IN a five-storeyed building that looks upon the famous Mahalaxmi Temple of Kolhapur, lives another important deity of the old city. Dadu Chougule, at 52, is no longer India�s champion wrestler, but he�s still hugely popular in Kolhapur. And immensely likeable as well. Everywhere he goes, he stands out, and people go, �Dadu Chougule! Dadu Chougule!� in awe and affection. Like Americans go �Ali! Ali!� whenever Muhammad Ali makes an appearance in public. If America is crazy about boxing, then Kolhapur is famous for its wrestling. Not from Punjab do the country�s best wrestlers come. They and born and bred in Kolhapur, fed on a diet of robust Maratha food and trained diligently in small-time gymnasiums, then converted into champions. Like Dadu Chougule was in the Eighties.

He is a broad-shouldered and burly man, an Amjad Khan lookalike, with a permanent bemused expression on his swarthy, blunt-featured face. And with a barrel-like chest, tree trunk-like arms, and pillars for legs. Yet, he was incredibly light on his feet. And very strong. I met him the day Kolhapur held its annual kusti at the Shivaji Stadium: a wrestling tournament in mud that drew the finest talent from all over the country. This was held in a traditional akhada or wrestling pit, perhaps among the oldest in the country, and around which spectators sat on grass embankments that rose up like seating in a stadium. It is amazing, Kolhapur has more young men who are aspiring wrestlers than Bombay has budding cricketers. It is easy to make out such wannabe wrestlers. Look at their ears. They all have cauliflower ears. That comes from being clouted and grabbed roughly by the neck and head all the time.

At the Kolhapur akhada, several kustis were in progress at the same time. The organisers, in their wisdom, had decided to hold the competition that way to save time. The idea being to eliminate the lower half of the draw that was made up of several hundred small-time wrestlers as quickly as possible. Later in the evening, when the floodlights would come on, the serious kusti would begin. District and city wrestlers would be removed from the fray to make way for the state and national champions. And then individual bouts, one against one, until only one wrestler remained standing. This was not your Summer Slam Event at the WWF, where superbly-built athletes performed for television channels. This was actual fighting. A test of power, strength and skill to decide the ultimate winner. The Rustom-e-Hind. Or champion wrestler of India.

Dadu Chougule, who was Rustom-e-Hind a long time ago, and twice Maharashtra Kesari, sat watching the kusti from the ringside. He was dressed in kurta and pyjamas, a bright-coloured Kolhapur turban wrapped around his head. He was huge. And impressive. Even in the traditional Maratha get-up, I could see that he must have been a force to reckon with in his prime. And from what I have heard about Dadu Chougule, not too many wrestlers could reckon with him at all. Now at the organisers� bidding, he rose and entered the akhada, one giant of a man. And the spectators watching the fights were abuzz, �Dadu Chougule! Dadu Chougule!� I watched him take a slow walk of the akhada, studying the fighting men, then do a joined hands salutation to the spectators before sitting down again. This man was Kolhapur�s Big Daddy of wrestling... still!

I met him later at his residence. Dadu Chougule was at the bottom of his building where in a parking lot, he has constructed an akhada. �Why,� I asked, �I thought you are in retirement.� And Dadu Chougule pulled two young wrestlers forward. His sons. Vinod and Amol, 21 and 16, one the champion of Kolhapur already, the other on his way to becoming. �I train with them daily,� he said. �From 5 to 9 in the morning at the Shivaji Stadium. Then in the evening, from 7 to 8 in this akhada at home.� Proudly he stood between his boys, himself 105 kilos in his bare feet, Vinod 130 kilos at 6 feet 2 inches, and Amol, who has much to grow, but is still 100 kilos heavy. Having shown me his akhada, Dadu Chougule lead the way up five storeys to his home, climbing easily.

The house was an awful mess! Like a jaripuranawalla�s junkyard. Exercise equipment, weights, lay all about the place. Unconcerned, Dadu Chougule flopped on his favourite chair. His 19-year-old daughter Surekha, herself a rugged light-weight, came out with tea. �There is no power supply, otherwise I would have got her to make Thandai for you,� Dadu Chougule said to me. He then heaved himself up and led me to the kitchen to show me an electric grinder he had devised to make the Thandai. �My family consumes one kilo of badam a day in Thandai,� he explained. �This costs Rs. 390 a kilo. It comes from Delhi, JTC, best quality. We grind it with dhania, elaichi, badishep, kalimiri, kaju, and mix it in milk.

Twice a day, we have two glasses each. We also drink fruit juice in the evening, any juice, but mosambi is our favourite. We squeeze 25 sweetlimes to make three glasses.�

I was getting the lowdown of the champion wrestler�s eating habits. From Thandai, I brought Dadu Chougule onto food. �What kind of diet do you keep,� I asked. �Diet!� he said disbelievingly, as if amazed by what he had heard. �All our food is made in pure ghee. That we are particular about. Which is why we seldom eat outside. The food outside is made in oil, not ghee. We have lunch at 10 a.m. It is chapati and bhaji, some rice, mutton and phulkas. How many phulkas? About four each. Then we have boiled eggs. Six! We don�t eat breakfast because we are up early and training. No tea or coffee. Directly Thandai!� The kitchen in Dadu Chougule�s home is run by his daughter Surekha. She not only cooks their meals but also makes sure that the boys do their workouts without cheating.

Dadu Chougule has travelled in his time, he has been to Australia, New Zealand, to England, where he has wrestled with the �gora phelwans�. He wanted to tell me about those experiences. But I was more interested in knowing what kind of food he had eaten abroad. �Bread-butter, chicken and lots of fruit,� he replied, understanding me clearly now. �Very bland food, but then I�m not fond of very spicy food. Our Tambada Rassa and Pandhara Rassa are hot so I mop them up with lots of bread. And I drink plenty of milk to wash this down. About two litres a day. But I balance my food with a lot of exercise. Apart from being my sons� coach and training with them, I do one hour of walking every morning, 15 minutes of running. And I use the dumb-bells, 500 repetitions!� No wonder, I thought as I watched him force open a window that had got jammed and which had frustrated everyone who tried to open it earlier, that Dadu Chougule was built like a tank!

In 1974, he was the champion wrestler of Maharashtra, he won his bout in 59 seconds. To become Rustom-e-Hind, Dadu Chougule fought wrestlers from all over the country. �I finished everyone,� he said proudly. �The people would cheer for me soon as I entered the akhada. I was good, I could wrestle with ten boys at a time!� He firmly believes Indian wrestlers are among the best in the world.