Mallakhamb

Click on the links below to find out more about the Origin, History and Development of Mallakhamb.

Screening of the trailer for The Wrestler’s Cane and conversation at the Nehru centre with Daniel Simpson and a sitar recital by Baluji Shrivastav OBE

Hosted by yoga devotee, lecturer and broadcaster, Daniel Simpson, the evening began with a showing of the trailer for Philippa Frisby’s film, The Wrestler’s Cane, followed by a sitar recital by Baluji Shrivastav OBE. One of the world’s leading composers and sitar players, Baluji is a multi-instrumentalist with many albums to his name. As a leading exponent of the sitar, he has also worked with global artists such as Stevie Wonder and Coldplay, and has composed for orchestra, theatre, dance, film, television and radio – and his music features in The Wrestler’s Cane.

Daniel Simpson has been studying and practising yoga for over 20 years and this scholarship has led to him writing extensively on the subject, both in print and on his website, www.truthofyoga.com. Daniel lectures on the history and philosophy of yoga at SOAS as well as at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies; he also hosts the Ancient Futures podcast where the wisdom of yogic teachings are applied to modern situations and in between all these, he teaches classes too.

Premiere of The Wrestler’s Cane and Daniel Simpson in conversation with Philippa Frisby and Uday Deshpande

There was a screening of Indigo Eye’s new documentary film, The Wrestler’s Cane, at The Study Society in Barons Court, followed by a Q&A session between Uday Deshpande, the guru of Mallakhamb, Philippa Frisby, the film’s director and producer, and Daniel Simpson, who lectures on the history and philosophy of yoga at SOAS.

Shri Uday Deshpande has devoted over 50 years of his life to teaching Mallakhamb, creating a network of dedicated Mallakhamb federations and broadening the appeal of this ancient practice to 52 countries around the world. A tireless champion of this discipline’s profound benefits, he is a force of nature and his dedication has been internationally recognised with over 50 awards, including a lifetime achievement award from the government of Maharashtra and recently honoured with the Padma Shri award in January 2024.

Screening of The Wrestler’s Cane at The Lexi and Uday Deshpande in conversation with Professor Jim Mallinson

There was a screening of Indigo Eye’s new documentary film, The Wrestler’s Cane, at The Lexi Cinema in Kensal Rise, followed by a Q&A session between Uday Deshpande and Professor Jim Mallinson of Balliol College, Oxford. As Boden Professor of Sanskrit and a Professorial Fellow whose particular focus of study is yoga, yogis and asceticism from 11C to 15C, this conversation with the discipline’s chief proponent gave a fascinating insight into the history and wider spiritualism of Mallakhamb.

Visit to Darlington & Stockton : Talk & Demonstration

Invited by NEEMA member Dhananjay Kelkar and the Indian community in the North East of England, Uday Deshpande and his student, Aditi Karambelkar, visited Stockton to meet a group of mallakhamb enthusiasts. There they spoke to local residents about the sport of mallakhamb and Mr Deshpande’s life work in setting up teaching and practice foundations all over the world. His extraordinary achievements were recently honoured with the Padma Shri award so it was a great honour to have the guru of mallakhamb as a guest and to see both him and his student, Aditi, give a demonstration of this unique discipline.