Nathmal Pahalwan
Nathmal Pahalwan also known as Nathmal Pareek (1911–2006) was a wrestler and a community activist from Calcutta, India. He was the founder of Ganga Seva Samiti Ghat and the wrestling arena in Calcutta, India. He was popularly known as Guruji (Master Teacher) and Pahalwanji (Wrestler in Hindi) by his close friends and disciples.
Guruji's dedication and persistent efforts inspired his close friends and disciples to support the holy mission of building a safe ghat for people to worship in the river Ganges and offer prayers at the nearby temples. In English- and/or Hindi-speaking areas 'ghats' refers to the areas, in the holy river-side cities like Haridwar, Varanasi, Calcutta - where there is a stairway to access the Ganges River.
History
During the early to mid-1900s, in India, wrestling took place in clay or dirt pit. The soil is mixed with milk and ghee (pasteurized butter) and is then softened before each practice. Traditional Indian wrestling is not just a sport - it is an ancient subculture where wrestlers live and train together and follow strict rules on everything from what they can eat to what they can do in their spare time. Drinking and smoking are off limits. The focus is on living a pure life, building strength and honing their wrestling skills.
Championships and accomplishments
Guruji was from the small village Bambu near the village Sandwa in Churu District of Rajasthan, India. Due to his physique and height of 6.2 ft, he was encouraged to study Pehlwani, an Indian style of wrestling, in the milked sand wrestling pits of India called akhara. He was a favorite in most wrestling tournaments in India. In addition to this, he wrestled on invitation of kings of various Indian princely states. He successfully competed against some of the greatest names in wrestling history and professional wrestlers in the United States.
During his prime days, Guruji won many wrestling contests in greater India, traveled to Nepal and Burma to wrestle against his contemporary renowned European wrestlers. He was one of the top wrestlers in Shri Ganga Singhji's (then king of Bikaner) kingdom in Bikaner, Rajasthan, India and was conferred with numerous awards. He was billed as one of the greatest Pehlwani wrestlers in the history of Greco-Roman wrestling and had some legendary battles with Stanislaus Zbyszko and Gama Pahalwan. He won the prestigious title of Hind Kesari.
Guruji was conferred upon the title of The Lion of Rajputana in Agra (1936 A.D) by Lady Lin-lithgow (wife of then Viceroy of India - Lord Lin-lithgow) on winning a double wrestling contest. Guruji was also instrumental in training young wrestlers and having cordial relations with a number of akhadas (wrestling arenas) including, Bikaner, Calcutta, and several cities of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. Guruji was instrumental in training[1] Dara Singh, when he trained with him for a brief time. He had cordial relations with Guru Hanuman and Dara Singh.
He held his wrestling and spiritual gurus (teachers) in great esteem and was always grateful to them for their advice.
Community service
Guruji was not only a renowned wrestler of his time, winning a number of prestigious titles but was a great philanthropist too. He firmly believed 'Shareer madhyam khalu dharma sadhanam', meaning - It is through a healthy body alone that one will be able to serve God and Society.
He was instrumental in the establishment and development of a number of temples and community centers across India.
Some of the community centers include: Bara Bazar Yuvak Sangh, Calcutta - founded in 1939, Maruti Vyayam Mandir, Bikaner - founded in 1946 and Ganga Seva Samiti Ghat, Calcutta - founded in 1945.
Ved Mata Gayatri and Shiv Temple, Liluah, Pareek Bhavan, Calcutta, Sita Ram Mandir/Bhavan, Sandwa, Rajasthan and Shiva Temple in Bammu, Rajasthan were some of the temples he set up.
He was a very active social worker and encouraged, personally donated large sums of money to the welfare of the poor, down-trodden and convinced the wealthy to donate to the charities and help the communities.
Guruji's family
Guruji died in 2006 in Calcutta after a brief illness. He was a symbol of strength and saintliness and is revered among the people from all walks of life. He visited all over India, the US and UK and enjoyed a great family life. He is survived by two sons and a daughter. The older son is a business man in India, younger son is a prominent technology entrepreneur in Silicon Valley (USA) and the daughter is settled in Bangalore. His grand kids are settled in the Calcutta area, Bangalore, Delhi, Vizag and the USA.
Though Wrestling in traditional clay pits is on the decline, but there are still many akharas left, thanks to dedicated people like Guruji, who worked to keep this ancient part of Indian culture alive.
On Friday, September 17, 2010, a statue of Guruji was unveiled at Ganga Seva Samithi, Calcutta to commemorate his life and his achievements. It was attended by his family, friends, a number of political leaders and social workers, who looked upon Guruji as their role model.
See also
References
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1030113/asp/frontpage/story_1569235.asp
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1120713/jsp/calcutta/story_15721068.jsp#.UACAt_WwVF8