Colonial Bengal's muscular nationalism gave rise to the wrestling and akhada culture in Bengal, which in turn, placed India on the globe's wrestling map. The Guho family and their disciples are credited for establishing & popularizing the art of wrestling in Bengal.
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Starting with Gobor Guho (Jatindra Charan Guho), born into the family of wrestlers, he is the best known wrestler of his time from Bengal or even India. On reaching adulthood, he was 6'1" and weighed around 130 kgs. His expanded chest measured 48 inches.
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Born to Ramcharan Guho, son of great wrestler Ambika Charan, Gobor learnt the art of wrestling under the tutelage of his uncle Khetracharan & grandfather Ambika. The latter set up an akhada near Hatibagan, that became a breeding ground for revolutionary nationalist activities.
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Ambika Charan Guho was introduced to wrestling by his grandfather Shiv Charan Guho. Ambika and his son Khetracharan later taught wrestling to the great Hindu saint Swami Vivekananda and the great Biplobi freedom fighter Bagha Jatin or Jatindranath Mukherjee.
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Bagha Jatin was famous in the 'biplobi' circles for his chastity & desire to die for the nation. His guru Swamiji sent him to Ambika Guho's akhada for training. As we know the rest, Bagha Jatin, hugely popular for his courage & physical strength died fighting for Bharat Mata.+
Coming back to Gobor Guho, he toured Europe several times in his life, starting in 1910, to compete in wrestling competitions. In his second trip to Europe in 1913, he defeated Jimmy Campbell, the highest ranked wrestler of Scotland.
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He also grounded Jimmy Esson, the Scotch Giant despite suffering illegal blows from the latter. However, he was not awarded thr "John Bull Belt" despite being a British subject, as he was not a bona fide British.
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However, his greatest competition took place in the US, against Ad Santel, the light heavyweight champion of the world. He was beautifully defeated by the "Hindu Giant" Guho. The Kansas City Post described this victory as 'The Invasion of "Hindu Menace".
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Guho was not only an exceptional wrestler but also an intellectual who delivered lectures on Tagore's works. He was a trained Hindustani Classical vocalist. In Calcutta, he set up his own akhada which trained scientist Satyen Bose, poet Sudhindranath Dutta & singer Manna Dey.
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A popular example of British characterization of a Bengali man, "By his legs you shall know a Bengali... either skin and bones or very fat or globular, also turning at the knees with round thighs like a woman's. The Bengali's leg is the leg of a slave." (G.W. Steevens, journo)
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This led to the regeneration of both the Bengali mind & body in the late 18th CE. With the collective effort of intellectuals like Bankim C, Rajnarayan Basu, Swamiji, wrestlers like Guhos, yoga gurus like Ghosh, revolutionary leaders like Jatin, Bengal set an example for India.
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I could not add the contributions of men like Nabagopal Mitra, Rajnarayan Basu, Satishchandra Bas, but their contributions need to be reminded to the masses. The 'effeminate' Bengalis must be attributed for institutionalising militant nationalism to fight the 'manly' British.
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