Madikeri: While the monsoon takes a break on the hilly district of Kodagu, several rural sports come to the fore to entertain the young and the old alike. No weekend passes without organising Kesaru Gadde sports tournaments.
“This is the only occasion when we get to keep alive the spirit of rural sports in the district. The Kesaru Gadde sports, as the name suggests is played by the tough rural youth in the paddy fields that are ready for Khariff cultivation,” said Entrepreneur and a philanthropist D K Arun Kumar.

He further said that such tournament tap hidden talent of rural people and also keep the ethos of the rural areas intact. Elders in Kodagu district say that Kodagu’s rich rural sports and ethnic social activities can be rejuvenated to be presented to the world in its rustic and traditional form.

Vokkaliga Vedike organises the Kesaru Gadde tournaments for the last three years and a number of youth clubs and teams participate in events meant for both men and women. The most popular among the events are still the slush track races and tug of war played in the ankle high waters. They can be held only during the mid-monsoon period when the khariff operations are about to begin. However, there are only a few patches left in the Kodagu district for organising such events.

Tourism operators in Mangaluru, Mysuru and Bengaluru are also thinking of organising these games on micro level for the tourists particularly as a package tour for the home stay tourists in more professional ways.