{"id":390878,"date":"2026-03-18T05:09:17","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T05:09:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/390878\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T05:09:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T05:09:17","slug":"small-town-gyms-and-the-secret-lives-of-young-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/390878\/","title":{"rendered":"Small-town gyms and the secret lives of young India"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gyms are mushrooming across rural and small-town India, spawning a quiet subculture of friendships, freedom, flirtation, and flexing away from the family gaze. For young women, they offer a rare, socially acceptable reason to step away from their restricted daily routines and have a few hours that belong only to them, side by side with men. For men, they are places where ideas of masculinity are nurtured, recorded, and displayed unapologetically, not just on the gym floor but on Instagram and Snapchat.<\/p>\n

\n\"GymA sign points to Fitness Ministry gym in Shamli. \u2018These gyms are like clubs for rural India,\u2019 said owner Ajay Chauhan | Photo: Sagrika Kissu | ThePrint\n<\/p>\n

Gyms are also the new hangout spots, where young men and women can mingle without social stigma. And they\u00a0are cropping up everywhere \u2014 near farms, inside low-income neighbourhoods, the ground floors of houses, in rented halls. It\u2019s an easy business model, with relatively low investment and steady returns.<\/p>\n

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Earlier it used to be temple where people would go without the oversight of elders. Now it\u2019s gyms. Gyms are now the new temples of rural India. In temples, they worshipped the deity, here they worship the body<\/p>\n

-Santosh Desai, author of Memes For Mummyji: Making Sense of Post-Smartphone India<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Most gym owners belong to dominant agrarian communities such as Jats and Gujjars, or families that own substantial farmland. Often, the muscled owners guide their clients themselves rather than hiring professionals. In other places,\u00a0YouTube videos double up as trainers for young men and women.<\/p>\n

The boom has been most visible in the last two to three years, say gym owners in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. Farming, once seen as a natural workout and source of strength, is giving way to bench presses and a more performative sweat that mirrors the city\u2019s high-gloss aspirations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese gyms are like clubs for rural India. Here young men and women come to socialise, enjoy, and also stay fit,\u201d said Ajay Chauhan, owner of Fitness Ministry gym in Shamli. \u201cThe difference is that urban India dances to beat-waale gaane (thumping songs) at the club. Here, they exercise to it.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

But the rise of this new gym subculture is beginning to trigger a backlash.<\/p>\n

Also Read:<\/strong> A day with the Dehradun women who sprayed anti-Muslim graffiti. They are also Meerut stars<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018Gym jihad\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now, the secret lives in gyms are beginning to come under the government\u2019s watch.<\/p>\n

In January, Uttar Pradesh Police claimed to have busted a religious conversion racket that was operating from five gyms in Mirzapur. They arrested several Muslim gym owners and trainers for allegedly targeting Hindu women\u00a0for religious conversion and blackmail.<\/p>\n

The case came close on the heels of protests led by Hindu groups such as Bajrang Dal after a Dehradun gym trainer, Nadeem Ansari, was accused<\/a> by women of inappropriate touching and lewd remarks. News outlets have even coined a term for it: \u201cgym jihad<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n

Gyms can be suspect territories now. The Uttar Pradesh government has swung into action. Earlier this month, it issued a directive to officials to inspect all gyms and ensure these establishments have female trainers.<\/p>\n

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\u0938\u092d\u0940 \u091c\u093f\u092e \u0915\u0940 \u091c\u093e\u0902\u091a \u0915\u0940 \u091c\u093e\u090f \u0914\u0930 \u092f\u0939 \u0938\u0941\u0928\u093f\u0936\u094d\u091a\u093f\u0924 \u0939\u094b \u0915\u093f \u0935\u0939\u093e\u0902 \u092e\u0939\u093f\u0932\u093e\u0913\u0902 \u0915\u0947 \u0932\u093f\u090f \u092e\u0939\u093f\u0932\u093e \u091f\u094d\u0930\u0947\u0928\u0930 \u0915\u0940 \u0935\u094d\u092f\u0935\u0938\u094d\u0925\u093e \u0939\u094b\u0964 <\/p>\n

\u2014 \u092e\u0941\u0916\u094d\u092f\u092e\u0902\u0924\u094d\u0930\u0940 @myogiadityanath<\/a> \u091c\u0940 pic.twitter.com\/x8VF8GuJDH<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Government of UP (@UPGovt) March 2, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The new scrutiny isn\u2019t easy for a sector that went largely unmonitored until now.<\/p>\n

With a shortage of trained women in the profession, many gym owners say they will struggle to comply. Some have asked their wives or female family members to pose as trainers during inspections.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere are the female trainers? Women rarely make it to gyms because of the conservative setup of our society,\u201d said Gaurav Raghuvanshi, a gym owner and trainer at Brothers Gym in Shamli.<\/p>\n

\n\"BaghpatHypermasculine imagery still dominates gyms, such as Powerhouse in Baghpat | Photo: Sagrika Kissu | ThePrint\n<\/p>\n

The few women who do manage to enrol at these gyms have to contend with the usual problems \u2014 being ogled at, harassed, or judged by neighbours. Small towns are rife with unverified stories of women who went to gyms, met new men and married outside their caste or religion, often Muslim. Every viral incident, like a vicious brawl<\/a> last December in MP\u2019s Shahdol that broke out when women objected to \u201cobscene\u201d songs, makes parents even more cautious about sending their daughters.<\/p>\n

Yet the business is booming. India currently has about 46,500 commercial fitness facilities, according to the India Fitness Market Report 2025<\/a> by Deloitte, based on web-scraped listings and surveys from across the country. The number is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of around 6 per cent until 2030, with 65,500 fitness facilities expected by then. This growth, the report added, is \u201cdriven by increasing demand in urban and rural areas.\u201d Alongside, a parallel economy of supplement shakes and protein powders has taken root as young men look to transform their bodies quickly.<\/p>\n

\n\"AA workout session at Bajrang Gym on the outskirts of Alwar. Gyms are popping up everywhere, from village lanes to crowded residential pockets in small towns | Photo: Sagrika Kissu | ThePrint\n<\/p>\n

The potential returns are attracting new entrepreneurs, and gyms are popping up fast even in villages. In one Reddit post on the r\/IndiaBusiness forum, a user noted his friend\u2019s optimism about opening a gym in a village market complex.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is planning to invest Rs. 10 Lacs for the equipment and another Rs 2 Lacs for the initial investment like rent, receptionist, woodwork etc,\u201d the post said, adding that the entrepreneur planned to charge Rs 600 a month and expected to sign up 30 members within the first eight weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cEarlier it used to be temple where people would go without the oversight of elders. Now it\u2019s gyms. Gyms are now the new temples of rural India. In temples, they worshipped the deity, here they worship the body,\u201d said Santosh Desai, noted social commentator and author of the recent book Memes For Mummyji: Making Sense of Post-Smartphone India.<\/p>\n

\n\"PosterSome gym walls are finally beginning to make more space for women, like this one in Alwar | Photo: Sagrika Kissu | ThePrint\n<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>When gym trumped \u2018ghar ki izzat\u2019 <\/strong><\/p>\n

For some women, marriage pressure is what finally got them through the gym door, even if tightly chaperoned.<\/p>\n

At Powerhouse, a newly opened gym in Baghpat, the walls scream of aggressive masculinity. Posters of bulky men lifting heavy weights are pasted across the room alongside cheeky Hindi slogans. One reads: \u201cHealthy khaana khaata hu, isliye mere dost fit nazar aata hu.\u201d Another proclaims: \u201cDarr ke aage dumbbell hai.\u201d<\/p>\n

At one corner, in front of a large mirror, 22-year-old Parul moves her arms back and forth on the butterfly machine. Her hair is tied in a bun, sweat trickles down her cheek and her face is flushed red. There is no trainer in the vicinity to guide her.<\/p>\n

\n\"healthyThe messaging at the Baghput gym Parul attends is overwhelmingly masculine, but she says she still finds it freeing to work out there | Photo: Sagrika Kissu | ThePrint\n<\/p>\n

Every now and then, she blows air out of her mouth as she pushes through the exercise while the latest Punjabi hits blast through the speakers. She wears a baggy cream-coloured T-shirt, maroon trousers and running shoes. There is no concept of trendy gym wear here.<\/p>\n

Parul\u2019s presence in this gym is a hard-won victory. A BA student at the all-women Janta Vedic College, she lives under a lid so tight she isn\u2019t even allowed a mobile phone and has to use her mother\u2019s device to make calls. She says she has no social media account either. Her father initially said a firm no to the gym idea, pronouncing that men would stare at her, trap her and then the \u201cghar ki izzat\u201d would be destroyed.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy father is very strict. I am the youngest of all with two older brothers. My mother understands but even she can\u2019t speak much before papa,\u201d said Parul, wiping her forehead with a handkerchief.<\/p>\n

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She is so beautiful, but families are rejecting her because of her weight. So I told her father it was high time she started going to a gym, otherwise we won\u2019t get a match. Now I come with her. Because see, there are men here and she is a woman. What can we do?<\/p>\n

Saroj, mother of Baghpat gymmer Parul<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The gym ban only lifted after Parul was rejected by three prospective grooms for being a little overweight. Suddenly, the gym was less a threat and more a necessity. But it came with a condition: she would go with her mother and only to a gym close to their house. So when a new gym opened just 100 metres away on 12 March, Parul was the first to sign up.<\/p>\n

Now, her mother, Saroj, sits on a nearby bench with a water bottle, playing a watchful, permanent sentry.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe is so beautiful, but families are rejecting her because of her weight. So I told her father it was high time she started going to a gym, otherwise we won\u2019t get a match. Now I come with her. Because see, there are men here and she is a woman. What can we do? Society is such,\u201d said Saroj.<\/p>\n

\n\"PowerhouseOpening balloons still hang at Powerhouse, where Parul signed up on day one | Photo: Sagrika Kissu | ThePrint\n<\/p>\n

While Parul finds it a \u201cdream come true\u201d to be allowed here at all, chaperone or not, some men in the gym are less enthused about the maternal surveillance. They say they have to be more careful about how they talk and behave.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s good that her mother is here, but we feel awkward around them. So I changed my gym timing,\u201d said a 25-year-old who had joined the gym on the same day as Parul.<\/p>\n

Freedom, flex, flirtation<\/strong><\/p>\n

Losing weight or even just fitness isn\u2019t the only reason women are joining gyms in rural and small-town India. It\u2019s also about smashing social barriers and being seen.<\/p>\n

For 27-year-old Kirti Tanwar in Alwar\u2019s Ambedkar Nagar, the gym has become a form of self-defence. She joined initially for fitness and to de-stress. Over time, she noticed a change in how men behaved around her. They no longer stared at her the way they once did.<\/p>\n

\u201cMen had an inkling that this woman goes to the gym and won\u2019t shy away from hitting them back,\u201d she said with a loud laugh. Now, she wants to build muscles like her elder brother.<\/p>\n

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It was as if I found an expression. I wanted to express myself. The fear had waned. These three hours at the gym were cathartic. No one poked at me. I could do what I wanted. This was my time. I felt free<\/p>\n

-Ishika, gymgoer in Shamli<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

But it can still be intimidating for women to join gyms in small-town India. They are outnumbered even on the walls where most posters show grim-faced men flaunting bulky muscles. At most, a few images show women with tight abs and sensible dumbbells. Yet, some women are discovering their fierce side.<\/p>\n

At Brothers Gym, tucked inside a narrow bylane in Shamli, Ishika was known as the quiet girl. But two months into joining the gym, something changed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was as if I found an expression. I wanted to express myself. The fear had waned. These three hours at the gym were cathartic. No one poked at me. I could do what I wanted. This was my time. I felt free,\u201d said the 24-year-old.<\/p>\n

Ishika and Vanshika are neighbours and are the only two women at the gym, where they became members 6-7 months ago. Both their parents are supportive of their gymming, saying \u201cbeti kasrat karegi\u201d (our daughter will exercise).<\/p>\n

\n\"IshikaIshika works out at Brothers Gym in Shamli, where flirtation can be a game of smoke and mirrors | Photo: Sagrika Kissu | ThePrint\n<\/p>\n

Inside the gym, bright red benches and weight machines are packed into a dark room lined with mirrors. At 6 pm on a weekday, around 40 young men move between sets while Vanshika and Ishika take turns with dumbbells and the treadmill.<\/p>\n

Glances are swiftly exchanged through the red-framed mirrors. Between lifts, the boys talk loudly among themselves about protein powders and reps, but when someone cracks a joke, the women chuckle as well. A young man drops to the floor for another round of push-ups, shooting a quick look at the women. Another flexes his arms in front of the mirror, a half-smile on his face.<\/p>\n

\n\"UttarVanshika works out at Brothers Gym in Shamli. \u2018It\u2019s a place where I socialise, enjoy my time and feel free\u2019 | Photo: Sagrika Kissu | ThePrint\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI like the attention I get,\u201d Vanshika grinned. But there is no overt flirting between the men and women on the floor here. Gym owner Gaurav Raghuvanshi has instructed the men not to bother the women and to make them feel safe. He said the two women are \u201cmy responsibility\u201d. He takes regular rounds of the floor, keeping a hawk\u2019s eye on the goings-on.<\/p>\n

The introductions happen later, the old-fashioned way \u2014 numbers and social media handles passed on by friends of friends. It is a small town and the degrees of separation are few, a boon and a bane for making contact. Ishika says both women keep getting friend requests on Facebook.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a lot to choose from. We check them out and see whose request we should accept,\u201d laughed Ishika.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s the emotional and psychological transformation that has really changed things. A month ago, at a wedding, Ishika was trying to discreetly smoke a hookah in a room when a 15-year-old boy walked in and told her that it wasn\u2019t something women should do.<\/p>\n

Ishika recounted that she stood up and snapped back: \u201cTu balak hai. Tameez mein reh. Main badi hoon. Dhole dekhe hain mere?\u201d (You\u2019re just a kid. Behave yourself. I\u2019m older. Have you seen my biceps?) The boy ran away, she added, breaking into laughter.<\/p>\n

Desai noted that gyms are particularly important for girls and women in small towns.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a place where they can exercise their body, feel their body. It is a little escape hatch in their lives with a degree of social legitimacy involved,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\n\"small-townImages of muscular women are still uncommon in small-town gyms, but some are bucking the trend | Photo: Sagrika Kissu | ThePrint\n<\/p>\n

\u2018Educated men\u2019 vs taus <\/strong><\/p>\n

Many gyms offer separate women\u2019s-only timings, but 24-year-old Baghpat resident Malika Chaudhary doesn\u2019t buy into the format. Even a brush with a stalker at her previous gym hasn\u2019t convinced her that segregation is the answer.<\/p>\n

A few months ago, she quit Sky Gym after a boy followed her home. Already, she was unhappy with the constant stares she got there. The solution was a new gym with a \u201cbetter crowd\u201d\u2014 the Fitness Ministry, where the owner was a friend of her father.<\/p>\n

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My parents were cool. But society wasn\u2019t. Every day they would say something. [One tau] asked me to look at our mothers and grandmothers who stayed fit by working in the house<\/p>\n

-Malika Chaudhary, Baghpat gymgoer<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The new gym offers a female-only slot from 9 am to 11 am, mostly attended by a dozen married women from nearby villages. But Malika, who has a BSc degree,<\/strong> chooses the mixed evening crowd instead. She has more in common with them and finds the men \u201cwell-educated\u201d.<\/p>\n

\n\"\"A poster at Fitness Ministry advertises a separate slot for women, used mostly by married women from nearby villages | Photo: Sagrika Kissu | ThePrint\n<\/p>\n

The gym is an escape from the taujis and aunties who ruined her morning and evening walks with their judgmental comments.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy parents were cool. But society wasn\u2019t. Every day they would say something,\u201d said Chaudhary. One tau told her women don\u2019t need gyms or walks. If they do all the household chores and work in the kitchen, they will naturally become thin.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe asked me to look at our mothers and grandmothers who stayed fit by working in the house,\u201d she scoffed.<\/p>\n

\u2018DNA\u2019 of gym ownership<\/strong><\/p>\n

Twenty-two-year-old Yash Tomar wants to become a famous bodybuilder.<\/strong> He\u2019s bulking up at Abhi Fitness in Baghpat, but his role model is Brazilian physique athlete Adriel Eduardo Machado.<\/p>\n

Ever since he joined the gym in February, on the day it opened, he\u2019s been documenting his daily workout routine in an Instagram account he created just for this purpose.<\/p>\n

His videos show him lifting weights, doing push-ups and working on his triceps, set to Punjabi \u00a0and Haryanvi hits such as Total by Rawnee Hooda and Born to Shine by Diljit Dosanjh.<\/p>\n

\n\"\"Yash Tomar outside a gym in Baghpat. He dreams of becoming famous and has created an Instagram account to display his gym routine | Photo: Sagrika Kissu | ThePrint\n<\/p>\n

The gym on the main road, leading to a village, is owned by 26-year-old Arjun Tomar, who also works there as a trainer. A plaque reading \u201cAbhi Fitness\u201d hangs from iron rods at the entrance, adjoining a few small kirana stores.<\/strong> Behind it, a red tractor is parked. The soundtrack is a high-decibel blur of DJ beats and the clang of iron as men do the rounds of the benches and machines, with little space to move between them. \u201cNo Pain, No Gain,\u201d says one of the several posters of veiny bodybuilders.<\/p>\n

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[Jats and Gujjars] have the same qualities. We are hardworking. We work on farms and grew up on doodh and ghee. That\u2019s why we are in the fitness industry<\/p>\n

-Arjun Tomar, Baghpat gym owner<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Like many other rural professions, gym ownership is associated with particular communities. In Baghpat, most gyms are owned by Jats and Muslims. In the adjoining district of Shamli, Jats and Gujjars dominate. In Rajasthan\u2019s Alwar, many gym owners are farmers and landlords, with a mix of Brahmins, Rajputs, Punjabis.<\/p>\n

Arjun claims that Jats and Gujjars have an edge, and that it comes down to their \u201cDNA\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe both have the same qualities. We are hardworking. We work on farms and grew up on doodh and ghee. That\u2019s why we are in the fitness industry,\u201d said the buff trainer in his deep voice.<\/p>\n

By 5 pm, young men begin trickling in and a line of Splendor, Bullet and Honda bikes forms outside the gym. Many harbour dreams of becoming bodybuilders, winning titles like Mr Uttar Pradesh or one day opening gyms of their own.<\/p>\n

\n\"\"Tractor and triceps outside Abhi Fitness gym in Baghpat | Photo: Sagrika Kissu | ThePrint
\n\"\"Abhi Fitness touts itself as a unisex gym, though it has yet to sign up any women in the month since it opened | Photo: Sagrika Kissu | ThePrint\n<\/p>\n

Educated until class 12, Arjun zeroed in on opening a gym because building his body was something he knew he excelled at. With an initial investment of Rs 6-7 lakh, he rented a space, bought machines, and threw open the doors. The monthly rent is Rs 15,000, and the 30 boys who train here cover the overhead and then some. Each member pays Rs 800 a month.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe gym fees pay for the rent and I end up saving some money too,\u201d said Tomar, who also has 8-10 kilas of farmland in his village.<\/p>\n

\n\"\"Behind its unassuming facade, Abhi Fitness has surprisingly slick interiors | Photo: Sagrika Kissu | ThePrint\n<\/p>\n

About 75 km away in Shamli, another small town in western Uttar Pradesh\u2019s sugarcane belt, neighbourhood gyms are seeing a similar surge.<\/p>\n

In a narrow lane riddled with potholes stands Downtown Fitness. The gym\u2019s owner, 25-year-old Sawan Chauhan, who belongs to the Gujjar community, built it on land his family owns. Three years ago, Chauhan returned to Shamli after eight months of training at Gold\u2019s Gym in Delhi\u2019s Karkardooma. Ganga Vihar was a workout wasteland then.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I came home for two to three months in 2023, there was no gym in my neighbourhood. The nearest one, Oxygen, was a few kilometres away,\u201d said Chauhan, a box of boiled eggs lying open on his table. \u201cThat\u2019s when I decided to start a gym of my own. A friend who runs a supplement store suggested the name.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\"\"Downtown Fitness in a narrow bylane in Ganga Vihar, Shamli. Owner Sawan Chauhan says he earns about Rs 12 lakh a year from the gym | Photo: Sagrika Kissu | ThePrint\n<\/p>\n

Chauhan struggled initially. At first, only about six of his friends signed up, and he was concerned he might have to shut shop. But word of his Rs 20 lakh equipment investment got around and within a couple of months, membership grew to nearly 50.<\/p>\n

His Instagram page has over 3,000 followers and is filled with reels of his workouts. The bio reads: \u201cCertified fitness trainer (Gold Gym). DM for weight loss and weight gain.\u201d Today about 120 people train at his gym, including roughly a dozen women. Membership costs Rs 1,200 per month.<\/p>\n

But the competition has intensified quickly. Within two years, three more gyms have sprung up in the same neighbourhood, all run by Chauhans. Each has carved out its own selling point. Downtown Fitness prides itself on newer, heavier equipment and Chauhan\u2019s Gold Gym pedigree. Body Lab, a lane away, offers a larger space and a gaming zone, while Fitness Ministry markets itself as a family gym.<\/p>\n

Chauhan, though, is not worried. He said he has already recovered the money he invested.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow every year I make over Rs 12 lakh from the gym,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\n\"\"The Instagram page of a gym trainer from Shamli | Photo: Sagrika Kissu | ThePrint\n<\/p>\n

Corn starch and protein powder<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Rajasthan\u2019s Alwar, Ritansh Khanna has turned his local powerlifting fame into a supplements supply chain for gyms in the town and surrounding rural areas. Once a gym trainer, he now owns RK Nutrition Hub, where imported and Indian products are stacked neatly along shelves.<\/p>\n

\u201cSix years ago, there were barely 2-3 gyms. Now, the number has crossed 200. And I am talking about good gyms with proper infrastructure,\u201d said Khanna. \u201cOf these gyms, I supply supplements to over 100 gyms.\u201d<\/p>\n

From protein powders and muscle gainers to pre-workout drinks, many trainers now also sell supplements. But with it has come a shadow market of counterfeit products.<\/p>\n

\n\"\"Powerlifter and RK Nutrition Hub owner Ritansh Khanna promotes everything from masala oats to creatine on his Instagram page\n<\/p>\n

Khanna claimed that one or two consumers come to him every week after being duped by fake supplements.<\/p>\n

Dubious \u2018brands\u2019 put out flashy ads on Instagram, targeting young men who can\u2019t afford the real thing. A protein supplement that sells for Rs 10,000 in stores is offered online for as little as Rs 4,000.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor young boys who already don\u2019t have much money, such deals are tempting,\u201d said Khanna.<\/p>\n

In Baghpat, Yash Tomar bought supplements online from someone called Sanju \u2014 a person he has never met. It was a bargain he couldn\u2019t resist. Within a week, he developed rashes and constant diarrhoea. A doctor later advised him to stop taking the product.<\/p>\n

On 15 March, Delhi Police busted a fake protein powder racket. During the investigation, officers found that the two accused had sold over 7,000 kg of cheap ingredients such as corn starch, milk powder, and mixing agents as branded supplements.<\/p>\n

\u201cA physical store can\u2019t do this. People know us here \u2014 we live in the same neighbourhood. Where would we go if we cheated them?\u201d said Khanna.<\/p>\n

Also Read:<\/strong> A Meerut wedding that got too risky. Dalit bride, Muslim groom, parents, venue ready<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Love in the time of gymming <\/strong><\/p>\n

On the outskirts of Bhagwanpura village in Alwar, a small gym called Bajrang serves several nearby villages. Young men and boys stream in every morning and evening to train. The setup is rudimentary: a few pieces of equipment and a small temple inside with an orange idol of Lord Hanuman. There are no trainers. Most learn from one another or follow workout routines on YouTube. There are neither supplements nor women.<\/p>\n

Twenty-four-year-old Mohit from Tulera village in Alwar attends Bajrang gym in secret. His father, a police officer, is convinced that gyms are fertile ground for gundagardi and other shady activities. So Mohit times his visits carefully. Between 5 pm and 6 pm, while his father is still at work, he slips out to train and makes sure he is home well in time.<\/p>\n

\n\"\"Mytho-muscularity inside Bajrang Gym in Alwar | Photo: Sagrika Kissu | ThePrint\n<\/p>\n

He says his life has changed since he joined last year. He\u2019s fitter, more confident, and, he adds with a smile, girls at his college now notice him more. Even without posting gym selfies, the DMs are coming thick and fast from women who\u2019ve seen him around.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy Instagram is filled with friend requests from girls. And that\u2019s when I don\u2019t even post pictures from my gym routine because of my father. You can ask my friend,\u201d he said, gesturing toward his friend with his chin, blushing slightly.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a new sense of masculinity that has given him a specific checklist for a future wife.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe has to be beautiful but also fit \u2014 someone who likes exercising and staying healthy,\u201d he said. It is somewhat ironic, given that Bajrang gym does not have a single female member.<\/p>\n

Even for those who find love among the machines, old notions sometimes get in the way. At Downtown Fitness, Vijay says he first met his girlfriend at a gym in his village. They eventually fell in love, but she later stopped going to the gym. Vijay admits he is the reason. As a man, he says he knows exactly how other men look at women in these spaces.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want them looking at my girlfriend in a certain way. The culture hasn\u2019t evolved much,\u201d he said. \u201cThis still happens in Delhi, so you can imagine what it\u2019s like in Shamli.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Edited by Asavari Singh)<\/p>\n