This week, for our special edition for the Hyderabond, The Pioneer interacts with the international bodybuilder Mir Mohtesham Ali Khan, sharing his association with the ‘city of Nizams’.
SHIKHA DUGGAL
The “akhadas” of our Hyderabad are very famous, and Mir Mohtesham Ali Khan is actually taking this forward in our city. He received the prestigious national award for his journey of determination, perseverance, and excellence in the realm of bodybuilding and fitness. To see how this majority of tradition is remaining intact is tremendous. What was even more pleasant to hear was how four generations of his family have developed themselves from scratch, most importantly from the city of Hyderabad itself.
In an exclusive interview for Hyderabond, we hear this professional bodybuilder say, “I belong to Hussaini Alam area of Hyderabad. My great grandfather built a “mahal” for us here. Although my father was born in a different district, I was destined to be born in this city and be a part of its rich history. My grandfather has worked for the excise
department in Hyd; my father offered his services to RTC here; my uncle, Mir Ayyub Ali Khan, was the deputy editor for Saudi Gazette and his last stint was with Times of India in our city itself. He was a very famous media personality in the city, he’s my uncle.”
It was when he brought gold for his city, Mir felt thrilled. He wanted to continue this for his city. Simultaneously, he was offered a job in the railways of Hyderabad too. We are talking about 1997! “I can’t begin to tell you about these golden memories, especially when I was the first bodybuilder from Andhra Pradesh to be made as the captain of the Indian Bodybuilding Team. This happened to me in 2008. I got a silver in Muscle mania at Las Vegas, sharing the same stage as Shah Rukh Khan: I was elated. Luck has always favoured me. I was supposed to get a bronze, but the former bodybuilder tested positive in the test for taking steroids. With immediate effect, he was removed from the competition, and I got second position. Columbia won, and India was second.”
He recalls with us how sports were given so much of esteem and regards back in the 90s. But something very horrific happened that Mir can never forget about during those times. He recollects, “Riots happening in Hyderabad were beyond belief for us. The bomblast — difficult to believe that it happened in our city. My father was doing his evening prayers in the mosque when we heard of it and went into disbelief. I saw a very scary kind of hustle and bustle in the city for the first time. Few of us were scared, and few of us were devastated. Till then, our city was known to be for the most peaceful one amongst the whole nation. Our focus has always been development and not communal tensions, ever!”
Just after ten days of his outdoor spree, Mir starts to miss his Hyderabad. Now, it’s become routine. Even if he’s in Dubai, known to be slightly similar to our Hyderabadi culture, he still misses home. He emphasizes on cuisine! He’s been a part of the most luxurious and delectable cuisine overseas, but at the end of the day, it’s all boring for him. He wants his Biryani! And the temperature is unbearable in other cities. He always has a tendency to just rush to his home from the airport as soon as possible. That’s how much he’s attached to Hyderabad.
The engineer-turned-bodybuilder continues, “The government of my state gave me immense respect, without a doubt. They don’t miss a chance to felicitate me for what I
have been doing! I have met all the chief ministers of this city, but there is still a dream that’s left unfulfilled. I wanted to open an academy of my own, but my papers are lost some where in the legislation department. But it’s fine.”
