04-08-2025
Isha Gramotsavam expands its footprints
Isha Gramotsavam, envisioned by Sadhguru, returns for its 17th edition and is set to take place over 35,000 villages across Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Puducherry, and for the first time in Odisha from August 10. Envisioned by Sadhguru, Isha Gramotsavam is said to be India's largest rural sports festival.
Organised by Isha Outreach, the 2025 edition will see more than 6,000 teams and more than 50,000 participants, including 5,000 women taking the field. The festival includes men's and women's throwball, with teams progressing from cluster-level matches to divisional rounds and culminating in a grand finale on September 21, 2025, at the Adiyogi, Isha Yoga Center, Coimbatore. A Para Volleyball event for players with physical disabilities will also be featured.
Swami Pulaka, Co-ordinator Isha Gramotsavam, while addressing the media, said, 'Launched by Sadhguru in 2004, Isha Gramotsavam is not for professional players, but for everyday rural people, including farmers, fishermen, daily-wage workers, homemakers and schoolchildren, stepping onto the field.' He also said that teams can be formed only with players from the same village panchayat, bringing communities together and to celebrate the local pride. Registration is free but mandatory for all participants.
According to the organisers, competing teams stand a chance to win from a prize pool of ₹67 lakh, with ₹5 lakh each being awarded to the winners in both men's and women's category. Speaking about the same, Sadhguru said, 'Isha Gramotsavam is a celebration of Life through Sport. A game can unite people beyond all social divisions; this is the power of Sport, that it can erase boundaries of caste, religion, and other identities with celebratory playfulness.'
The event also celebrates India's living cultural heritage through traditional artforms as well as dying art forms like Nadaswaram, Thavil, Panchari melam, Chenda melam, Gusaadi (a tribal dance form) among others. Public competitions in Rangoli and traditional martial arts are also planned.
The initiative has previously received the Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar from the Government of India. Past editions have seen attendance and endorsements from sports figures like Sachin Tendulkar and PV Sindhu.
Isha Outreach has been recognised as a National Sports Promotion Organisation by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. The event is framed by the organisers as an attempt to use sport to address social issues in rural areas, including substance abuse and community divisions.
