Honoring the Greats

What about Gama and Bholu whom we grew up thinking of as the greatest wrestlers in the world? A friend of mine says it was all hype although I told him I remembered someone called Zybisko being defeated by one of our champions. He said he had seen Inoki take care of Akram within a few minutes and that there is no way of knowing how many of these bouts were fixed. I will leave this arena for others to sort out.

I know you said you`ll leave this topic for others to sort out, but I find it an interesting topic; so here I am-- ``others.``

In defence of Akram, he was said to be very ill and out of shape when he wrestled Inoki in 1976, not to mention years past his prime. Inoki was beginning a whirlwind tour of ``mixed-style`` matches at the time (the most notable in the aftermath being his 15-round boxer vs. wrestler match with Mohammed Ali), and I think Akram looked like a easy picking; very huge name, belonging to a famous wrestling family. And Akram apparently held the Pehelwan title at the time, which Inoki won from him. Akram was said to have his arm broken by Inoki, when he wouldn`t concede the match in the second round, but it`s hard to say whether or not this is proof that this was a straight-shooting match or if it was fixed. I would guess that Inoki knew his chances and knew Akram`s condition going into the bout, with Akram basically in a no-win situation.

As for the Zbyszko/Gama match, the two grapplers met twice, in 1910, and in 1928. The first time, Gama was touring Europe with a carnival troupe and Zbyszko was one of the few ``champions`` of europe at the time to step forward and accept Gama`s challenge. However, Zbyszko found himself severely outmatch, and hugged the match for nearly 2 hours, until darkness set in and the match was called a draw. The two were to resume the next week-- Zbyszko never showed.

From what I can gather, this was probably not a fixed match. It was reported to be a very boring match, and the audience in attendance complained and threw stuff into the ring, while Gama stood over Zbyszko`s hunching body without a counter to Zbyszko`s stalling. Gama had never before faced such a tactic from an opponent.

There is much controversy surrounding the match in `28, where the two men met, both about 50 years of age, and Gama threw Zbyszko in somewhere between 4 and 10 seconds. This match took place in Gama`s homeland, as opposed to their previous match. Considering the stakes, and with both men past their primes, it wouldn`t be so far-fetched to believe that the Indian government paid Zbyszko to to fall to Gama, sort of as a farewell match of Gama to the people, who were in awe of his legend. I`ve heard a figure of $50,000.. but of course, nothing is proven. Needless to say, following this match, both men went off into their respective sunsets, each living for over another 3 decades.

Anyway, I don`t know much about Bholu, except that he was the dominant wrestler of six brothers, including Azam, Akram, Aslam, himself, Goga, and _?_. If anyone has information on this, or an interest in the topic, I`d like to hear from you.

Thank you,

B.F.

Re: Amin (Reply 23)

``...Prof Abdul Wahab IBA, Karachi...has done nothing in terms of curriculum design or for that matter...written any papers on Educational Development.``

Your words are decidedly mild. Maybe other IBA alums on chowk can describe in more detail, the colorful Wahab. I`ll restrain myself on this one.

On Syed Sahib`s suggestion: I too remember the special arrangements at the Amsterdam airport urinals, now that you mention it. However, the way I recall it, what they have for target practice at that airport is the image of a big housefly, not a butterfly. (Perhaps some other Chowk reader may be planning to travel that way soon and could inspect and report back). A housefly, being the synonymous with a dirty pest, would in any case provide a more appropriate basis for Syed`s recommendation wrt Pakistani politicians than a butterfly (the latter being synonymous with the wonders of mother nature).

Anjum,

The idea is laudable. The tricky part will be in being able to identify the award recipients. How do you identify, for example, the `best cardiology paper` to come out of Pakistan in a given year ? To ensure fairness and minimize complaints of foul play, the recipient(s) would have to be chosen by a panel comprising people of Dr. Rahimtoola`s stature. It would also have to be well-advertised. Another problem is that many papers have multiple authors. Who will the money go to ? It would be easier to recognize people for a lifetime of achievement, but this obviously misses the opportunity of providing a boost early in someone`s career.economics - does it look feasible ?

In any case, the most useful awards would, I think, recognize academic and research contributions. I don`t see much value in singling out `best graduates`, who get multiple awards and medals as it is, and whose careers may not necessarily outperform the careers of the colleagues they had managed to beat in exams. Besides, Dr. Rahimtoola himself was not the best graduate in that Dow class of `54, so I am not sure how the idea would sit with him :).

On cricket. Mohammed Nisar never played for Pakistan. From what I have read, though, he was genuinely fast, and drew comparisons to Harold Larwood, the demon of bodyline. It would be interesting to know if he was also from the fertile Punjab/Haryana belt of the subcontinent, which has thus far produced all the really successful fast bowlers from India-Pakistan. Nazar Mohammed played one good innings for Pakistan, a memorable knock of 123 (I believe) in Lucknow, Pakistan`s 2nd ever Test match, which we won by an innings (the series was lost 2-1, though). Mudassar Nazar was a talented player but really irritating to watch, both as a bowler and as a batsman. In batting, he always took forever and never had any really great innings played against the odds. In bolwing, he was fine when he was taking wickets, but when he wasn`t, it looked like he`s never taken a wicket in his life and never will.

Saad

Anjum,

Great idea. I second the idea for an award recognizing eminent Pakistani physicians and scientists.

Some other possibilities for the list:

Jameeluddin Aali (poet, columnist)

Hakeem Saeed (did somebody mention him already?)

Fatima Surriya (writer, playwright)

Anwar Maqsood (writer, comedian)


Re: Syed Ahmed

You had the best idea by far. This award should be called Dishonoring the Toads.

Anita

Let us not forget the Bohemian Poet Habib Jalib,

Human Rights activist Shakil Pathan

and the faceless masses of Pakistan many of

whom cannot read or write a letter, let alone

buy stamps which never honor their

existence.

Ras

Mujahid:

Thank you for those additions. I agree with the names of Sadoon Kadir, Jamil Tajik and Masood Akhtar. I had the good fortune to meet Dr. Kadir when he was at Duke. Sometime in 1989 we went to his house in Durham for lunch on a Sunday. He was very warm and welcoming. Salma, his Danish wife, was also a wonderful hostess and fed us a sumptuous lunch. As best I recall, his medical degree is from Gottingen, Germany, but I could be wrong.

Saad

Anjum,

Awards in honor of these great Pakistani physicians are an outstanding idea. However, the practical implementation of such a scheme is going to be like walking in a mine-field. It is very difficult to get the established medical order in Pakistan to appreciate academic contributions of expatriates. The reasons are complex and I hesitate to go into them for obvious reasons. Teepu Siddique, for example, has been feted by numerous groups and organizations but none of them are from Pakistan.

Muzaffar,

There is little room for disagreement in your XI. However, I was not much taken by Majid Khan`s ability to open the innings, and would argue that Mohsin Hasan Khan in peak form is a solid alternative. I would also question the nomination of Wallis Mathias as 12th man. Is he being selected on fielding performance or water-carrying skill ? And while on the topic, who are the other non-Muslims to play for Pakistan ? I can think of Duncan Sharpe and Anil Dalpat in addition to Wallis Mathias, but are there also others ? It is really remarkable that 7 of the 11 people in this all-time XI were present in the Sydney Test of 1977 when Imran broke free and joined the ranks of the genuinely fast. If Pakistan cricket is Jesus, Sydney has surely witnessed the second coming.

Saad

Muzaffar

I have had no first hand experience with Dr. Wahab or with IBA. At least IBA had no strikes, no student politics. In a country such as ours, that is a remarkable achievement.

About your test eleven:

I would play five batsmen, five bowlers and a wicketkeeper. I would drop Mushtaq, and have both Qadir and Fazal. For the wicketkeeper position, I know this might sound strange, but I would have Salim Yusaf as my first choice. Yusaf was gutsy and always delivered when we were down. Heprobably was our best wicketkeeper/batsman. With Imran at six and Yusaf at seven we would not need to play a sixth batsman.

All time Pakistan one day eleven

Saeed Anwer

Majid Khan

Zaheer

Miandad

salim malik

Imran Khan (C)

Salim Yusaf

Wasim Akram

Waqar Younis

Saqlain Mushtaq

Abdul qadir

I think Saqlain is the best off-spinner ever produced by Pakistan. His one day record is formidable. Usually off-spinners get better with age, and this guy is only 21.

Mujahid

Saad & other folks

Some other Pakistani Physicians of prominence in North America

A Jamil Tajik

Chief of Cardiology

Mayo Clinic, Rochester

King Edward Medical College

He is an authority on echocardiography

Masood Akhtar

Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology

Somewhere in Wisconsin

King Edward Medical College

Another authority on his subject

Sadoon Kadir

Professor of Radiology at Hopkins and Duke

I don`t know where he is at present

Got his medical degree from Holland

Has authored books on angiography

I would also have a collective stamp for the faculty of the Aga Khan University. Although they may not individually have landmark papers and discoveries. They as a whole have provided an atmosphere and a wealth of knowledge for undergraduate students like myself, and to a growing number of post-graduate students as well. This was non-existent before AKU.

Mujahid

Great Article and subsequent discussion.

I wonder, however, if you should make an exception for Moeen Qureshi by adding him to the list of accomplished Pakistanis and remove him from the Prime Minister/Urinal Posters List.

Thank you for this wonderful list of great Pakistanis. No doubt there are many others whom you could also include in your list, but just the people you have identified reminds us how many fine and talented people there are in Pakistan.

Would it be correct to say, then, that (in contrast to the general principle) in case of Pakistan the sum of the parts is greater than the performance of the whole?

Mujahid

Your nomination of Prof Abdul Wahab IBA, Karachi for Education is misplaced. He may be known as a good administrator but he has done nothing in terms of curriculum design or for that matter written any papers on Educational Development.

As an Alumni of IBA, I would go further to say that I think skills of an administrator are quite exaggerated. Although his skills of controlling students, teachers and his superiors have given him the ability to ensure his control over their adherence to the teaching calendar.

Muzaffar Qazilbash

Under the nominations of Painters I believe Guljee was omitted.

RR

A.Q. Khan has the notoriety of borrowing plans for nuclear weapons. This may get him a mention for patriotism but not for science.

On a recent trip to Schipol airport ( Amsterdam) - I saw a novel idea in the public restrooms, - they have painted butterflies on the public urinals in the men restrooms. This way the folks aim at the butterfly before they shoot - it seems this has reduced spillage by a substantial margin making the janitorial task much easier. IMHO - I would suggest that we do something similar in th epublic urinals at Pakistani airports - except we put the aforementioned pictures of PrimeMinisters instead of the butterflies. I am sure the public will be delighted and the beneficial effects on restroom sanitation is obvious. Finally - some positive contribution by Pakistani politicians.

Rehan,

I am surprised at your assertions...if you had been a careful reader, you would note that I had singled out both Punjabi and non-Punjabi`s as non-deserving. By the way, I still do not know whether Dr. A.Q. Khan is Punjabi (and how do you REALLY know I am???)

I did also mention my rather personal acquaintance with him. Several of my friends, having worked at Kahuta Labs., were also familiar with him. So I did stand on solid ground (not sure about you, though?)

Z.A Bhutto certainly did many wonderful things for which he is still remembered, regardless of the folks he left behind as followers.

I suggest that you consider the facts before you leap to conclusions. Your reamrks were certainly idle, if not, ironically, biased and inflammatory themselves. I will leave it at that.

Re: Mujahid.

To my knowledge, of the Pakistani physicians in North America, the greatest academic contributions have come from the following individuals:

Shahabdin Rahimtoola - Dow Medical College, 1954; unquestionably acknowledged as a major clinical researcher, he is a world authority on cardiac arrhythmias.

Ayub Omayya - King Edward Medical College, sometime in the 1950s; he is immortalized in the Omayya reservoir, a clever device used all over the world for patients who need medicine delivered directly into their brain ventricles.

Teepu Siddique - Dow Medical College, 1973; discovered the gene for familial motor neuron disease, an important neurological disorder (Stephen Hawking has the non-familial version of this disease).

Nausherwan Burki - King Edward Medical College, probably from the late 60s; renowned for his contributions to respiratory medicine, especially high-altitude physiology (he is also first cousin to Imran Khan and Majid Khan, which doesn`t hurt).

Other major names in North America would be Khalid Butt, a King Edward graduate and a urologist, and Ali Hussain Rajput, a Liaquat Medical College graduate and a neurologist renowned for work on Parkinson`s disease.

In the basic biological sciences, I agree with the name of Dr. Anwar Waqar, who made important contributions to molecular biology while on faculty at MIT. I believe his undergraduate training is from Punjab University. Another brilliant alumnus of Punjab University is the Nobel prize-winning biologist Har Gobind Khorana, who discovered the composition of genes. In the same field, Ahmed Iqbal Bukhari nearly touched greatness before his life was tragically cut short by a heart attack in his 40s. An M.Sc. from Karachi University, Bukhari sahab got a PhD in America and became a star scientist at the world-famous Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories headed by DNA legend James Watson. His legacy is his several landmark papers on chromatin structure.

Regarding great physicians locally in Pakistan, I would have to agree with you that Dr. Adibul Hasan Rizvi stands out heads and shoulders above the crowd. A urologist and a Dow graduate from 1960, he has pioneered kidney transplantation in Pakistan, set up an outstanding Institute of Urology in Karachi, and made important research contributions in his field.

Saad