City: Bhopal
Name: Naharsingh Baghel
Height: about five feet
Occupation: Cashier in Bhopal Municipality
Nahar Singh not only had a lively personality but was also a symbol of the Ganga-Jamuni culture. Once the hockey team of Sophia College, Bhopal went to Gwalior to play the Scindia Gold Cup. At one point the Gwalior team started losing. Then slogans started in the audience that they are Pakistanis, kill them. Then Nahar Singh, in true Bhopali style, challenged the sloganeering crowd and delivered such a speech in the glory of Ganga-Jamuni culture that the sloganeers became silent within minutes.
From the pages of the past: Niece Manju Singh with Nahar Singh’s photoFrom the pages of the past: Niece Manju Singh with Nahar Singh’s photo
From the pages of the past: Niece Manju Singh with Nahar Singh’s photo
People fondly called him Kale Mama. Black uncle’s anger was always on his nose. Every now and then, two or three times a week, they would cross the limits of debate and get into a scuffle. In such a situation, friends had to save their honor and come to the field themselves. Angered by the result of this scuffle, people started calling him Surma and this title later became Surma Bhopali. He used to narrate the stories of his hand-to-hand skirmishes in such a manner that every man was convinced that Surma is Surma. The people of Bhopal considered him like Surma and respected him.
While writing Sholay, when Javed Akhtar gave the name Soorma Bhopali to Jagdeep, Soorma’s anger again became a storm. He decided to sue Javed Akhtar through his friend Mohammad Ali lawyer. It is good for Javed Akhtar’s college days friends that this case did not go beyond the lawyer’s table, otherwise Sholay would have been seen making rounds in the courts as well.
Countless Surma Bhopali and Kale Mama are alive and will remain alive in the society of middle class cities of India. Surma Bhopali is just an example.