Add group to favorites
Back to post list
Send new message to group Search:
Post Subject:
7ft giant Indian wrestler is a vegeterian, another pulls a train with his ponytail
7ft giant Indian wrestler is a vegeterian, another pulls a train with his ponytail
This is a surprise , usually vegeterians are pale sickly
people. Humans with canine teeth and short guts are designed for meat
eating.
excerpt bbc.co.uk
The Atlanta-based Dalip Singh Rana, who is from Himachal
Pradesh, stands over 7ft tall and weighs nearly 200kg.
Nicknamed the "Great Khali", Rana is a top draw at the hugely popular
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
With some Hollywood work under his belt, he is now looking at offers
from Bollywood.
'Punjabi Warrior'
Rana, 36, is now back in India to spend some time at home and shoot a
documentary on his life.
He could put his hand over your entire head and crush you
Hollywood actor Steve Carell
He is the first Indian to be signed up by WWE, and enjoys top billing
in the famous American showbiz circus alongside fighters such as Hulk
Hogan and The Rock.
"Hailing from India, the Great Khali stands at an impressive 7ft 3in
[2.21m] and weighs 420 pounds. This enormous monster has walked the
jungles of India unafraid of pythons and wrestled White Bengal
tigers," says the WWE website.
"Legend states that the Punjabi Warrior has stared into the abyss and
the earth trembled at his gaze."
Rana laughs when reminded of this dizzy tribute.
"Americans could not imagine someone from India in WWE. They are now
actually having a lot of fun," he says.
He briefly wrested the world champion's mantle in 2007 with a series
of superlative performances at WWE.
Soaring popularity
Two years ago, when the US government wanted to send WWE wrestlers to
cheer soldiers in Iraq, Rana's name was also in the initial list.
Once he knew he would not make it, he apparently prayed in front of a
map of India in his living room.
"He prayed for better luck next time. But God, otherwise, has been
kind to him," says Amit Swami, a bodybuilder from the northern Indian
state of Haryana who is also Rana's spokesman
Rana should have no complaints as his popularity is now soaring in his
homeland, and he has been offered a chance to act in Bollywood films.
He is no stranger to films.
Like many WWE stars - such as The Rock, aka Dwayne Douglas Johnson -
Rana has done a few odd Hollywood roles, including a 2005 film called
The Longest Yard.
On the set of another film, called Get Smart, the wrestler surprised
Hollywood actor Steve Carell.
"Literally, you shake his hand and you are shaking the inner part of
his palm. He could put his hand over your entire head and crush you,"
Carell told a reporter later.
"He's a very sweet guy, but he did not speak English really well. I
don't even know if he was completely aware that he was doing a movie."
Now Rana says he will be "choosy" about doing roles in Bollywood.
Clearly, the wrestler has come a long way since he was breaking rocks
on road building projects. In his spare time, he picked up two body
building titles.
When he was not working, women in his village of Dhirana would often
call him to do what they call heavy duty work: lifting cattle from one
barn to another.
'Really tough'
The turning point came when he and his friend, Swami, went with a
group of admirers to Delhi's international airport to receive Dorian
Yates, a top British bodybuilder.
Rana's physique impressed Yates the moment he saw him.
"He is India's man for WWF [as the WWE was called in those days]. This
one will go places if he can maintain his physique," Swami quotes
Yates telling him.
Soon Rana was off to Japan to try his luck there. He spent a year
performing some mock fights as "Giant Singh" and says he was duped by
his agents.
But eventually, he landed in the US and debuted as a professional
wrestler in 2000.
"It was tough, really tough reaching here," says Rana.
His meeting with WWE officials was brief but the decision to enlist
him in the show immediate.
'Simple life'
WWE scriptwriters racked their brains for an appropriate nickname:
Rana first proposed Big Bhima, a character from the Indian epic
Mahabharata, but the name did not find much appeal. "Giant Singh" also
found no takers.
Someone recommended Lord Shiva but it was rejected on fears that it
might offend Indian sentiments.
Rana then proposed the Indian Goddess, Kali, and spoke about her
destructive powers.
It clicked instantly. The rest is history.
Rana says he is a vegetarian and abhors alcohol and tobacco. He says
he lives a "simple life" with his homemaker wife Harminder Kaur .
"I have no fancy villa or cars. I live in a simple home and do not
have the money to order a customised car that would fit my size," he
says.
Back in India on a three-week-long holiday at his village and then a
documentary shoot, he says he plans to spend a few more years with
WWE.
Until then, the "Great Khali" is going to soak in all the attention
and fame now coming his way in the land of his birth.
The writer is an editor with the Indian magazine Tehelka
...
A man in eastern India says he is going to take to the air by
hanging from a helicopter suspended by his ponytail.
Earlier this week Shailendra Roy drew large crowds when he pulled the
famous Darjeeling toy train with his ponytail.
One end of an iron chain was tied to his foot-long ponytail, and the
other to the train engine and three coaches, weighing some 35 tonnes.
He says he keeps the hair strong by rubbing it with mustard oil and
pulling cars and other heavy objects.
"I am planning to dangle myself from a helicopter," Mr Roy said after
pulling the train 10 metres the town of Siliguri where the track is
flat.
The Darjeeling toy train line is so called because of the small size
of the trains and the narrow guage.
It was built in the late 19th century and winds from the plains of
West Bengal up the Himalayas to Darjeeling. It is a popular tourist
attraction.
Safely concerns
Thousands of people turned up to witness Mr Ray pull the train on
Monday.
"It is a dream come true for me. I had planned to pull the train for
at least 300 metres, but railway officials did not allow that," Mr Roy
said.
Shailendra Roy - 'It's a dream come true for me'
A railway official said they stopped him moving the train further for
safety reasons.
"He could have pulled the train further, but we did not allow him,"
said Subrata Nath of the heritage Darjeeling toy train company.
Mr Roy said he had been planning to pull the train with his hair for
more than a year.
"I practised for this by pulling huge logs too," he said.
This is not the first time Mr Roy has been in the limelight for his
ponytail.
He has pulled buses and trucks and uses small cars for practice.
Last year, his ponytail tied to a rope, he flew from one building to
another in front of television cameras.
Mr Roy says he had trouble raising money to pay to hire the train.
Railway official Subrata Nath said they charged him 3200 rupees ($80)
to hire it for three hours against the normal charge of 26,000 rupees
($650).
This is a surprise , usually vegeterians are pale sickly
people. Humans with canine teeth and short guts are designed for meat
eating.
excerpt bbc.co.uk
The Atlanta-based Dalip Singh Rana, who is from Himachal
Pradesh, stands over 7ft tall and weighs nearly 200kg.
Nicknamed the "Great Khali", Rana is a top draw at the hugely popular
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
With some Hollywood work under his belt, he is now looking at offers
from Bollywood.
'Punjabi Warrior'
Rana, 36, is now back in India to spend some time at home and shoot a
documentary on his life.
He could put his hand over your entire head and crush you
Hollywood actor Steve Carell
He is the first Indian to be signed up by WWE, and enjoys top billing
in the famous American showbiz circus alongside fighters such as Hulk
Hogan and The Rock.
"Hailing from India, the Great Khali stands at an impressive 7ft 3in
[2.21m] and weighs 420 pounds. This enormous monster has walked the
jungles of India unafraid of pythons and wrestled White Bengal
tigers," says the WWE website.
"Legend states that the Punjabi Warrior has stared into the abyss and
the earth trembled at his gaze."
Rana laughs when reminded of this dizzy tribute.
"Americans could not imagine someone from India in WWE. They are now
actually having a lot of fun," he says.
He briefly wrested the world champion's mantle in 2007 with a series
of superlative performances at WWE.
Soaring popularity
Two years ago, when the US government wanted to send WWE wrestlers to
cheer soldiers in Iraq, Rana's name was also in the initial list.
Once he knew he would not make it, he apparently prayed in front of a
map of India in his living room.
"He prayed for better luck next time. But God, otherwise, has been
kind to him," says Amit Swami, a bodybuilder from the northern Indian
state of Haryana who is also Rana's spokesman
Rana should have no complaints as his popularity is now soaring in his
homeland, and he has been offered a chance to act in Bollywood films.
He is no stranger to films.
Like many WWE stars - such as The Rock, aka Dwayne Douglas Johnson -
Rana has done a few odd Hollywood roles, including a 2005 film called
The Longest Yard.
On the set of another film, called Get Smart, the wrestler surprised
Hollywood actor Steve Carell.
"Literally, you shake his hand and you are shaking the inner part of
his palm. He could put his hand over your entire head and crush you,"
Carell told a reporter later.
"He's a very sweet guy, but he did not speak English really well. I
don't even know if he was completely aware that he was doing a movie."
Now Rana says he will be "choosy" about doing roles in Bollywood.
Clearly, the wrestler has come a long way since he was breaking rocks
on road building projects. In his spare time, he picked up two body
building titles.
When he was not working, women in his village of Dhirana would often
call him to do what they call heavy duty work: lifting cattle from one
barn to another.
'Really tough'
The turning point came when he and his friend, Swami, went with a
group of admirers to Delhi's international airport to receive Dorian
Yates, a top British bodybuilder.
Rana's physique impressed Yates the moment he saw him.
"He is India's man for WWF [as the WWE was called in those days]. This
one will go places if he can maintain his physique," Swami quotes
Yates telling him.
Soon Rana was off to Japan to try his luck there. He spent a year
performing some mock fights as "Giant Singh" and says he was duped by
his agents.
But eventually, he landed in the US and debuted as a professional
wrestler in 2000.
"It was tough, really tough reaching here," says Rana.
His meeting with WWE officials was brief but the decision to enlist
him in the show immediate.
'Simple life'
WWE scriptwriters racked their brains for an appropriate nickname:
Rana first proposed Big Bhima, a character from the Indian epic
Mahabharata, but the name did not find much appeal. "Giant Singh" also
found no takers.
Someone recommended Lord Shiva but it was rejected on fears that it
might offend Indian sentiments.
Rana then proposed the Indian Goddess, Kali, and spoke about her
destructive powers.
It clicked instantly. The rest is history.
Rana says he is a vegetarian and abhors alcohol and tobacco. He says
he lives a "simple life" with his homemaker wife Harminder Kaur .
"I have no fancy villa or cars. I live in a simple home and do not
have the money to order a customised car that would fit my size," he
says.
Back in India on a three-week-long holiday at his village and then a
documentary shoot, he says he plans to spend a few more years with
WWE.
Until then, the "Great Khali" is going to soak in all the attention
and fame now coming his way in the land of his birth.
The writer is an editor with the Indian magazine Tehelka
...
A man in eastern India says he is going to take to the air by
hanging from a helicopter suspended by his ponytail.
Earlier this week Shailendra Roy drew large crowds when he pulled the
famous Darjeeling toy train with his ponytail.
One end of an iron chain was tied to his foot-long ponytail, and the
other to the train engine and three coaches, weighing some 35 tonnes.
He says he keeps the hair strong by rubbing it with mustard oil and
pulling cars and other heavy objects.
"I am planning to dangle myself from a helicopter," Mr Roy said after
pulling the train 10 metres the town of Siliguri where the track is
flat.
The Darjeeling toy train line is so called because of the small size
of the trains and the narrow guage.
It was built in the late 19th century and winds from the plains of
West Bengal up the Himalayas to Darjeeling. It is a popular tourist
attraction.
Safely concerns
Thousands of people turned up to witness Mr Ray pull the train on
Monday.
"It is a dream come true for me. I had planned to pull the train for
at least 300 metres, but railway officials did not allow that," Mr Roy
said.
Shailendra Roy - 'It's a dream come true for me'
A railway official said they stopped him moving the train further for
safety reasons.
"He could have pulled the train further, but we did not allow him,"
said Subrata Nath of the heritage Darjeeling toy train company.
Mr Roy said he had been planning to pull the train with his hair for
more than a year.
"I practised for this by pulling huge logs too," he said.
This is not the first time Mr Roy has been in the limelight for his
ponytail.
He has pulled buses and trucks and uses small cars for practice.
Last year, his ponytail tied to a rope, he flew from one building to
another in front of television cameras.
Mr Roy says he had trouble raising money to pay to hire the train.
Railway official Subrata Nath said they charged him 3200 rupees ($80)
to hire it for three hours against the normal charge of 26,000 rupees
($650).
