Google Doodle celebrates India's Gama Pehlwan, the undefeated wrestling champion
Today's Doodle artwork of the Google search engine is celebrating the accomplishments of Ghulam Mohammad Baksh Butt, an Indian wrestler of the early 20th century famously known as ‘The Great Gama’. Created by artist Vrinda Zaveri, the Google Doodle also celebrates the wrestler's impact and representation he brought to Indian culture.
Ghulam Mohammad Baksh Butt was widely considered one of the best wrestlers of all time and earned the name ‘The Great Gama’ after he remained undefeated throughout his international matches.
Born in Jabbowal village of Punjab's Amritsar district, Gama earned many titles during his career, including the Indian versions of the World Heavyweight Championship (1910) and the World Wrestling Championship (1927).
Gama Pehlwan has been a household name in India for decades, often used while making a remark on a person's strength. When Gama Pehlwan was 10, his workout routine included 500 lunges and 500 pushups at only 10 years old, according to the Google Doodle blog.
He picked up wrestling after he turned 15 and immediately grabbed headlines in Indian newspapers praising Gama as a national hero and world champion. The wrestling champion, a Kashmiri Muslim himself, is also considered a hero for saving the lives of many Hindus during the partition of India in 1947 which saw the worst communal riots post-independence.
Gama Pehlwan spent the rest of his days until his death in 1960 in Lahore, which became a part of Pakistan after the partition.
The Prince of Wales even presented Gama Pehlwan with a silver mace during his visit to India to honour the great wrestler.
“Gama’s legacy continues to inspire modern day fighters. Even Bruce Lee is a known admirer and incorporates aspects of Gama's conditioning into his own training routine!” Google Doodle blog said.