The fun of fitness

"If the body is in tune, age is no bar,” chuckles Poona’s Katy Karkaria who, at age 53, was the oldest competitor in the contest and who walked away with the Miss Super Fit 2007 crown! "I entered the competition just as a lark and completely enjoyed it. It was a bit disappointing that there were no other competitors my age. Most of the others were in their 20s,” says Karkaria who runs a beauty parlor, teaches yoga, has run half marathons and trekked last year to the Mount Everest base camp at over 18,000 ft!

The 1st Miss Super Fit contest and the 6th All India Body Building Championships for men were organized and sponsored by the NarYman KaiKhosrow Dubash Foundation at the Sir Ness Wadia Club at Rustom Baug in Bombay on May 12, 2007. Earlier, NarYman Dubash had also sponsored the 3rd All India Zoroastrian Powerlifting contest for men and the 1st All India Zoroastrian Ladies Powerlifting contest on February 4, 2007 at the same venue.

For the third year running, Rushad Khambatta’s steely physique won him brawny points and the title of Mr Zoroastrian 2007. The Prof Tehmurasp Trophy sponsored by Viraf Chiniwala for the Best Poser was won by Navroze Dapotawala of Surat. With a strong show of muscle power, Poona’s Kaizad Irani annexed the title of Best Lifter in the powerlifting event. Yozmaity Doctor of Bombay stood first from among five ladies in the powerlifting for women segment.

"The Miss Super Fit contest, the first of its kind in India, was a brainchild of fitness expert Mickey Mehta,” notes Viraf Panthaki, trustee of the NarYman Dubash Foundation, who is himself a champion weight lifter and coach. The 14 Super Fit ladies were slotted into three age groups, the youngest being 17 and the oldest 53. With fitness trainer Hormaz Hansotia conducting warm ups, the elimination round on May 6 saw the best two in each group selected for the finals on stage. "I was a bit apprehensive at first as the 40s is not the right age for such contests,” laughs Maharukh Chichgar who stood second in the 35+ group and who came from Surat to participate in the event. "It was also a bit embarrassing as I did not know anybody. But once we started doing the exercises, we gained in confidence and managed fine. We helped each other, we did not feel we were competing.”

Going through the rigor of exercises — push-ups, squats, mountain climbing, jumping jacks, navkaasan and the split — at the semis, more were thrown in for good measure at the finals — full push-ups, abdominal crunches and the double jump, with marks for timing, number of repetitions and form accuracy. "The lady who won the title was excellent,” enthuses Chichgar who says gyming is very popular in Surat. She herself ventured into the exercise regimen to get back to form after each of her deliveries. "I have a very busy schedule. I start my day early as I’m a visiting professor at S. N. D. T. College where I teach mercantile law. I used to teach at the Law College (in Surat) too but I have taken a drop this year as my son is only one-and-a-half, my daughter is 12. I also go to the Cambay Institute of Commerce where I teach accountancy, statistics and economics. Then there are household chores but I don’t get tired as I keep fit!”

"This contest was a very different experience. It’s always been guys, guys and body building! This was very encouraging for the females and I was surprised at the number of entries,” remarks national level judo player Benafsha Gazdar who is doing her BCom in H. R. College and who works freelance as a personal trainer as well. "Since I am into the profession, I thought let me enter and set an example,” says Gazdar who stood second in the 20-23 age group. "I’m not into gyming but I play football. The contest was good fun but very tiring!” adds Sanaya Bokdawala who topped the under-20 group, with Zeenia Wadia second. "The girls are always more dashing,” laughs Rustom Jasoomoney, president of the Sir Ness Wadia Club.

Jasoomoney commends Dubash for the sponsorship of the events. "This is the sixth year for the body building competition. We need to see some new faces. Mickey Mehta is very encouraging. He comes, gives technical guidance as well as finances for nutrition,” states Jasoomoney. "Of the 15 participants, five have trained under him (at Mehta’s 360°Gym, Health Beyond Fitness in Bombay) and four (Khambatta, Hoshang Poonawala, Sherzad Dastur and Ardeshir Khushroshahi) bagged a place in their respective categories,” notes Panthaki.

(L to R ) Building the body; 1st row: Winner Rushad Khambatta; Best Poser Navroze Dapotawala with municipal corporator Mangesh Ban­sode; 2nd row: ‘Powerful’ women Dinaz Dinaz, Hutoxi Doodhwala, Yozmaity Doctor, Katy Karkaria and Kainaz Motiwala; winner Karkaria with Mickey Mehta; 3rd row: Mehta, Viraf Panthaki, Kaizad Irani, Doodhwala, Rustom Jasoomoney and Percy Bahmani

Appreciating Mr Zoroastrian’s work ethic, Mehta says: "Khambatta’s dedication is ultimate – beyond imagination, I would say. Khushroshahi has a bad back, yet he has built a pretty good body through his dedication. He holds two jobs too which is creditable.” Mehta awarded a special prize of Rs 10,000 this year to 43-year-old Dapotawala who stood second in the 75+ kg weight group. Conversing with Parsiana in Gujarati on the phone from Surat, Dapotawala said: "I have been doing body building for over 20 years, with a break in between. I was Mr Gujarat seven times between 1989-1996, I have participated in the nationals five times. I hope to take part this year in the masters nationals.” Adds Mehta: "I am giving him guidance and nutrition support.” Among the group winners was Khushru Cooper (K11 Gym, Bombay).

Powering his way to victory in the 85+ kg class at the powerlifting competition was 55-year-old Percy Bahmani. An agriculturist in Dahanu, Bahmani says: " I really do enjoy this event. For so many years we have been practicing and this is our chance to show what we can do. There were youngsters in their 20s in my group, a couple of others were in their 50s.” Among the veterans (above 60 years), Fili Marawala topped the table, with Burzin Bhathena, Cooper, Neville Chithiwala and Irani winning in their respective weight categories. Among the five ladies at the contest, Doctor’s lighter body weight tipped the scale of victory in her favor over Karkaria.

The contests were conducted by the members of the Indian Body Building Federation and the Greater Bombay Power Lifting Federation, as per a write-up from the organizers. Buttressing interest with their special efforts were Jasoomoney, Hutoxi Doodhwala, Homiar Shroff, Shahen Mistry, Farzan Batliwala and Bahmani.

"The contests should be promoted more, with wider publicity. I feel there are many more people who would like to participate. Lack of funds may also be a constraint. We need more of a support system,” assesses Mehta. Asked whether her ‘support system’ (her family) is also into fitness, Karkaria laughs heartily: "I am the health freak. I turned vegetarian around 10 years ago. During our mountain treks we may have to walk between 15-25 km a day. I entered the contest to provide inspiration to youngsters.”