The Sunday Google Doodle features India’s Greatest Wrestler!
The doodle for May 22, 2022, was drawn by illustrator Vrinda Zaveri, to celebrate Ghulam Mohammad Baksh Butt, aka Gama Pehlwan’s 144th birthday.
The doodle shows a big, muscular brown skinned man, with huge arms, chiseled abs and sturdy legs holding a club over his shoulders. He is shown to have split the word ‘Google’ in half as cracks are illustrated and a clear vision of his popularity is seen; through wrestling.
Born in the Amritsar District during the British India rule on May 22, 1878, Pehlwan was said to have participated in a local wrestling tournament at just 10 years old, later pursuing the same path till 74 when he retired.
The 5’8″ and 250 pounds, Indian wrestler, had a daily routine of 5000 squats and 3000 pushups. On top of that, he is said to have uses a 100 kg ‘Hasli’ – a circular disc with a hollow in the middle, during his sets.
He is said to have even lifted a 1,200-kilogram (2,645-pound) stone in 1902, which is still preserved at the Baroda museum in Vadodara, India, to commemorate him.
He was unbeaten by anyone throughout his entire career, that in one point of time it was very difficult finding him an opponent.
The Great Gama
He was said to have inspired Bruce Lee’s training, who regarded Pehlwan with respect and considered him his hero!
After the 1947 Segregation of India, when the land got split into two, India and Pakistan, Pehlwan moved to Pakistan where he spent the rest of his life, until May 23, 1960, at 82, when he took his last breath in Lahore, Pakistan.