Dara Singh

With the death of Dara Sing, an era comes to an end in the Indian style wrestling and the Indian Film Industry. The significance of Dara Singh can be better appreciated only when we think of the period he lived and excelled in wrestling. Dara Singh built his career during a period of utter poverty in India where present day facilities were a luxury. Defying these odds of modern sports infrastructure and facilities and limelight, he reached the winning post even under a loser’s trying circumstances. Admittedly, he gained popularity as a wrestler in the backdrop of overall backwardness in the country. Surprisingly, he carved a niche of his own in the arena of wrestling and in the field of acting surprising many of his contemporaries. Interestingly, his performance as Hanumanji in the magnum opus of the late Ramanad Sagar aired in Doordarshan with unmatched viewership stands out as his best remembered performance. His stellar appearance in the serial had lent credence to the role of Hanumanji and the serial itself. If the reports are to be believed, Dara Singh was a down-to-earth human being despite his enviable success. That his co-stars and his directors paid rich tribute and heaped encomiums after encomiums on him prove the man’s wonderful personality.