The Title of the post today must have stupefied my readers. What has Amazon to do with Aligarh, and who is Hamida and how does she figure in the scheme of things featuring Amazon and Aligarh?; a few such questions would have arisen in their mind for sure. My reaction was no different either when I came across a Google Doodle celebrating Hamida on the 4th of May 2024.
Hamida Banu: A Forgotten Legend Resurrected by Google Doodle
I had never heard of this woman before, though I sometimes mistakenly take pride in being a well-read sports enthusiast. The Google Doodle Team needs to be appreciated for their hard work and research in finding Hamida, who was long forgotten and her story buried under piles of dust, never to be unearthed. I tried to find out more about Hamida Banu and came across a brief article tracing her life’s journey penned by BBC Urdu’s Neyaz Farooquee. The facts in my post today are based on the article from Mr Farooquee.
Hamida’s Rise: India’s First Professional Female Wrestler
Hamida was a woman of substance would be an understatement. Her relentless pursuit in becoming India’s First Professional Female Wrestler is an astonishing story of grit, determination and seamless bravado. Trained by Salam Pahalwan in Aligarh, Hamida rose to prominence in the 1940s. She won bouts on a canter including male wrestlers. She even offered her hand in marriage to any wrestler who could beat her, but there were none who could match her expectations.
The ‘Amazon of Aligarh’: A Woman of Power, Fearlessness, and Unmatched Skill
A towering woman, powerfully built, Hamida came to be known as the ‘Amazon of Aligarh’ on the basis of her sheer size and personality. She weighed 108 kgs and her fearless, attacking demeanour was extremely intimidating to opponents. She won more than 300 bouts in her career and very famously beat Baba Pahalwan on the 4th of May 1954 in an extremely quick bout ( the bout lasted a minute and a few seconds ). Baba Pahalwan retired thereafter. Google celebrated this occasion with her Doodle on 4th May.
A Moment of Glory: Defeating Baba Pahalwan and the 4th May Doodle
Hamida also beat Russian female wrestler Vera Chistilin, known as the Russian Bear and set her sights on Europe. An already prejudiced society had had enough. Europe was out of bounds for Hamida. As has been reported in the article by Mr Farooquee, Hamida’s coach Salam Pahalwan, was vehemently against her travel to Europe and in a fit of rage beat Hamida with sticks so brutally, that, leave aside wrestling, Hamida could not even walk properly for the rest of her life. It was all over for her. She eventually vanished from the wrestling scene for good.
International Aspirations Cut Short: Hamida’s Tragic End in Wrestling
The life was a struggle thereafter. Hamida moved to Kalyan ( in Mumbai ) and stayed there for the rest of her life, passing away in 1986. A life which promised so much and deserved to be appreciated with awards, money and fame, simply wilted into extinction. India’s first professional female wrestler was she and did her bit in bringing fame to her hometown and country.
A Forgotten Hero: Hamida’s Final Years in Kalyan, Mumbai
Mighty applause to Google for highlighting a hugely inspiring and heartbreaking story. Nevertheless, Hamida Banu will go down as a wrestler of repute who fought conservative norms and wrestlers alike and emerged victorious.
Aligarh, therefore is no longer famous for Locks alone. The city has a ‘Hamida’ too.
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Featured Image: Google Doodle celebrating Hamida, created by Bangalore-based guest artist Divya Negi.