What is "mallakhamba"

Mallakhamba ( Marathi: मल्लखांब) is a traditional Indian sport in which a gymnast performs feats and poses in concert with a vertical wooden pole or rope. The word also refers to the pole used in the sport.

Mallakhamba derives from the terms malla which denotes a wrestler and khamba which means a pole. Mallakhamba can therefore be translated to English as "pole gymnastics". On April 9, 2013, the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh declared mallakhamba as the state sport.