The 48th death anniversary of late Iranian celebrated wrestler, Gholamreza Takhti, was held in Tehran urban spaces on January 7.
Not a usual form of veneration, an Iranian street artist, nicknamed Shoatir, created portraits of Takhti on Tehran walls all along Valiasr Avenue which runs from Tajrish Square in north Tehran to Rah-Ahan (railway station) Square in the south, ISNA reported.
The artist earlier presented his stencil works of art portraying celebrated contemporary poet, Nima Youshij, and late author Samad Behrangi.
Stenciling produces an image or pattern by applying pigment to a surface over an intermediate object with designed gaps in it, which create the pattern or image by only allowing the pigment to reach some parts of the surface. The stencil is both the resulting image or pattern and the intermediate object.
Takhti has often been the subject of various art events, including ‘The World Champion’ art exhibition (Jan 2, 2015) held at Tehran Shirin Gallery.
Takhti (1930–1968) was an Olympic gold-medalist wrestler and Varzesh-Bastani (traditional sport) practitioner. Popularly known as Jahan Pahlevan (world champion) because of his chivalrous behavior and sportsmanship, he was Iran’s most popular athlete in the 20th century, although dozens of Iranian athletes have won more international awards and medals than he did. Takhti is still a hero to many Iranians. He is listed in the FILA wrestling hall of fame.
He was found dead in his hotel room on January 7, 1968. The Iranian government officially proclaimed his death a suicide. However, some claim that he was murdered because of his political activities.
