Gulam (circa 1860-1901) was an Indian practitioner of

pehlwani Pehlwani, (पहलवानी) also known as Kushti, is a form of wrestling contested in South Asia. It was developed in the Mughal Empire by combining Persian Koshti pahlevani with influences from native Indian Malla-yuddha. The words ''pe ...

. Gulam participated in early

catch wrestling Catch wrestling (originally catch-as-catch-can) is a classical hybrid grappling style and combat sport. It was developed by J. G. Chambers in Britain . It was popularised by wrestlers of travelling funfairs who developed their own submission h ...

tournaments in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. At 5 feet 9 inches and 280 pounds, Gulam wrestled in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in 1900 at the time of

1900 World's Fair The Exposition Universelle of 1900, better known in English as the 1900 Paris Exposition, was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from 14 April to 12 November 1900, to celebrate the achievements of the past century and to accelerate developmen ...

. In Paris, Gulam's manager extended a challenge to

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

wrestler

Kurtdereli Mehmet Pehlivan Kurtdereli Mehmet Pehlivan (1864 in Bukurovo village near Tırnova – April 11, 1939 in Kurtdere village near Balıkesir) was a wrestler. He lived most of his life in the village of Kurtdere, 40 km from Balıkesir. He stood 6'5 (196& ...

Pandit Motilal Nehru Motilal Nehru (6 May 1861 – 6 February 1931) was an Indian lawyer, activist and politician belonging to the Indian National Congress. He also served as the Congress President twice, 1919–1920 and 1928–1929. He was a patriarch of the Nehr ...

was in attendance during the wrestling bout in Paris. Edmond Desbonnet’s account of the bout was given in his 1910 book, ''Les Rois de la Lutte''. According to this account, the newcomer dominated Kurtdereli. In order to avoid harming the financial interests of those who bet on Kurtdereli, the bets on the bout were called off. Gulam was proclaimed the winner, but all bets were reimbursed. Gulam returned to India where, shortly after 1900, he died of

cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...

. Desbonnet referred to Gulam as one of the two "super wrestlers" of modern times (the other being

Yusuf İsmail Yusuf İsmail (1857 – July 4, 1898), also known as Youssouf Ishmaelo, was a Turkish professional wrestler who competed in Europe and the United States as Yusuf Ismail the Terrible Turk during the 1890s. During his lifetime, native Turks knew h ...

) and

Stanislaus Zbyszko 'Jan Stanisław Cyganiewicz'' (April 1, 1879 – September 23, 1967), better known by his ring name, Stanislaus Zbyszko, was a Polish strongman and professional wrestler. He was a three-time World Heavyweight Champion at his highest profile in t ...

told Robert W. Smith that, although he had never met Gulam himself, "I got information off one wrestler who did train with Gulam. He was the ruler of his day, of the mat, of human strength." Gulam should not be confused with Ghulam "Great Gama" Muhammed, another pehlwani practitioner.

References

External links

The Lion of the Punjab– Gama in England, 1910 by Graham Noble
* ttp://www.pahelwani.com/ghulam/4544812198br>Gandhi's Body: Sex, Diet, and the Politics of Nationalism by Joseph S. Alter
Indian male professional wrestlers Karin Bux Indian male martial artists Year of birth uncertain 1901 deaths {{India-martialart-bio-stub