If you search about him on Google who defeated him, the answer is that he is “undefeated till death.” If your question is, who lifted a stone of 1200kg? The answer will be – “the greatest wrestler of all time.” Yes, we are talking about Ghulam Mohammad Baksh Butt. British India knew him as Gama Pehlwan. This article looks back to the life of the Indian, whom the world recognizes wrestler as a wrestling phenome.
Who was Gama Pehlwan?
Ghulam Mohammad Baksh Butt or Gama Pehlwan was born in May, 1878. He was born in undivided India’s Amritsar in a Kashmiri family. He had a family of wrestlers.
Since childhood, the great Gama spent most of his time in the akharas of his birthplace Jabbowal. He started his wrestling and strength training early in those traditional rings for wrestling or akharas. While many other children and youths in their community did the same, he was extraordinary.
In 1888, at the age of ten only, wrestler Gama Pehlwan took part in a competition in Rajasthan. More than four hundred wrestlers across the nation, including several renowned ones, participated in that strongman competition. But who stole the show? It was none other than Gama. He ranked under the top fifteen, and the Maharaja of Jodhpur declared him the winner for his young age.
Gama wrestler wrestling didn’t only impress the Maharajas of Patiala and Datia, but they agreed to bare his training expenses too.
What Did Gama Eat?
As per Nasir Bholu, a well-known wrestler and his grandson, the daily diet of Gama Pehlwan included:-
- 15 liters of milk
- 3 kg butter
- 3 kg Mutton
- 9 kg almonds
- 3 baskets of fruits
There are more for your astonishment. The daily training of the great Gama was something like this:-
- 5,000 sit-ups
- 3,000 push-ups
- Wrestling against 40 or more wrestlers
Inspirations and Incorporations
Guess whom the most outstanding wrestler inspired with his training methods? Today’s generation, unaware of the Gama Pehlwan old story, is a crazy fan of martial artist Bruce Lee. The legend of modern martial arts, Bruce Lee, was later inspired by great Gama very much.
As it’s known from John Little’s book on him, Lee incorporated various facets of Gama’s training process into a martial art. The book explains how the notes and records of the wrestling icon fit into the building of Lee’s physical prowess.
Rustam-e-Hind
The legacy of remaining undefeated for Gama Pehlwan began in his teenage itself. He beat every Indian wrestler he fought with, even before he was twenty.
The term that widely described the-then wrestling legends was “Rustam-e-Hind.” When Gama was just seventeen, he faced Raheem Bakhsh Sultani Wala in the wrestling ring. Raheem was the then undisputed champion of Indian wrestling or the Rustam-e-Hind. He was ahead of Gama in various aspects. He was more than seven feet in height and was also further experienced. Inevitably, Gama’s nose and ears bleed profusely. Still, he held the much-celebrated Kashmiri grappler to stalemates. It was one of the most challenging fights ever in the history of Indian wrestling.
Gama Pehlwan Weight Lifting Record
At the age of twenty-two, Gama achieved another record that is still untouched. Gama Pehlwan weight lifting record is 1,200kg. Not only he lifted a 1,200kg stone but walked some distance with the stone on his chest.
The London Show
The great Gama was not the Rustam-e-Hind, a primary contender, though, even after his nail-biting fight against Bakhsh. Gama’s focus shifted to the international wrestling rings as he had already defeated every opponent in India, barring Bakhsh.
His first attempt to participate in an international event in London was in vain due to his short stature. Do you have an idea how did Gama take this incident? He threw an open challenge to beat any three opponents of any weight in just thirty minutes. However, no one came to fight against him instantly.
After waiting for a long, Gama Pehlwan finally got a challenger, and he was the famous American wrestler Benjamin Roller. In the first bout, Gama pinned him twice in less than two minutes. In the second, he pinned Roller again within ten minutes.
The next day, Gama defeated as many as twelve wrestlers back-to-back. This performance recognized him as a legitimate wrestling competitor on the world stage.
World champion wrestler Stanislaus Zbyszko faced Gama in the John Bull Belt final in 1910, for which the prize money was £250.
The Indian wrestler took only one minute to take Zbysko down. The world champion from Poland, though, managed a draw by defending for three hours.
Seven days later, they came face to face once again. But it was only a matter of time before wrestler Gama Pehlwan won the John Bull Belt and £250. Most significantly, he became the world wrestling champion.
The Show Went on
Even the follow-up bout in 1927 in Patiala was a game of one minute, which the undefeated wrestler took to beat Stanislaus Zbyszko. Gama won numerous hearts, including Zbyszko’s, and the latter started calling him a tiger.
The other prominent wrestlers whom Gama left behind in his race to win the world stage were:-
- Jogann Lemm (Switzerland), who was the the-then champion of Europe
- Marice Deriaz (Switzerland)
- Jesse Peterson (Sweden), another world champion
Gama Pehlwan invited other world champions to take his challenge too, like:-
- Taro Miyake, the Japanese judo champion
- Frank Gotch, the great American wrestler
- George Hackenschmidt, a Russian wrestler
Had any of them accepted Gama’s challenge, the world could experience another excellent wrestling show.
Facing Bakhsh Again
After all, he was born to remain undefeated forever. So, how could the great Gama not be tempted to beat the one and only Raheem Bakhsh Sultani? Although an aging Bakhsh offered Gama the toughest ever fight, as Gama himself admitted, the latter won.
It was no world champion, but a Rustom-e-Hind who gave the hardest challenge to the greatest wrestler inside the ring.
The last recorded Gama wrestler wrestling match was in 1929. He beat Jeese Petersen in his last recorded match to remain unconquered forever.
It was more about a deserving opponent than his over-age (51) that ended Gama’s career.
Fight Outside the Ring
If you assume the fight of the greatest wrestler ended inside the ring in 1929, you are wrong. After India’s independence and the birth of Pakistan, Gama Pehlwan went to Lahore.
Amid the tense situations that occurred then, Gama protected his neighbors from the mobs.
The wrestlers, including Gama, patrolled in Lahore’s Mohni Road area and even fought with armed mobs. It’s said that he once made a mob fly with a slap.
When Gama understood the worsening situation, he took his neighbors to safer places and arranged food for them.
Unfortunately, the last days of such a great fighter weren’t great at all. The death of all of his sons and financial weakness made him struggle badly.
Final Words
Google recognized the talent and records of Gama Pehlwan with a special Doodle on his 144th birth anniversary.
While a Gama wrestler biography won’t probably be available, this article looks into the life of the legendary wrestler.
