Daily Times

LAHORE: Google, the search engine, on last Sunday paid tribute to The Great Gama Pehalwan for his contribution to the sport and accomplishments in the ring. Locally known as Gama Pehlwan inspired many generations to come and earned many laurels around the world. The Doodle was created by guest artist Vrinda Zaveri. Ghulam Mohammad Baksh Butt, also known as ‘The Great Gama’ and ‘Gama Pehalwan, was probably the greatest wrestler to ever walk the surface of the earth. With an undefeated career spanning over five decades, the legend of Gama Pehalwan was built in mud pits and akharas (wrestling arenas) of pre-partitioned British India. The undefeated wrestling champion, who was given the title of Rustam-e-Zaman, never lost a single fight during the span of his 52-year long career. He remained unbeaten in not only British India, but also in England and Europe. King of martial arts, late Bruce Lee, was also one of Gama’s biggest fans. However, even after Gama’s death no one has quite managed to achieve the same accolades in the world of wrestling.

The legend has it that on a casual visit to Baroda, Gama had lifted a stone weighing 1200 kg and carried it for some distance as a show of strength, as Maharaj Sayajrao (Maharaja of Baroda) was an avid sports lover. The stone is now kept at a museum. In the Baroda Museum at Sayajibaug, India, lies the massive stone which has the inscription: “This stone weighing 1,200kg was lifted by the Great Ghulam Mohammad, known as ‘Gama Pehalwan’, on December 23, 1902, who lifted it up to his chest and walked around over a fair distance. In his life he remained undefeated and is acknowledged as the greatest wrestler ever born.” It is said that the museum authorities found it difficult to move the stone even with the help of 25 people. They ultimately had to use a hydraulic machine to move the stone.

Before he made his name in the world of wrestling, Gama was known as Ghulam Mohammad and was born to a Kashmiri family in Amritsar in 1878. Gama’s father Aziz Baksh was a famous wrestler in the court of Raja Bhivani Singh of Datiya. He passed away when Gama was only six years old and Gama’s upbringing was taken up by his maternal grandfather Noon Pehalwan, who was also a wrestler. He, too, died soon after leaving Gama in the care of his maternal uncle Idda Pehalwan who personally trained Gama and taught him the intricate skills of wrestling. At the mere age of 10, he defeated noted wrestlers and quickly popped up the public’s radar. A stalky wrestler who was just 5 feet and 7 inches tall, some wrestlers made fun of him, but he spared none of them. Gama’s forte was his great strength and amazing speed in the ring. He gained real recognition as a wrestler in 1904 when he triumphed in a tournament organised by the Maharajah of Rewa, recording many impressive wins on the way.

After partition of British India, Gama moved to Lahore with his family where he fell on hard times. He made a request to the Governor General at the time, Khawaja Nazimuddin, for the Government to support his dietary needs. In return, he promised to win wrestling titles for Pakistan. Unfortunately, the Governor General backed out when he learnt about the extent of Gama’s diet and forwarded the matter to other officials who remained indifferent to Gama. The funds to survive in his old age he received from the rich and famous of India, like the industrialist GD Birla, who sent him one lump sum and a monthly stipend. The Maharajah of Baroda also assisted. The way Pakistan treated their greatest, there is no need to repeat the painful episode.

When he was 17-year-old, he crossed paths with Indian wrestling champion Raheem Baksh Sultaniwala, who was approximately seven feet tall. The fight lasted a great many hours and at the end both the contenders were declared winners. From pre-partition Punjab to Maharashtra and Bengal to Gujarat, Gama dominated every competition he took part in. By 1910, he had defeated all famous wrestlers of British India as doors of western world opened for him. He went on to defeat world champions like Stanislaus Zbyszko, Frank Gotch and Benjamin Roller. In many cases his bouts lasted only for few minutes and some lasted even less than a minute.

An English wrestling promoter RB Benjamin had seen Gama fight and was sufficiently impressed to arrange for him to wrestle in England. The trip was sponsored by a Bengali millionaire Sharat Kumar Mishra and Gama along with his younger brother Imam Baksh, Ahmed Baksh and Gamu set sail, arriving in London in August 1910. When Gama reached London, he issued an open challenge to all European wrestlers, claiming that he would defeat any wrestler of any weight category who dared to fight him within 30 minutes. Before indulging in any fights, Gama said that he would either defeat the men or hand over the prize money and return to his homeland. With the stakes so very high and the interests of a few piqued, he first stepped into the wrestling ring with American wrestler Benjamin Roller. Gama demolished Benjamin Roller in less than a minute. Gama’s prize money was £200 and Benjamin Roller was left with two broken ribs as his reward.

The very next day, Gama defeated an additional 12 wrestlers and made headlines in the world of international wrestling. Intrigued by the situation, the world heavyweight champion at the time, Stanislaus Zbyszko, accepted Gama’s challenge. The two met in the wrestling ring on 10th September 1910. The fight lasted for a total of two-and-a-half hours but was declared a tie. The fight was then rescheduled for a week later on September 17. However, Stanislaus Zbyszko never showed, and Gama won the match and the John Bull Belt by default. After returning home with his international accolades, Gama was welcomed by a throng of supporters. Upon his return, he fought Raheem Baksh Sultaniwala again. This time around, Gama emerged victorious and earned himself the title of Rustam-e-Hind. In 1922 The Prince of Wales visited India and Gama was presented a silver mace by the future Edward VII.

From 1916 to 1927, Gama had no opponents. In 1928, Stanislaus Zbyszko challenged Gama to another match in Patiala. The contest was over in just 42 seconds. Gama was presented with a gold and silver mace and pronounced Rustam-e-Zaman or Champion of the World. Before becoming the “Great” he was, Gama followed a rigorous training schedule to discipline himself. His daily diet consisted of 15 litres of milk, three kilogrammes of butter, mutton, 20 pounds of almonds and three baskets of fruits. All of Gama’s dietary expenses were personally borne by the Maharaja of Patiala. Fighting 40 wrestlers, doing 5,000 sit-ups and 3,000 push-ups was a part of his daily training.

Gama’s last professional fight was in 1929 against a Paris based Swedish wrestler Jesse Peterson. Held in Patiala in front of a large crowd that included princes and nobles, Gama won comfortably within a few minutes. Gama did not wrestle again professionally though he still regarded himself as the World Champion and maintained an open challenge to all to come and fight him. Gama fought and defeated over two hundred opponents in his time. His life had difficult times as well. He had five sons and four daughters and all the sons died young. When his youngest son Jalaluddin died in 1945 at the age of just thirteen, Gama was heartbroken.

After partition of British India, Gama moved to Lahore with his family where he fell on hard times. He made a request to the Governor General at the time, Khawaja Nazimuddin, for the Government to support his dietary needs. In return, he promised to win wrestling titles for Pakistan. Unfortunately, the Governor General backed out when he learnt about the extent of Gama’s diet and forwarded the matter to other officials who remained indifferent to Gama. The funds to survive in his old age he received from the rich and famous of India, like the industrialist GD Birla, who sent him one lump sum and a monthly stipend. The Maharajah of Baroda also assisted. The way Pakistan treated their greatest, there is no need to repeat the painful episode.

It was with honour that this greatest ever wrestler always lived. When he moved to Lahore early in 1947, he lived on Mohni Road, where even today his family members live. He promised his neighbours, all Hindus, that he would defend them with his life if mobs came their way. And the mob did come one day. The entire family of wrestlers stood in line. As the first raging arsonist came, a sound Gama slap sent him flying. The rest is history. Not a single incident took place on Mohni Road. In tears he took all his neighbours to the border, giving each family enough food for a week. This was one fight without honour, and one he did not like.

This man with massive strength and energy did wrestling in one of the wrestling arenas inside Bhaatti Gate of Lahore Walled City. Bhaatti Gate has been known for housing many legends and the Great Gama was one of them. Today many of the wrestling arenas have vanished from the walled city of Lahore but the remains are still there. The connection of Gama with Lahore and Bhaatti Gate cannot be forgotten. Even today the wrestlers look up to Gama and wish to be like him.

There is no doubt that Gama was a great asset to Pakistan. However, he spent the last remaining years of his life in tough financial times. When he eventually fell ill, the Government did not show much interest in his treatment. Therefore, after a long and illustrious wrestling career, Gama passed away at the age of 82. After Gama’s official retirement in 1952 and later death in 1960, the next generation in the family included wrestlers who famously came to be known as “Bholu brothers”. Five brothers Bholu, Azam, Akram, Aslam and Goga Pehelwans continued the tradition of their family and earned many laurels. The wrestling pedigree continued with Aslam Pehelwan’s son Zubair Jhara, who also did not lose in his lifetime. He was famous for beating Japan’s legendary pro-wrestler Muhammad Hussain Inoki in 1979 in five rounds in Pakistan. But Jhara was only 30 when he died of heart failure in 1991. His brothers Abid and Sohail stopped wrestling. Pakistan has only one Olympic medallist in wrestling. Mohammad Bashir won the bronze medal in the 73kg category at the 1960 Rome Olympics. It is pertinent to mention here that Kulsoom Nawaz, late wife of former Prime Minister of Pakistan Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, was granddaughter of Gama.