DALIP SINGH
FORD ENDEAVOUR

A former WWF champion, he is a giant in the true sense, one who has wrestled his way up in life. P Tharyan meets up with this gentle giant.

" I WANT TO DRIVE ALL THE CARS I SEE, BOTH THE BIG ONES AND EVEN LITTLE MARUTI 800S."

stral figures and colourful personalities have all made their way into Me & My Car. So when I called up the editor and asked him whether it makes sense to interview a 'giant personality,' he was a bit flummoxed. "Well, he is a giant, a former world wrestling champion and a real tall guy,"
I said. "How tall?" he enquired. "Seven feet two inches," I whispered, almost sounding insane as I spoke those words. I heard the ed gasp on the other end. I immediately got the nod to meet up with this mountain of a man named Dalip Singh.
So off I drove into Le Corbusier's city, Chandigarh. It wasn't easy to touch base with Dalip. I had to meet up with his mentor, a Punjabi politician named Parminder Singh, a senior functionary in the Punjab Congress. Election time, I knew, was no time to talk anything apolitical with a top politician.
Surprisingly, Parminder was more than keen to introduce his "family friend." We were taken to a farmhouse overlooking a hill, with acres of vacant land all around. There we waited patiently for Dalip to join us. As a Tata Sumo came to a halt I noticed Dalip emerging from the rear seat. Parminder introduced me to the man and as I s hook his hands, I could not help but notice how puny I looked in front of a man who was all of 7 feet 2 inches tall, 165kg, and with a chest as big as a barrel: 65 inches broad!
I was not too keen to talk about his dietary habits. So what if he ate five chickens or drank seven litres of milk a day, or gulped several glasses full of juices. I was more interested in the vehicle he travelled around in.
It was a Ford Endeavour and Dalip liked it immensely. No, he had not modified it at all. He likes it better than the Tata Sumo. He usually slips into the front passenger seat of the Endeavour, pulls it back to its limit and yanks the seat down till it's almost flat. Then, and only then, is he able to sit in it. So that rules out driving. He would love to get a bit more comfortable in the car, only if he could modify the Endeavour roof. "For that I trust only Ford and no ordinary body maker," shoots in Parminder. It's not clear who owns the vehicle, but between close family friends, that's just no issue.
As we chat along, Dalip talks about his desire to drive cars, the small cars and the big cars. His height does not permit him to squeeze in behind the steering wheels. I feel sorry at his predicament. But then one must admire the manner in which he has steered his career. From a casual labourer to a world wrestling champion is no mean feat. He was Mr India in the late 1990s, Mr South Asia around the same time, won a the world professional wrestling championship in Tokyo 2002, and now at 31 he hopes to start four wrestling schools in the country.
As the conversation continued, I notice Parminder's school-going daughter Anmol playfully nudging the giant to play with her. He obliges.
"He loves children. He is very gentle with them," says Parminder. I heave a sigh of relief. It is not very often that I come across gentle people. Meeting a gentle giant is an even greater pleasure. As I take leave I clasp his hands once more. I cannot but marvel at the Creator above, who makes all things big and small.