Monotosh Roy (; 21 October 1916 – 29 June 2004) was an Indian bodybuilder, who held the Mr. Universe title in Group III Amateur Division in 1951. Roy was the first Indian and Asian to be awarded the Mr. Universe title.

Early life

Roy was born in Gajaria village in Dhaka district, on the banks of

Meghna river The Meghna () is one of the major rivers in Bangladesh, one of the three that form the Ganges Delta, the largest delta on earth, which fans out to the Bay of Bengal. A part of the Surma-Meghna River System, the Meghna is formed inside Banglade ...

. In his childhood, Roy had to struggle against poverty. He attended an English-medium middle school. He began exercising at the age of 12. He considered Bishnu Charan Ghosh to be his guru. He would always keep a photo of Bishnu Charan Ghosh in front of him. One day Bishnu Charan Ghosh saw him working out and accepted him as his pupil.

Career

In 1939, he competed in his first bodybuilding competition, but did not fare well. He resolved for success and engaged himself in further practice. In 1939, he won the East Indian Bodybuilding Championship. In 1947, he won the All India Bodybuilding Championship. In 1951, Roy travelled to the United Kingdom and participated in the Mr. Universe competition. He won the Mr. Universe title in Group III Amateur Division category. The audience at the competition were mesmerised by his muscle display. They queued up for his autograph and even waited up to two and half hours for his autograph. Following his victory at the Mr. Universe competition, he was felicitated at the India House by the Indian High Commissioner. After his return to India he acted as a trainer in many physical culture clubs. He used to train fitness and yoga to celebrities. He founded the Indian Bodybuilding Federation in 1958. He was also the founding member of Asian Bodybuilding Federation. He also taught at the

Calcutta University The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...

and the Law College. He became a featured columnist in periodicals on health and fitness. He also wrote a few books on Yoga. He conducted bodybuilding programmes that were telecast in the

Doordarshan Doordarshan (), abbreviated as DD, is India's State-owned enterprise, state-owned public broadcasting, public television broadcaster. Established by the Government of India on 15 September 1959, it is owned by the Ministry of Information and B ...

. He set up several bodybuilding and

yoga Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...

centres in

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

Later life

In 1998, he set up a multigym near his home in

. In his later years he became bed ridden. Roy died in 2004 following a cardiac arrest.

Legacy

After his death his multigym is run by his son Moloy Roy, a recipient of the

Arjuna Award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards given for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjun ...

and eight time Mr. India. After his death the Sports Minister and PWD Minister visited his residence and promised them to rename the Barrackpore Trunk Road after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roy, Monotosh 1916 births 2005 deaths Academic staff of the University of Calcutta Indian male bodybuilders People associated with physical culture People from Dhaka District Recipients of the Arjuna Award Sportspeople from Kolkata