the sport, the competition dwindled and is now held once every three years. The once famous lathi khela can now largely only be witnessed as mere performances in wedding and other festivities in Bengal.