Kodi Rammurthy Naidu (also known as Rama Murti Naidu and Prof. Rammurty) was an Indian

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bodybuilder Bodybuilding is the practice of progressive resistance exercise to build, control, and develop one's muscles via hypertrophy. An individual who engages in this activity is referred to as a bodybuilder. It is primarily undertaken for aesthetic ...

, and

wrestler Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves diffe ...

, celebrated for his exceptional strength and contributions to India's physical culture history. He was renowned for his extraordinary feats, such as stopping two cars using only his muscle power and withstanding the weight of an elephant on his chest. He was awarded the title of "Indian

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

" by King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...

. He is also known by the epithets "Kaliyuga Bhima" (), "Indian

Sandow Sandow is a German and Jewish (western Ashkenazic) family name. It is a variant of Sandau, which is a habitational name from a place near Stendal called Sandau. The Swedish barers of the name are probably of German origin. It may refer to: ; Sur ...

", "Malla Marthanda" (). Rammurty Naidu worked as a

Physical Education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...

instructor. He was a strict vegetarian. He was an expert in Vayu Stambhana (air resistance) and Jala Stambhana (water resistance) yoga. In addition to his athletic pursuits, he founded a successful circus company but generously donated his earnings to charitable trusts and the

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic ...

Early life

Rammurty Naidu was born in a Telaga Kapu familyM. L. Kantha Rao (July 1999)
''A Study of the Socio-Political Mobility of the Kapu Caste in Modern Andhra''
University of Hyderabad. Chapter 6. p. 305. hdl:10603/25437 to Kodi Venkanna Naidu in the village of Veeraghattam in Srikakulam district,

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency or Madras Province, officially called the Presidency of Fort St. George until 1937, was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India and later the Dominion of India. At its greatest extent, the presidency i ...

. ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...

'' notes his birth date as April 1882, while BBC News Telugu and '' Sakshi'' mention it as 3 November 1883. Rammurthy Naidu's mother died when he was a child. Since the boy had become motherless, his father, Venkanna, treated him with care and affection in his childhood. Rammurthy had no inclination towards studies, which earned him the wrath of his father. Fleeing home Ramamurthy reached the forests. He returned to the town after a week along with a tiger cub. Growing up, Rammurthy used to quarrel with his friends over trivial issues. Vexed with his behaviour, his father, Venkanna sent him to his brother Kodi Narayana Swamy's house in

Vizianagaram Vizianagaram, also known as Vijayanagaram, is a city and the headquarters of the Vizianagaram district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located in the Eastern Ghats, about west of the Bay of Bengal and north-northeast of Visakhapa ...

for higher studies. Narayana Swamy was serving there as a

police inspector Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia The rank of Inspector is present in all Australian police forces excep ...

. Rammurthy joined a fitness centre in Vizianagaram and learnt Kusthi, and soon became an established pehelwan (wrestler) in the region.

Career

Physical Education instructor

After his schooling Rammurthy was appointed as a drill master in his own school and continued training in his free time. In 1901, he joined a college in

Saidapet Saidapet, also known as Saidai, is a neighbourhood in Chennai, India, situated in the northern banks of the Adyar River and serves as an entry point to Central Chennai. It is surrounded by West Mambalam in the North, C.I.T Nagar in the North-Ea ...

, Madras that trains teachers in

. In 1911 he displayed his skills of breaking steel chains, stopping motor cars and allowing elephant to pass over his chest before government authorities in Madras.

Circus company

Rammurthy Naidu established a circus company in Vizianagaram with the help of his friend, Potti Panthulu. His uncommon feats attracted people from all over the country. He used to break an iron chain tied to his body by taking a deep breath and flexing his muscles. Iron chains would be tied to his shoulders and the other ends were tied to two cars and used to stop them. He took an elephant on his chest and held it for five minutes.

Performances abroad

Lord Minto, the

Viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

, experienced Ramamurthy's strength, when he tried to drive his car with Rammurthy holding it back with iron chains. His fame spread across the length and breadth of the country after this incident. Naidu demonstrated his skills at the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

meeting in Allahabad. Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya encouraged him to perform his feats abroad and sent his team to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Soon, Ramamurthy began travelling extensively throughout the subcontinent. Naidu performed impressive feats like stopping two cars (driving in two different directions) of 12

horse power Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are th ...

at high acceleration, breaking iron chains (of half inches) and balancing an elephant on his chest. King George and Queen Mary were impressed with his feats and gave him the title ''Indian Hercules'' after watching his display of physical strength at

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

. He was the first Indian to be so honoured by the royal couple. It was said that his portrait adorned the walls of the Buckingham Palace after that. Soon, Ramamurthy came to be known as "Kaliyuga Bheema" and "Indian Eugene Sandow". He became a regular in

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and

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. When he was in Spain, the local people invited him to fight a bull in the ring. He entered the bullfighting ring, took the bull by its horns and threw it to the ground . Although he had no experience of bull-fights, he dared and performed it successfully.

Charity and freedom movement

Ramamurthy Naidu was attracted towards the freedom movement through D. Chandrayya Naidu, who used to organise tribal youths against the British rulers. He earned crores of rupees through his circus company but spent a large amount of his wealth on charity and for the freedom movement of India.

Death

In his last days, Naidu shifted to the estate of his friend, the ruler of

Balangir Balangir also known as Bolangir, is a town and a municipality, the headquarters of Balangir district in the state of Odisha, India. Balangir's cultural heritage makes it one of the finest places for tourists in Odisha. Balangir municipality ...

princely state in

Orissa Odisha (), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is a state located in Eastern India. It is the eighth-largest state by area, and the eleventh-largest by population, with over 41 million inhabitants. The state also has the thir ...

. He died there in

during the

Sankranti Sankranti () refers to the transmigration of the sun from one zodiac to another in Indian astronomy. In ''Saurmana'' ''varsha'' (Hindu Solar year), there are twelve Sankrantis corresponding with twelve months of a year. The Sankrantis can be broa ...

festival in 1942.

Legacy

Anirban Ghosh notes of Ramamurthy Naidu trained and inspired youth to be physically fit countering the colonial stereotype that the Indian man was weaker than the British. Abhijit Gupta of

Jadavpur University Jadavpur University ( abbr. JU) is a public state funded research university with its main campus located at Jadavpur, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It was established on 25 July in 1906 as ''Bengal Technical Institute'' and was converted into ...

calls Naidu, "perhaps the most well-known and widely travelled among the league of extraordinary gentleman." A statue of Ramamurthy Naidu was installed on the Beach Road of

Visakhapatnam Visakhapatnam (; List of renamed places in India, formerly known as Vizagapatam, and also referred to as Vizag, Visakha, and Waltair) is the largest and most populous metropolitan city in the States and union territories of India, Indian stat ...

. Another statue is also situated in his home town, Veeraghattam. Kodi Rammurthy Stadium in

Srikakulam Srikakulam is a city and the headquarters of Srikakulam district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. census, it has a population of 165,735. There are many other places of Buddhist Tourism such as Salihundam, Kalinga Patnam, Dabbaka Vaan ...

has been named after him. There were reports of various Telugu filmmakers' interest in making a

biographical film A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or group of people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from Docudrama, docudrama films ...

on the life of Naidu.

Gallery

File:Kodi Rammurthy Naidu 1918.png, Illustration of Naidu in ''The Daily Ardmoreite'' (22 January 1918) File:Kodi Ramamurthy1.JPG, Bust of Ramamurthy Naidu in

File:Kodi Ramamurthy3.JPG, Information plate of the statue in Srikakulam

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Naidu, Kodi Rammurthy Indian wrestlers Telugu people Naidu, Kodi Ramamurthy Naidu, Kodi Ramamurthy Indian male bodybuilders Sportspeople from British India People associated with physical culture People from Srikakulam district 19th-century Indian sportsmen People from Uttarandhra