When we say Sankranthi, there is joy, celebrations, rituals, a fiesta of food, and a series of events we get to see in the rural part of South India. As this harvest festival is associated with different kinds of celebrations, one such key attraction is food competition. In this context, an event held in Malur, 54 km from Bengaluru witnessed an off-beat moment. A 62-year-old farmer ended up gobbling 16 Ragi balls in 30 minutes to emerge victorious in the competition.
Meet Gurappa Shetty of Doddakadathur
Gurappa Shetty is an old farmer, who won the prize money of Rs.10,001 after going through a neck-and-neck competition with his closest rival. He managed to win the competition by swallowing 16 ragi balls while the other gave after eating 15 ragi balls. A total of 28 people participated in the event where each Ragi ball weighed 250 gm.
Age has never been a concern for me
Gurappa is a father of five children who love participating in challenging competitions of this kind. He said that age has never been a concern for him as he works hard in the fields and eats sufficiently on a daily basis. He said, “I am more active than my three daughters and two sons.”
Ragi Ball in 8-12 Bytes
Gurappa says that there are tricks when it comes to winning the eating competitions. He said, “There are certain tricks. I start slowly just to keep an eye on how others are performing and I assess their competition within 10 minutes.”
Speaking about his closest rival, Krishanappa from Dasarahalli, Gurappa said that he was looking at him and at any moment if he would have touched the 16th Ragi ball, I would have had two more.
This is not the first time for him. He had won the contest in 2015 where he ate 13 ragi balls in a competition with 49 others. Villagers applaud him as a sensation as he is continuing to win such contests at taluk and district levels.
So, this was Gurappa for you. In today’s time when youngsters struggle to eat and digest properly, here’s a man who comes with an unbelievable appetite. Is he an inspiration? Yes, he is. Only a healthy person can eat well and digest well.
Information and image source – TOI
If You don’t want to miss our next Post then Like and Follow MetroSaga on Facebook and Instagram or simply download our Android App
You can also Subscribe to MetroSaga for newsletters.
