44 – An All India Heavyweight Wrestling and Weightlifting champion

My paternal grandfather, Manjerikandy Ramchandran, Cannanore, Kerala. 1927

Image and text contributed by Sheetal Sudhir, Mumbai

This picture of my grandfather Manjerikandy Ramchandran was taken when he was 16, just before he set sail for Dar-es-salaam for the first time. He came back to India 5 years later and won the All India Heavyweight Wrestling and Weightlifting championship beating several champions including the Sri Lankan heavyweight wrestling champion in 1937.

His son Sudhir Ramchandran is my father who was born in British Tanganyika and retains his British Citizenship until this day. My grandfather was also responsible for building gymnasiums in Cannanore (Kannur) and in Tanzania. There are several tales of how he used to be called to handle African robbers, who existed in plenty those days. His happiest life was in Dar-es-salaam.

After he retired in 1968, he moved back to Cannanore, India to build a house but passed away the same year of cancer. My dad believes that I have adopted his no-nonsense approach to life and loyalty to friends.

Oct 19, 2010 | Categories: 1920s, 1960s, Accolades & Awards, Achievements, Body Building & Fitness, Business-man / Business-woman, Champion, Dar es Salaam, Future icons from the Past, Kannur, Kerala, Men, Men's Clothes, Migration, Professional Training, Ship, Sports, Studio Portraits, Tanzania, Wrestler | Tags: 1920s, 1960s, Accolades & Awards, Achievements, Africa, All India, Body Building & Fitness, British Citizenship, Business-man / Business-woman, Cancer, Cannanore, Champion, Commonwealth, Dar-es-salaam, Eight pack, Gymnasium, heavyweight, Kannur, Kerala, Manjerikandy Ramchandran, Men's Clothes, Migration, Pre Independence, Professional Training, Robbers, Sheetal Sudhir, Ship, Sports, Sri Lanka, Studio Portraits, Sudhir Ramachandran, Tanganyka, Tanzania, Wrestler, Wrestling | 2 Comments »