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The euphoria, applause and excitement of the recently released film of Indian romantic sports drama Sultan is not yet over. Sultan Ali Khan is a fictional, middle-aged, ex-wrestling champion from Haryana whose successful career creates a rift in his personal life. The film grossed approximately 6 billion worldwide to become the 5th highest grossing Indian film of all time and was featured in the Indian Panorama section of the International Film Festival of India.
The film mirrored the taste of Pakistani audience in genre epic drama, whose filmic elements included sound design, reception, acting and cinematography. This elevated the celluloid experience in cinemas to grip their armrests, sway with the turns of the hero’s wrestling trick when he swoops in, dodging the opponent, maneuvering just on the edge of defeat, the music coming up and the fall of the opponent.
The Bollywood film was nothing but a copy of The Wrestler, produced by Fox Searchlight Pictures in 2008; based on American sports drama depicting an aging professional wrestler who, despite his failing health and waning fame, continues to wrestle in an attempt to cling to the success of his 1980s heyday.
Standing by the grave of Captain (Hon) Faiz Muhammad, a legend, with nothing much to say except “sorry it turned out like it did” and 21 guns for his 32 years of his service in the wind, I decided that I will tell the story of a real celebrity from 5th Battalion of the Azad Kashmir Regiment, who became an Olympian in serendipity. The discovery of the legend was by accident. The 77 year old Faiz took his last breath on the morning of October 29, 2014, leaving behind a legend waiting posthumous gratitude from its own people who he had once made proud.
President’s Pride of Performance Olympian Captain Faiz won three successive gold medals (1962, 1966 and 1970) in the British Empire Commonwealth Games. He was an Asian gold medalist and winner of national wrestling championships in different weight categories from 1957 to 1984. He represented Pakistan’s wrestling team in three Olympics (1956, 1960 and 1964), coached Pakistan’s wrestling team for a long time, became referee of the International Wrestling Federation and flag bearer in SAF games.
As a young adjutant in 1987, I reminisce of the 50 year old Pehlwan Sahib, as he would be known in the unit, entering the office to discuss the unit’s wrestling team, carrying an iron bar weighing around seven kilograms to maintain his feats of strength. He was simple, humble, firm and focused. Every year he would visit the unit even after his retirement and irrespective of his national and international commitments to train the unit wrestlers.
After sorting out administrative details, I asked him about his journey to national and international fame. Engrossed in his thoughts he said, “sahib every soul has luck hanged on its forehead, which is an oily hair strung around and upon catching it slips away. It was the fortunate happenstance that I managed to catch and hold it. He stared at me with his deep, drooping hazel eyes wrinkled in his skin and began narrating the happenstance which is nothing but a story of passion.
In another casual conversation, I asked him as to why he came every year in the unit to train wrestlers, he said, “sahib my mission is not merely to survive as a retired wrestler, but to thrive to do so with some passion, some compassion and search for passion that was born in my unit.”
As a young soldier in the deployed unit, he was sent to the company’s cookhouse and nobody asked him what he could do for his nation, rather admonished him for the bad lunch he had prepared. He was sent to the unit’s wrestling team practicing downhill with the instructions to ‘rub him well’. That was the beginning of his fortunate happenstance.
The hour long thrashing, bruises and insults did not discourage him, instead it sparked within him new hopes. His courage was not without fear; rather it was about catching the strung oily hair on his forehead, which he predicted more than his trepidation. Few weeks later he availed two month long privileged leave in Gujranwala; where his Kashmiri family had settled after migration from held-Kashmir.
He had heard stories of the wrestler Ghulam Muhammad, better known as The Great Gama, the greatest wrestler to have ever walked the surface of the earth. He idealized him. Faiz believed in the fact that heroes are made by the paths they choose, not the powers they are graced with. Everyday much before dawn he went to the fields to replace plough bullocks with his shoulders and began cutting the hard clay with the sharpened blade of the plough.
He inquired about the training methods and feats of strength of the Great Gama and like Great Gama, Faiz included two gallons of milk per day mixed with a pound of crushed almond paste and fruit juice to his diet. He trained everyday, performing 3000 squats and 3000 pushups. He also included Santola and Zor on daily basis and performed squats while wearing apparatus of 100 pounds, besides conventional wrestling workouts he also used chakki, lizam and mugdar twice a week. He engaged a team of wrestlers from the nearby akhara to rub him with dry mustard after every workout session.
It was the era of pehalwani, the akhara was ruled by Bholu Pehalwan, Aslam Pehalwan, Azam Pehalwan, Akram Pehalwan and Goga Pehalwan, but he went to a small akhara. He began focusing on Pehalwani of the subcontinent style and combined former malla-yuddha with Persian kushti.
This was difficult as it required learning tricks of gaining and losing weight and above all the art of being fantastically ambitious in the pursuit of his passion. In the end he said, “Sahib no hero is braver than anyone else, he is just braver five minutes longer”.
Back in the unit he was detailed on sentry duties, but instead of only standing guard, he started performing squats and pushups. This did not remain unnoticed and soon he was summoned before the duty NCO. This practice continued whenever he would stand on duty and finally the matter was brought before the Commanding Officer who inducted him in the unit’s kushti team. The notion of fortunate happenstance had completed and the oily hair began swinging on his forehead.
In his 32 year long career, 16 years less than the career of Great Gama, he won more than hundred national and international medals, remained national wrestling champion for 27 years (1957-1987), became the winner of British Empire Commonwealth Games, Asian gold medalist, Olympian and achieved the Pride of Performance.
Standing on his grave I reeled the romanticism of tragedy that existed in his life, because his life was full of rage; perhaps he had challenged the life full of rage. I said goodbye to his fated journey hand in hand with Great Gama whom he had never met but who had given him the passion that surged the immensity in his life. The laughter we all could see, but his tears were unseen. I wonder why great heroes need great sorrows and half of their greatness goes unnoticed. Perhaps, it is all part of the fairy tale called life.
E-mail: wajid741@gmail.com
http://hilal.gov.pk/index.php/layouts/item/2563-the-legendary-faiz-muhammad-i-knew
The film mirrored the taste of Pakistani audience in genre epic drama, whose filmic elements included sound design, reception, acting and cinematography. This elevated the celluloid experience in cinemas to grip their armrests, sway with the turns of the hero’s wrestling trick when he swoops in, dodging the opponent, maneuvering just on the edge of defeat, the music coming up and the fall of the opponent.
The Bollywood film was nothing but a copy of The Wrestler, produced by Fox Searchlight Pictures in 2008; based on American sports drama depicting an aging professional wrestler who, despite his failing health and waning fame, continues to wrestle in an attempt to cling to the success of his 1980s heyday.
Standing by the grave of Captain (Hon) Faiz Muhammad, a legend, with nothing much to say except “sorry it turned out like it did” and 21 guns for his 32 years of his service in the wind, I decided that I will tell the story of a real celebrity from 5th Battalion of the Azad Kashmir Regiment, who became an Olympian in serendipity. The discovery of the legend was by accident. The 77 year old Faiz took his last breath on the morning of October 29, 2014, leaving behind a legend waiting posthumous gratitude from its own people who he had once made proud.
President’s Pride of Performance Olympian Captain Faiz won three successive gold medals (1962, 1966 and 1970) in the British Empire Commonwealth Games. He was an Asian gold medalist and winner of national wrestling championships in different weight categories from 1957 to 1984. He represented Pakistan’s wrestling team in three Olympics (1956, 1960 and 1964), coached Pakistan’s wrestling team for a long time, became referee of the International Wrestling Federation and flag bearer in SAF games.
As a young adjutant in 1987, I reminisce of the 50 year old Pehlwan Sahib, as he would be known in the unit, entering the office to discuss the unit’s wrestling team, carrying an iron bar weighing around seven kilograms to maintain his feats of strength. He was simple, humble, firm and focused. Every year he would visit the unit even after his retirement and irrespective of his national and international commitments to train the unit wrestlers.
After sorting out administrative details, I asked him about his journey to national and international fame. Engrossed in his thoughts he said, “sahib every soul has luck hanged on its forehead, which is an oily hair strung around and upon catching it slips away. It was the fortunate happenstance that I managed to catch and hold it. He stared at me with his deep, drooping hazel eyes wrinkled in his skin and began narrating the happenstance which is nothing but a story of passion.
In another casual conversation, I asked him as to why he came every year in the unit to train wrestlers, he said, “sahib my mission is not merely to survive as a retired wrestler, but to thrive to do so with some passion, some compassion and search for passion that was born in my unit.”
As a young soldier in the deployed unit, he was sent to the company’s cookhouse and nobody asked him what he could do for his nation, rather admonished him for the bad lunch he had prepared. He was sent to the unit’s wrestling team practicing downhill with the instructions to ‘rub him well’. That was the beginning of his fortunate happenstance.
The hour long thrashing, bruises and insults did not discourage him, instead it sparked within him new hopes. His courage was not without fear; rather it was about catching the strung oily hair on his forehead, which he predicted more than his trepidation. Few weeks later he availed two month long privileged leave in Gujranwala; where his Kashmiri family had settled after migration from held-Kashmir.
He had heard stories of the wrestler Ghulam Muhammad, better known as The Great Gama, the greatest wrestler to have ever walked the surface of the earth. He idealized him. Faiz believed in the fact that heroes are made by the paths they choose, not the powers they are graced with. Everyday much before dawn he went to the fields to replace plough bullocks with his shoulders and began cutting the hard clay with the sharpened blade of the plough.
He inquired about the training methods and feats of strength of the Great Gama and like Great Gama, Faiz included two gallons of milk per day mixed with a pound of crushed almond paste and fruit juice to his diet. He trained everyday, performing 3000 squats and 3000 pushups. He also included Santola and Zor on daily basis and performed squats while wearing apparatus of 100 pounds, besides conventional wrestling workouts he also used chakki, lizam and mugdar twice a week. He engaged a team of wrestlers from the nearby akhara to rub him with dry mustard after every workout session.
It was the era of pehalwani, the akhara was ruled by Bholu Pehalwan, Aslam Pehalwan, Azam Pehalwan, Akram Pehalwan and Goga Pehalwan, but he went to a small akhara. He began focusing on Pehalwani of the subcontinent style and combined former malla-yuddha with Persian kushti.
This was difficult as it required learning tricks of gaining and losing weight and above all the art of being fantastically ambitious in the pursuit of his passion. In the end he said, “Sahib no hero is braver than anyone else, he is just braver five minutes longer”.
Back in the unit he was detailed on sentry duties, but instead of only standing guard, he started performing squats and pushups. This did not remain unnoticed and soon he was summoned before the duty NCO. This practice continued whenever he would stand on duty and finally the matter was brought before the Commanding Officer who inducted him in the unit’s kushti team. The notion of fortunate happenstance had completed and the oily hair began swinging on his forehead.
In his 32 year long career, 16 years less than the career of Great Gama, he won more than hundred national and international medals, remained national wrestling champion for 27 years (1957-1987), became the winner of British Empire Commonwealth Games, Asian gold medalist, Olympian and achieved the Pride of Performance.
Standing on his grave I reeled the romanticism of tragedy that existed in his life, because his life was full of rage; perhaps he had challenged the life full of rage. I said goodbye to his fated journey hand in hand with Great Gama whom he had never met but who had given him the passion that surged the immensity in his life. The laughter we all could see, but his tears were unseen. I wonder why great heroes need great sorrows and half of their greatness goes unnoticed. Perhaps, it is all part of the fairy tale called life.
E-mail: wajid741@gmail.com
http://hilal.gov.pk/index.php/layouts/item/2563-the-legendary-faiz-muhammad-i-knew
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