Extreme Sports in India

Extreme sports such as those featured in the X-Games have thus far been a phenomenon confined mostly to the developed world, if not the Western world. For example, there are few (if any) freestyle aerial in-line skating champions from India. But India has their own ancient tradition of extreme competitions. Here are five of the most popular:

1. Rikshaw Coffee Drinking

Trying to hold on to any open beverage – let alone consume it – is difficult enough on India’s pothole-filled roads. But when you attempt this in a 3-wheeled auto rikshaw, weaving around heavy trucks and buses, with scalding hot coffee, then you have a real challenge on your hands. The goal: to get more of the coffee down your throat than on you (or the person next to you). Scoring: 1 point for every mL of coffee consumed, 0 points for every mL spilled on the road, -2 points for every mL spilled on yourself.

2. Barefoot Traffic Dodging

Remember the old arcade game Frogger? This is the human version – except the traffic doesn’t stay in lanes and sometimes ignores stoplights, the road is clogged with cows and stray dogs, and there are no crosswalks. Oh, and you’re also barefoot – this is India. The goal: get to the other side in as little time as possible, in one piece. (Getting run over results in disqualification). Best strategy: get behind a cow.

3. On-the-fly Bus Jumping

The bus is coming at 50 km/hr and it’s not going to stop. There are 5 times as many people as seats on the bus, and they’re not budging. There are only three choices: run, jump, and hold on; get run over; or miss the bus. The winner needs a fast sprint, a large vertical jump, a good sense of timing, and a tenacious grip.

4. Street Vendor Crawl

This contest makes a pub crawl look like a kindergarten game. The effects of excessive alcohol consumption are mild compared to the power of white-hot Indian spices, half-spoiled ingredients, and contamination from a diverse selection of microbes in unsanitary conditions. This is the ultimate test of digestive fortitude, intestinal stamina, taste bud endurance, and olfactory perseverance. You must eat food from 18 street vendors, selected at random from all over the city, in a single night. And you have to be healthy the next day. So few can complete the challenge that the victory usually goes to the last man standing, but those rare individuals who conquer the street culinary scene earn a lasting respect (and a permanent red flag from health insurers).

5. Ultimate Mosquito Fighting

The cage? A tiny taxi, air-conditioned if you are lucky. Your opponents? A horde of blood-sucking, malaria- or dengue-carrying flying menaces. The rules? There are none. The goal? GET OUT ALIVE.