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.