Lord of the ring in God's own country
June 5, 2016, Thiruvananthapuram, DHNS
Memorable visit
For the hundreds who thronged the Mananchira Ground in Kozhikode that evening in 1989, it was a date with history.
The legendary Muhammad Ali, revered Lord of the Ring, was on stage; he was chief guest at an event to mark the 25th year of the Muslim Educational Society (MES). Aged 47 then, Ali was not the belligerent, showboating world-beater anymore.
But the presence of the former world heavy-weight champion, even amid first signs of Parkinson’s taking over, is something which continues to inspire awe among the ones who were around.
The MES leadership had decided to invite Ali for the event as a “replacement” after Malayalam movie superstar Mammootty turned down the invitation due to prior commitments.
Ali shared the stage with Hindi cinema legend Dilip Kumar. According to the organisers, the decision to invite Ali was in acknowledgement of his stature as a political activist who “spoke his mind”.
Not much is recorded on who accompanied him or how long he stayed in the city but one of the organisers recall that the Mananchira Ground was “packed and more people were still coming in”.
MES President Dr P A Fazal Ghafoor remembers that Ali’s hands “shivered” during handshakes. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease five years earlier. “His gait was shuffling and he was not at all the nimble-footed champion we knew from his fights. But he was pleasant and interacted with the organisers and other invitees,” he told Deccan Herald.
Dr Ghafoor, a neurologist, has followed Ali’s career highs and remembers his fights with Sonny Liston, Joe Frazier and the iconic ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ with George Foreman. He has also tracked Ali’s post-career battles with the punch-drunk syndrome.
The legendary Muhammad Ali, revered Lord of the Ring, was on stage; he was chief guest at an event to mark the 25th year of the Muslim Educational Society (MES). Aged 47 then, Ali was not the belligerent, showboating world-beater anymore.
But the presence of the former world heavy-weight champion, even amid first signs of Parkinson’s taking over, is something which continues to inspire awe among the ones who were around.
The MES leadership had decided to invite Ali for the event as a “replacement” after Malayalam movie superstar Mammootty turned down the invitation due to prior commitments.
Ali shared the stage with Hindi cinema legend Dilip Kumar. According to the organisers, the decision to invite Ali was in acknowledgement of his stature as a political activist who “spoke his mind”.
Not much is recorded on who accompanied him or how long he stayed in the city but one of the organisers recall that the Mananchira Ground was “packed and more people were still coming in”.
MES President Dr P A Fazal Ghafoor remembers that Ali’s hands “shivered” during handshakes. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease five years earlier. “His gait was shuffling and he was not at all the nimble-footed champion we knew from his fights. But he was pleasant and interacted with the organisers and other invitees,” he told Deccan Herald.
Dr Ghafoor, a neurologist, has followed Ali’s career highs and remembers his fights with Sonny Liston, Joe Frazier and the iconic ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ with George Foreman. He has also tracked Ali’s post-career battles with the punch-drunk syndrome.
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