Mahamalla Mangla Rai (October 1916 – June 1976) also known as "Rustam-e-Hind and Hind Kesari Mangla Rai" ( Hindi, रुस्तम-ए-हिंद मंगला राय) is the ring-name of Mangla Rai.

Early life

Legendary wrestler Rustam-e-Hind Mangla Rai was born in the month of October, 1916 in a Bhumihar Brahmin family of

Joga Musahib Joga Musahib is a village located in the Karail area of Mohammadabad tehsil in Ghazipur district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It had a population of 3,612 in the 2011 Census. Its local administration follows the Panchayati Raj system. ...

Village in Ghazipur district of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

. His father Ramchandra Rai and his uncle Radha Rai, were also well-known wrestlers. After attaining 16 years of age he joined police services as constable but his destiny was waiting for something very different and significant. He left his job and moved to Barma (Myanmar) where his father and uncle were residing and pursuing their professional careers. In Rangoon, Mangla started taking lessons in wrestling. In those days the great wrestler Shiv Murat Tiwari of Benaras was also practicing in an Akhara in Rangoon. He saw the physique of this young aspirant and began to train him. Shiv Murat Tiwari made Mangala a master of south-east Asian moves of wrestling. After a few years Mangla Rai came back to his motherland but he never forgot his first guru. He named his elder daughter 'Shiv Murat' paying gratitude to his guru.Identity and Ideology in North India (1992), University of California Press, Joseph S. Alter, University of California Press

Career

Training and diet

Mangla Rai followed a tough regimen of exercises. After running 9 kilometers he used to do four thousand squats and two thousand five hundred pushups. Sometimes he used to do rope trainings. Mangla Rai was 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighed 160 Kilograms.

First encounter with Mustafa Pahelwan

Mangla Rai came into public attention just after his first bout in Rangoon with Fattey Singh and Isha Nat. He made both the champions to bite the dust in the ring with his famous move ‘gadahlet’. In 1933 he came back to India and challenged Mustafa Pahalwan of Allahabad. Mustafa took him as a novice but got floored within 5 minutes when Mangla Rai used bahralli with full force. A star of wrestling was born in India after this famous bout.

Final encounter with Ghulam Gous

After defeating Fakhr-e-Hind & Rustam-e-Pakistan Ghulam Ghous he earned the title of Rustam-e-Hind. In the three decades of his career he won ninety five percent of bouts, becoming almost a living myth. This giant of wrestling was such a charismatic sportsperson that he had been an inspiration for generations.

Fight with George Constentine

After beating Ghulam Gous in

Benaras Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic tra ...

Bharat Narkesari Mangla Rai accepted the challenge of George Constantine. Romanian wrestler George was known as ‘Tiger of Europe.’ After defeating all his rivals in Europe he camped in Calcutta (

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

) challenging any one to dare him in the ring. Famous Puran Singh and Kesar Singh came forward to accept his challenge. But mahamalla Mangla Rai not only faced him but forced him to bite the dust.Shodhganga : a reservoir of Indian theses, @ INFLIBNET, Gandhinagar, Gujarat

Fight With Tiger Joginder Singh

Tiger Joginder Singh Joginder Singh (1919-August 1, 1990) was an Indian professional wrestler. He was the first All Asia Tag Team Champion, along with King Kong. He was one of the top professional wrestlers of India at that time. Early life He was born in villa ...

was an Indian professional wrestler who was the first All Asia Tag Team Champion along with King Kong. He was considered one of the top professional wrestlers of India at that time. He was never defeated by his opponents but mahabali Mangla Rai floored him within ten minutes in a wrestling competition held in Bombay (Mumbai).Kesari, Hindi Monthly Magazine July, 1998. varanasi

Famous bout with Kesar Singh

It is believed that Kesar Singh was the only wrestler who was at equal strength with Mangla Rai and was never defeated by him. However records placed in personal diary of his mentor Pandaji of

Varanasi Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic t ...

speaks volumes about this renowned fight. It is stated in this record that 'Tiger of Punjab' Kesar Singh was floored by Hind Kesari Mangla Rai in Delhi but due to supporters pandemonium, the referee declared the match draw. In protest of this decision Mangla Rai refused to accept any award and prize money.

Death

In the year of 1963 Mangla Rai faced his last bout of wrestling with renowned wrestler Meharddin. Mangla Rai was 47 year old while Meharddin was only 27 years, however Mangla Rai used his famous Bahralli dav and Meharddin was thrown out of the ring. But due to low endurance of aging Rustam-e-Hind, the fight was announced drawn. After this fight Mangla Rai announced his retirement from the career of wrestling. He started living a peaceful farmer’s life in his native village. He discontinued the tough regimen of exercises and unfortunately he got diabetes. His health started deteriorating. Due to multi organ failure he breathed his last on 24 June 1976 in the city of

Legacy

Mangla Rai took care of all his disciples like Dukh Haran Jha of

Darbhanga Darbhanga is the fifth-largest city and municipal corporation in the Indian state of Bihar situated centrally in Mithila region. Darbhanga is the headquarters of the Darbhanga district and the Darbhanga division. It was the seat of the erstw ...

, Sukhdev Pehlwan of

Azamgarh Azamgarh is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the headquarters of Azamgarh division, which consists of Ballia, Mau and Azamgarh districts. Azamgarh is situated on the bank of Tamsa River (Tons). It is located east of the st ...

, Mohan Chaube of

Mathura Mathura () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Mathura district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located approximately north of Agra, and south-east of Delhi; about from the town of Vrindavan, and from Govardhan. ...

, his younger brother Kamala Rai, Brahmachari Rai, Mathura Rai, and Baleshwar Pehlwan etc. All of them were great wrestlers of their time. However Mangla Rai didn’t allow anyone to use even a single penny of their prize money. He bore all their expenses out of his own pocket. Mangla Rai was a true Guru in old Indian tradition. Akhare Ki Ore (1972), Permanand Shukla, Choukhamba Prakashan,

Championships and accomplishments

*"Rustam-e-Hind": After defeating Ghulam Ghous Statue outside the village near "Shiv" temple

References

External links

The Wrestler’s Body: Identity and Ideology in North India
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rai, Mangla 1916 births 1976 deaths People from Ghazipur district Indian wrestlers People from Ghazipur Indian male sport wrestlers Indian male professional wrestlers 20th-century professional wrestlers