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Where are the RAGING BULLS?
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Bangalore produced some of the finest boxers in the country, including the legendary Gunboat Jack, but many never got their due for all the blood and sweat they shed in the ring.
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Dilbagh Singh of AIP (red) all set to punch V. Lavi of Karnataka, in the welterweight bout at the National Boxing Championship finals, 2003.
THE RECENT senior boxing nationals staged at the Sree Kanteerava Indoor stadium stirred memories of the past. While the current nationals attracted a record number of over 300 entries, the largest by a fair margin in its history, Karnataka's contribution to the entries list was surprisingly a small number. This was strange as Bangalore has a history of producing some of the finest talent in the sport over the past five decades. Top boxers from the State now prefer to don the Services' colours as they are assured of jobs and can live with dignity after the short-lived boxing careers.
Boxing is a game in which the participants literally shed blood, sweat, and tears to reach championship levels. The rewards, however, are far and few. Karnataka has just five Arjuna Awardees and their condition at the moment is far from happy. More of that later. For now, it would be apt to trace the history of the sport and list some of the names that commanded attention.
By far the most dreaded boxer in Bangalore City was a man who went by the pseudonym "Gunboat Jack". What his real name was very few people knew. Folklore handed down from the denizens of Bangalore city in the 1940s and early 1950s recall that "Gunboat Jack" was believed to be a coloured G.I. from the U.S. Army who stayed on in Bangalore after the war and was among the earliest prize-fighters known. Bangalore had a popular bar or pub called the "Old Bull and Bush" located adjacent to Nilgiris on Brigade Road. "The Old Bull and Bush" is probably a Tibetan Restaurant presently, but that is not easily confirmed.
"Gunboat Jack" dared anybody to last three rounds with him and any boxer who took on the challenge was promptly felled in the first round itself. Another well-known boxer was an Anglo-Indian who took on the sobriquet of "Kid Thaly". His exploits were talked about reverentially by the large number of Anglo-Indians in Bangalore. Nat Therry was another Anglo-Indian boxer who distinguished himself in the ring. Most of this community has now migrated either "back home" or to Australia.
In the early 1960s, the Madras Engineering Group produced the country's first big name boxer, lance naik "Tiger Subramani". Tiger was a much-feared boxer, and with his lightning fists kayoed many of his opponents. Tiger distinguished himself when representing the country and is now leading a retired life in his native place near Madurai.
Arjuna Awardees (L to R) Venu M. (1971), Narayan C. (1972), Machaiah C.C. (1978), Amaladass (1980), and Manoharan (1981).
Tiger was largely responsible for giving boxing a solid impetus when he became a coach and groomed a number of boxers from what was then called King George's School (presently, Bangalore Military School), and also boxers from Baldwins School.
Baldwins, in fact, had an elevated boxing ring near the school parade ground and amateur boxers from the school used to sweep the boxing inter-school championships. The two schools also used to largely constitute the teams that went to Asansol for the All India inter-school bouts. Many of the pugilists from these schools went on to get employment in the Railways.
Baldwins produced some awesome boxers in the early 1960s. Yusuf Abousher, a son of the owner of the Egyptian Confectionary was a terror in the ring and his inter-school bouts in the heavyweight class were invariably "walkovers" with his opponents too scared to even enter the ring. When one hapless opponent did enter the ring he was promptly dispatched with a broken forearm. Abousher went on to become a villain in the Hindi movies and was often seen in Amitabh Bacchan's movies donning a "sidey" role, mouthing dialogues such as "boss, mai usko khatham kar doon?"
(boss, shall I finish him off?)
"Bull Nanaiah" was another heavyweight from Baldwins who had a fearsome reputation. A genial boy outside the boxing ring and one who wouldn't even hurt a fly, Nanaiah's reputation grew because of his huge size. He earned the nickname, "Bull". All this was decades before Robert De Niro's portrayal of the pugilist, Raging Bull. Nanaiah used to own the Wheels Garage on Lavelle Road, and is presently running a fleet of taxis for some five star hotels. He has lost much of his bulky frame and looks less fearsome from his school-boxing days.
Baldwins also had a big team of boxers from the Balachander family from Kodagu district. B.C. Nanjappa was twice declared as the "most scientific boxer", and his brother, B.C. Cariappa won the "best boxer" title in the inter-school tournaments conducted between India and Sri Lanka.
C.C. Machaiah seen in action with South Korean boxer Chung Yong Beon in the 1982 Asian Boxing finals.
Other popular boxers from the B.C. family were Muthanna, Karumbayya, and Aiyappa.
Baldwins had a huge list of boxers and one cannot forget names such as S.A. Samad, and his brother, S.A. Rashid. The siblings won many an inter-school bout, but gave up boxing to look after their family business — the Malabar Beedi Factory. Another exciting boxer from the portals of Baldwins trained by Tiger Subramani was D. Charles, a wiry lightweight whose left jabs were lethal and bloodied many an opponent's nose.
Amateur boxers in those days fought without protective headgear and other safety equipment. Training schedules were tough and prospective boxers were made to run at least ten kilometres in the morning and then up and down on the Lalbagh hill. The rewards would be a wholesome breakfast consisting of two boiled eggs, some sprouted horse-gram, a couple of slices of toast, and a glass of milk. Subramani was a tough taskmaster and he would make the school boxers punch sandbags and have sparring contests for hours.
But the best competitive boxers in the senior national category were usually soldiers from the Madras Engineering Group. After Tiger Subramani came five other top fighters of the country, Venu, Narayan, Amal Dass, Machaiah, and Manoharan.
C.C. Machaiah, one of the five Arjuna Awardees, recalls poignantly how they shed blood in their bouts, but went largely unrecognised. After bagging a gold medal at one of the nationals, Machaiah had to make a long and tiring journey back to Bangalore in the unreserved third class compartment. Machaiah also narrated an incident, where, in an international meet he defeated a Korean in the final, but before the medal ceremony was relegated to second place because of a rule that had surfaced about the protective headgear being introduced. Machaiah is now well settled thanks to a good job from Bharat Earth Movers Limited. He is toying with the idea of coaching but not at the expense of his current employment.
Manoharan, Venu, and Narayan, along with the two other Arjuna awardees have been conferred the rank of "honorary captain" in the Indian Army. Three of them are now coaches for the M.E.G. team, and to their credit, have groomed a number of services boxers who are faring well, nationally and internationally.
Karnataka's lone success in the recently conducted nationals came with a stirring performance from Vibheeshan Lavi who bagged a silver medal and was also declared the "best loser". Lavi just missed gaining a place in the Services team, but was coached for a mere 15 days prior to the nationals and came out with flying colours. He has also been selected in the list of probables for the Afro-Asian Games and the International meet at Goa.
D. RAVI SHANKAR
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