WHEN TIGER (RAY) HOLDEN MET DARA SINGH

by HUGH KARUNANAYAKE

Professional wrestling was introduced to Sri Lanka (then known as Ceylon) by Donovan Andree, a prominent organiser of sporting and musical events for the middle class. An entertainment starved nation was quick to lap up the fare so diligently selected by Donovan.

For a period of about two decades after the ceasing of hostiities in World War 2, Ceylon’s middle class woke up from a long war induced slumber to find that we were living in a virtual cultural desert. For the Sinhala speaking folk there was some relief from the emergence of Sunil Santha waxing lyrical on the joys and the beauty of the rural countryside through songs like “Olu Pipeela,” “Handapane” and “Bovitiya dhang palukam waray” For the English speaking Colombo centric middle class there was only Radio Ceylon and the Western movies and associated music like Jimmy Rodgers epic “Moonlight and Skies” and Doris Day’s “Que Sera “and the like.

The knight in shining armour to come to the rescue of the English speaking middleclass craving for entertainment was Donovan Andree, a man who started life as a newspaper reporter and later as the Manager of the St Michael’s football team, a little known outfit in the still lesser known game of soccer.

The Second World war was brought to a sudden conclusion by the horrendous massacre of the inhabitants of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Although the colonies backed the allies in the war effort there was an air of discomfiture about the use of weapons of mass destruction, and the US State Department through the United States Information Service sought to emphasise to the world the pleasanter side of American Culture.

That effort was actively encouraged by the local comprador bourgeoise, identified as the nascent UNP. The USIS sought to do this through a programme making available well known American musicians to appear in concerts especially in Latin America, and Asia and to a lesser extent in Africa. Top billing American musicians were made available to local audiences at affordable rates, the costs being heavily subsidised by the US Dept of State.

Donovan Andree was quick to see the opportunity in this, and struck an agreement with the USIS wherein his role was to publicise and secure as much attendance as possible. Thus, Sri Lankan audiences had the privilege of attending concerts by such world famous musicians as the Dave Brubeck Quartet, at the Regal Theatre, Red Nicols and the Five Pennies who performed at the Empire Theatre, and Jack Teagarten’s orchestra at the Colombo Racecourse.

We in Colombo was privileged to see in person the Brubeck Quartette play “Take Five” with a scintillating spot on the drums by Joe Morello. Donovan additionally brought in a variety show by the Harlem Blackbirds, Holiday on Ice, and of course the introduction of professional wrestlers from the United States. There were world famous wrestlers like Primo Carnera, Harbhan Singh, Dara Singh, Tiger “Ray” Holden to name a few. It is my belief that pro wrestling was often a sham, carefully orchestrated to emotionally involve spectators and thus increase interest.

Most of the wrestling bouts were at carnivals organised by Donovan to raise funds for sporting clubs. The premises in which the carnivals were held, also included a gambling facility which yielded additional funds. The Venues were the front yard of the house known as Caldecott, situated on the sea side of Galle Road near the Bullers Road Junction, the Gulamhussein property down Station Road, Bambalapitiya, the Colts Cricket grounds etc. There was also a venue at Slave Island where Donovan had his pro wrestlers performing.

The top billing for one evening was the encounter between Dara Singh a popular Indian wrestler, and the Australian Tiger Ray Holden who was carefully groomed as a villain. Dara Singh seemed to be winning the fight as he had Tiger snarling in his corner after a couple of “aeroplane spins.” At that point Tiger Holden was on the canvas seemingly unable to move, when suddenly he jumped up and pulled something out of his shorts and proceeded to give a vigorous face message to Dara Singh. It looked as if Dara Singh was bleeding, but I felt the Holden pulled out a plastic bottle filled with scarlet liquid that looked like blood.

The audience was infuriated and started abusing Holden who just jeered at them and made them even angrier. Suddenly a man who appeared to be the worse for the liquor he had consumed, grabbed a chair and hit Holden on the head and Holden was sent in an ambulance to hospital. All hell broke loose and everyone was looking for the chair wielding villain.

The chair wielding man was none other than Caiman, a clerk to a leading QC of the day. Caiman’s usual form of dress was a coat and sarong. After making his move, he just disappeared and we saw him later briskly heading for the Nippon for a parting shot of arrack. Fortunately Holden was not hurt, but stunned, and the mystery of the identity of the chair wielder is now no longer a secret !