Portrait of Chuk the Wrestler
Pehlwani, a form of wrestling popular in South Asia, was developed during the Mughal Empire by combining centuries-old grappling traditions with Persian wrestling practice. The subject of this portrait has been identified as Chuk in nasta'liq script in the lower left. Chuk wears a loin cloth (langota) in the manner typical of Indian wrestlers. Although some of the lines in the lower part of the drawing appear to have been strengthened by a later hand, a fine brush is particularly visible on the wrestler’s aquiline nose, stubble, and tuft of hair at the crown of his head.
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