In order to promote bodybuilding among the Parsi young boys, every year Annual Zoroastrian Body Building and Power Lifting Championship used to be held at Byculla's Rustom Baug where young Parsi boys used to showcase their ripping biceps and their well built physic. This year the organisers have been forced to cancel the event due to low participation.
The organisers express their grief by saying that earlier participants used to register for this competition months before the competition but now due to some uncertain reasons the participation is very low which has forced the organisers to cancel the competition. "We have had some of the biggest names in body building showing off their gleaming bodies to the audience at the Rustom Baug ground. But today, even a decent line up of contestants seems unattainable," said Humiar Shroff, a co-organiser. "
Viraf Panthaki who is a vetran Parsi body builder explained how the age old tradition is dying because of changing priorities. He remembered how in his generation name and fame attached to winning a body building competition was above all monetary gains that one could get. A lot of veteran body builders have also mentioned that how body building has became a quite a expensive sport. On an average a body builder has to spent around Rs.2lakh annually in order to maintain a good physic where as winning in a competition like this would mean a prize of just around Rs.10,000.
The elders of the community have expressed a lot of grief over this issue and they are determined to take every step so that body building again becomes the dream of every Parsi youth.
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