Ghulam Mohammad Baksh Butt: The Great Gama
Birth and Early Life:
– Birth Name:
– Ghulam Mohammed Baksh Butt
– Born: 22 May 1878, Jabbowal, Punjab Province, British India (present-day Punjab, India)
– Died: 23 May 1960 (aged 82), Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
– Family: Imam Baksh Pahalwan (brother), Kalsoom Nawaz Sharif (granddaughter), Maryam Nawaz (great-granddaughter)
Professional Wrestling Career:
– Ring Name: Gama Pahalwan
– Billed Height: 5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
– Billed Weight:
– 250 lb (110 kg)
– Awarded a version of the World Heavyweight Championship on 15 October 1910.
– Undefeated in a career spanning more than 52 years.
– Considered one of the greatest wrestlers of all time.
Legacy and Achievements:
– Known as Rustam-e-Hind and The Great Gama.
– Notable opponents include Raheem Bakhsh Sultani Wala, Zbyszko, and Balram Heeraman Singh Yadav.
– Saved hundreds of Hindus during the Hindu-Muslim riots in Lahore after the partition of India in 1947.
– Fought and won over five thousand matches.
– Influence on Bruce Lee’s training routine.
Final Days and Legacy:
– Despite retirement in 1952 (some sources say 1955), Gama’s legacy endured.
– His final days were challenging; he died in Lahore, Pakistan on 23 May 1960.
– Kulsoom Nawaz, politician and wife of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, was his granddaughter.
– Commemorated by Google with a Doodle on his 144th birth anniversary on 22 May 2022.
Family Legacy:
– Prominent members of the Great Gama Family include The Great Jahara Pehlwan, Nasir Bholu, Sohail Pehalwan, and others.
Trivia:
– Bruce Lee admired Gama’s training routine, incorporating it into his own regimen.
– A 100 kg doughnut-shaped exercise disc used by Gama is housed at the National Institute of Sports (NIS) Museum in Patiala, India.