It is possible to supremely appreciative by looking solely at the scale of what was achieved by Hamida Begum but simultaneously recoil in shock at how it ended. Today's Google Doodle shero has enough to engage both those sentiments [https://doodles.google/doodle/celebrating-hamida-banu/]. All the more reason why it should be featured on the starting screen of many an Indian Internet surfer.
Hamida Begum, a wrestling predecessor to the Phogats and the Maliks, has an incredible story to tell given the times and the society that she grew up in [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-65630615]. The accusations of match-fixing reek of the typical attitude of a patriarchal society unable to adjust to the possibility of equal ability, even for a single 'outlier' individual. The reason for her disappearance from the halls of fame is too terrifying not to be true and is best read at the link above without any summarization here. Nothing surprising in what happened because even decades after, such incidents demonstrating deep-set insecurity and malevolent control-seeking when men and women interact continue to feature in the news today.
While it is difficult to be completely celebratory once aware of the full life arc of Hamida Begum, the fact that she existed and is remembered offers some redemption. The journey she set out on may have been cut short brutally but like the proverbial first step of a long long trip, the importance of it cannot be overlooked.
[https://virtual-inksanity.blogspot.com/2024/05/inspirational-horror.html]
