Rao Raja Hanut Singh

If Bikaner laid the foundation of competitive rifle-shooting in India, then the credit for playing serious polo would surely go to another princely State of Rajputana. This was Jodhpur and the person who put India on the international polo map was none other than the raja himself, Rao Raja Hanut Singh.

The game of polo has a special significance in the world of sport. Here it is not a combat between man and man. Here the combat takes an altogether different significance. Man and horse combine to coordinate and combat. The understanding between the two living creatures is an example of ultimate civility of man and animal. It requires extreme mutual affection, understanding and respect between the pair to forge a winning partnership. The majesty of this equestrian sport has to be seen to be appreciated and admired. A stirring example would be Rana Pratap’s bonding with his equine partner Chaitak.

Polo is a game of kings. Exclusively for people who have the wealth and the leisure to devote to its niceties. Commoners, unless heavily sponsored, cannot even visualize actively participating in a game of polo.

To begin with, one needs to own a stable of horses, nothing less. Unless one is provided with a bevy of handsome horses, one cannot even think of becoming a polo player. The exclusivity of the sport of polo has a charm of its own. It was, to paraphrase a cliché, designed by the rich, for the rich and of the rich. However no matter how fabulously wealthy one happens to be, one still has to learn and master the skills of the royal sport to become an international champion.

It was in such an environment that Hanut Singh was born and brought up. Through remarkable perseverance, the young prince prospered. The Jodhpur prince, who became the raja in his teens, was a genuine lover of horses. He knew how to take care and how to handle a colt. He was a man who appeared to be drawn to the lovely animal ever since he could crawl. Once a very young Hanu was supposed to have said, “Don’t call my mate an animal. He is a human being in a different form!” He could ride a horse backwards, it is claimed. Such was his mastery over horsemanship.

Ever since he began in his early teens, the Jodhpur prince Hanut Singh was a stickler for equipments. He would be very particular about its maintenance. With utmost care the Jodhpur prince would personally look after his mallets, trousers, riding-boots and every other tool of the trade. Not a single kit in the horse’s regalia would be out of place.

The word ‘jodhpurs’ in the English lexicon owes its origin to the Indian princely State of Jodhpur. Raja Hanut Singh’s team would wear trousers that were loose above the knee and tight from the knee to the ankle while riding. The design of the trousers became popular around the world as it was a great help to generations of horsemen. Thankfully the English language was quick to grasp its importance and magnanimously named those typical trousers ‘jodhpurs’ after the State of Jodhpur. Just goes to show the kind of thought and preparation that happen behind the scene for a sport to evolve.

The children of royalty have a very difficult time when they are young. They are hardly allowed to mix with their peers. They are perpetually sheltered to such an extent that they grow up without experiencing the pleasures of a normal childhood. Hanut was no exception. He spent his childhood not with other children but with the stallions and the mares at the palace stable.

As he saw his father Sir Pratap Singh – an excellent polo player cum coach – and other princely families play ‘chukkars’ of polo on the well-manicured palace lawns, the bright young boy kept his eyes and ears open. He learnt the techniques and the tricks of the sport at firsthand. He grasped the nuances of how to handle the mallet – a flexible wooden stick with a large wooden head – to strike a ball through close observation and constant application. He taught himself to become an exceptional polo player.

By the time he was in his teens, he gave enough indications of his outstanding potential. Now came the time for the exhibition on the ‘big’ stage. On the polo course the young raja was second to none. He spent hours at practice. Long hours, at times even alone. Nothing could deter him from his love of hitting the polo ball with a mallet while riding a steed.

At the polo festivals organized by the princely states all attention would be riveted to the young raja of impeccable ability. Hanut Singh of Jodhpur had arrived. The young man led his Jodhpur team to victory in 1921 over Patiala. This was a special occasion because Patiala was considered almost invincible at the time with the top players of the country in its team. Victory followed victory with Rao Raja Hanut Singh now in his elements.

In time even a princely State like Jodhpur was no longer able to afford to play polo in its own territory. Jaipur took the opportunity to request Hanut Singh to come and lead the Jaipur team. In later years almost all his achievements were for the Jaipur maharaja’s team.

It is commonly mentioned that his best years were between the two world wars. So be it. But what is to be noted is that even after India had gained independence the influence of Hanut Singh as a player had not diminished. He was not only a player now but also a coach and mentor to all those who played polo.

Around this time the Indian armed forces personnel were fortunate to have the opportunity and the facilities to take part in polo contests. In time thanks to the patronage extended by the armed forces, the sport of polo was able to survive and prosper.

 By 1956 Hanut Singh was well past his prime when he actually helped his India team – Indian Polo Association – to win the world cup at Deanrilla in France. To prove it was no fluke his team repeated the victory the following year as well! By any standard of reckoning this was a magnificent performance. To win the world title twice in succession in any sporting endeavour is certainly an issue of awesome importance.

Hanut Singh was an extrovert with a dashing approach to life as well as to the game. He believed in aggression, all-out aggression. He believed in team-work and was known to say, “Team work means not only your partners but the equine mates as well.” He laid special emphasis on team meetings when team meetings were not in fashion. He could be blunt, very blunt. He would not allow any kind of slackness, not even from seniors. He was a very hard task-master. As tough on himself as he was on others.

Even at 66 he was considered a maestro. He took a team of three young players to Europe and won all the tournaments including the coveted Cowdrey Gold Cup. In December 1965 Hanut Singh achieved an unique distinction. His two sons and his 13 year old grandson played in various tournaments alongside him at the famous Ellenborough course beside The Strand in Calcutta. Three generations playing together? Some rare achievement certainly.

What is not generally understood is the contribution of Hanut Singh to the very exclusive world of polo. Nations far and wide over the years have taken his assistance as coach. He most surely is the first among Indians to coach foreign teams. He was very deservingly given the honour to be the manager and coach of the British Commonwealth team. This was another rare achievement indeed.

Today polo is a ‘discontinued sport’ in the Olympic Games. But if India had taken part before independence then Hanut Singh and his team would surely have brought honours to the nation. Unfortunately that was not to be.

Initially the Government of India did not realize the importance and the stature of Hanut Singh. He was overlooked for the prestigious Arjuna Award from 1961 to 1964. In 1965 thankfully someone sensible and of influence realized the gross injustice done to a prominent Indian sportsman. The mistake was quickly rectified. In the 1965 honours list the name of Rao Raja Hanut Singh appeared. Some thought he might refuse it for the delayed thought.

Thankfully the ‘hot-blooded man’ had developed a cool head with age. He accepted the citation in his usual grand style. He left no one in any doubt that polo was an international sport of renown and that twice he had led his country to the championship title.

The magnificent performer Rao Raja Hanut Singh’s contribution to India’s sports cause should not be forgotten. But lolling in the quagmire of corruption and worse, do we have the heart, the inclination or the time to think and reward these magnificent sportsmen? Why not some posthumous award to cover our abject indifference and ignorance?

 

 

Monotosh Roy (top) & Monohar Aich (above)

The body-building awards are purely subjective issues at the competitive level. There are no set standards. Although the statistical figures are taken into account, it is a matter of the judgment of judges on whom the decisions rest. The judges rely on bearing, deportment, muscle-movement and proportion as much as on the attributes that can be measured and evaluated.

The art of body-building held a great fascination for every society in the ancient world. The Greek sculptors eulogized the body-beautiful concept. Pheidas’ Zeus is a classic example. So is the Italian genius Michaelangelo’s David.  Comparatively contemporary names like Charles Atlas and Eugen Sandow have gone into folklore because of the beauty of their physical proportions. Truly it is said that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.

In 1951 when Monotosh Roy, a jeweller from Calcutta, returned from USA with the Mr Universe title, people were aghast. Not only around the country but even in his hometown of Calcutta, the general populace had little idea of what the title meant. No one could visualize that an Indian could be capable enough to compete with the world’s best and become a world champion at a physique-display contest.  They took time to regard his championship-winning title seriously.

Thankfully Amrita Bazar Patrika of Calcutta – a newspaper involved with the nationalist movement since the pre-independence days – highlighted the news item to show that Indians were in no way inferior to any other nationality in the world. We actually had a world champion in an individual event with us. The Olympic hockey gold medal we were used to, but a world champion in an individual contest, especially body-building, was beyond belief.

The title of ‘Mr Universe’ is now known as ‘Mr World’. In our country the male body-building contests are not very popular.  But around the world the masculine body-building contests are followed by millions. Very deservingly the body-builders get a whole lot of media coverage. Sponsorships and patronage are readily available abroad. Unfortunately in India we have little regard for physical development and consequently body-building is not a popular pastime.

Body-building was not conceived in India as a sport activity. In its early days in the late 19^th century many akharas (gymnasiums) had emerged to enable young men to develop their physique so as to put it to use in the freedom movement of the time. Many of our nationalist leaders advocated the ‘healthy body, healthy mind’ concept. In Bengal the akharas were the hot-beds of politically-minded revolutionaries who wished to free the country from the grip of the Britons.

Body builders are men of remarkable dexterity. They develop themselves in such a manner that they can take part in various related activities. Body-builders have been associated with weight-lifting, with power-lifting as well as with yogic exercises. They reflect the masculine form in the best manner possible.

When Monotosh Roy returned with the Mr Universe championship title, he actually inspired a whole generation of Indian youth in Bengal, if not around the country. Born in 1916 Monotosh Roy spent a life in total devotion to his worship of the masculine physical self. He knew and preached that a healthy body meant a healthy mind. Just as Rabindranath Tagore and Narendranath Dutta (later famous as Swami Vivekananda) had practised physical culture in their youth and in time advocated its benefits.

In the following year in 1952 another man from Calcutta decided to try his luck at the world championship. Diminutive Monohar Aich created a sensation in US in his first outing. He walked away with the Mr Universe title with ease. Extrovert and demonstrative, he held the audience in awe.

Monohar Aich was just under 5 feet. Initially the judges were not too impressed because of his height. But when he began to display his marvellous physical self, the crowd went into raptures. The judges were unanimous in granting him the title. The media began to call him ‘Pocket Hercules’. The name stuck and even today people identify him more by his nickname than his actual name of Monohar Aich.

In the 1991 general elections, actor Victor Banerjee was a candidate for the parliament from one of the constituencies of Calcutta. At an election campaign when the late BJP politician Tapan Sikdar was told that Monohar Aich would precede him as one of the speakers, he politely asked who the gentleman was. One man told him, “Tapanda, ooni amader Pocket Hercules.” Sikdar was taken aback but instantly recovered, “That’s great news. He was my boyhood hero. Sorry, I had forgotten his actual name.”

Both Monotosh Roy and Monohar Aich were responsible in highlighting the image of their motherland to other nations which were not quite familiar with India’s propensity towards physical development. The foreigners were amazed to observe at first-hand about the physical development culture that existed in the sub-continent.

The American print media deserves our praise for giving very enthusiastic publicity to these world championship victories. They did not cringe in their coverage. On the contrary their media reports were much more than what was reported in the Indian sports pages. Apart from Chennai-based The Hindu’s Sport & Pastime and the now defunct Calcutta-based newspaper Amrita Bazar Patrika, no other Indian print-media did justice to the two world champions. The western media were full of accolade for India and caused quite a flutter around the body-building world.

This was in the early 1950s, in 1951 and 1952. It is to the great credit of Monotosh Roy followed by Monohar Aich to convince Indians that we can compete with the best and have the capability to beat them, even in physique-development.

Thankfully today Indians have realized that the ‘body beautiful’ concept helps in keeping one healthy in mind and body. People are now very seriously into walks, into cycling, into hiking. These activities are certainly not body-building in reality and should not even be thought of on similar lines. But the idea of raising the issue is just to say that we have understood the value of physical exertion in our everyday life-style.

Monotosh Roy continued coaching young body-builders in the art at his gymnasium in north Calcutta. The jeweller in him had an eye for gems. In body-building too he identified genuine gems and trained them to higher honours. Among the many outstanding body-builders who came to the fore with his tutelage was his son Moloy Roy.

Moloy Roy emerged as another exemplary Asian champion. Moloy Roy went on to receive the prestigious Arjuna award in 1978, an honour that was denied to his father who expired in 2005 at the age of 89 guiding his generations of pupils till the last.

Moloy Roy’s fantastic physique was not lost on the iconic film-maker Satyajit Ray. Ray cast him in a longish role in his award-winning film Joy Baba Felunath, where Moloy Roy left an ever-lasting impression on the audience about physical culture by emphasizing, “The body is a temple. Respect it. It is a work of art.” Just goes to show the high regard that the great film director had for sports and sportsmen.        

Monohar Aich too continued with his worship of ‘body-culture’. Observing his dedication hundreds of young men began to congregate at his gymnasium. A distinct culture of ‘body beautiful’ emerged. Till his death Monohar Aich enjoyed doing his yoga postures as he gave enjoyment and cheer to generations of young body-builders. Monohar Aich maintained his amazing body till his last breath in 2016 at the age of 104.    

We owe them our gratitude for their pioneering zeal to uphold India’s honour. They had no sponsor, no patron and no assistance from any government or private agencies. They relied totally on themselves, on their friends and families for support.

Thankfully their sacrifices were not in vain. In 1988 a 33–year old body builder from Gurdaspur in Punjab, Premchand Degra, repeated their feat and went on to win the Mr Universe title. Today when we see filmy heroes and young men spending time in gyms, we fondly remember the names of two men who first became world champions in this sphere, Monotosh Roy and Monohar Aich.

Both Monotosh Roy and Manohar Aich were not recognized by the Government of India for their exemplary service to the nation. Both gave a distinct respectability to the culture of body-building in India by winning the world’s most coveted crown. But their contribution went unheralded. The Indian media found no time or inclination to honour our genuine world champions. What are the sportsmen in the influential political circles doing today, apart from making money at the tax-payers’ expense? Shame on us for ignoring our genuine world champions.