Bali Mauladad

Muhammad Iqbal Mauladad (1926–1970), nicknamed Bali, was a big game hunter in Kenya.

Not to be confused with Muhammad Iqbal.
Bali Mauladad
Born
Muhammad Iqbal Mauladad

(1926-08-30)30 August 1926
Nairobi, Kenya
Died18 February 1970(1970-02-18) (aged 43)[1]
Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya
OccupationProfessional game hunter
Spouse(s)Riaz Mauladad
Children5
Bali won the Shaw & Hunter trophy in 1966 for guiding a hunter to an Oribi gazelle whose horns were 7 inches long – a new world record.[2]
A late-model Humber Super Snipe similar to that used for the Safari Rally
He died after being gored by a buffalo.

He was born into a rich and influential family of Kenyan Asians but, rather than joining the family engineering business, he became a professional hunter, leading parties on safari to hunt large animals, especially elephant. He was the first Muslim to be recognised as a white hunter and won the Shaw & Hunter trophy for best professional guide in 1966. He also competed in the Safari Rally, placing fourth in 1961. He died in 1970, following severe goring by a Cape buffalo.

Early life

He came from a rich family as his father, Chaudry Mauladad, was a successful civil engineer in East Africa.[3] He attended the Government Indian School in Nairobi and his father then taught him construction and contracting.[4] But, from the age of ten, he had learned to shoot a rifle and so, rather than join the family business like his brother Basheer, he chose to be a professional hunter in Kenya where he was born and spent his life.[3][4][5]

Career

He joined the well-established business, Safariland, after World War Two and was successful as a big game hunter, leading rich clients on safari and killing many game animals, especially elephant.[3][6]:179 The hunters he guided included the King and Queen of Nepal and the Governor of Colorado, Teller Ammons.[7] British shooting-brakes were converted into safari cars for these shooting parties and he designed a lightweight rifle rack for these which was made in Naroibi for him and most of the other hunters by the gunsmiths Wali Mohamed & Co.[6]:175

Though he was from a Kenyan Asian background, he was admitted to the East African Professional Hunter's Association which was normally only open to white hunters.[3][8] He was the first Muslim to be recognised in this way.[2] His closest colleague in the hunting business was another Asian, Ikram Hassan, whose business was African Hunting Safaris, and they hunted elephant together in the coastal regions of Kenya.[6]

He was a large, powerful man, weighing 250 pounds and standing over six feet in his prime.[5] He had a distinctive moustache and a warm, extrovert manner which made him popular with clients and the other hunters.[9] He liked joking and jazz, racehorses and rifles, fast cars and food, women and whisky – his favourite was Johnny Walker Black Label.[6]:235 Besides hunting, he was also an enthusiastic cricket player and rally driver.[3] He took part in the Safari Rally four times.[3] In 1961, he and Californian doctor, Lee Talbot, placed fourth, driving a Humber Super Snipe over 3,000 miles.[10][11] He also took part in the 1956 production of the movie Bhowani Junction on location in Lahore.[12]

He was awarded the prestigious Shaw & Hunter prize for leading a client, Donald Harris, to the finest trophy of the year on October 4, 1966.[2][13][14] This was an Oribi antelope whose horns measured 7 inches, beating the previous world record of 6¼ inches.[2][13] The small size of the antelope was incongruous because Bali was himself known for his prowess in hunting elephants with enormous ivory tusks of up to 152 pounds.[2][13]

Hunting was dangerous as he was once mauled by a leopard[3] and finally gored by a buffalo in Kibwezi.[6]:235 The buffalo inflicted injuries which ruptured his liver and, despite treatment and recuperation, complications subsequently led to his death in 1970.[1]

See also
  • List of famous big game hunters

References
  1. "In the High Court of Kenya at Nairobi: Probate and Administration", Kenya Gazette, 75 (6): 107, 2 Feb 1973, ...grant of probate of the will of ... Mohamed Iqbal s/o Mauladad of Nairobi aforesaid, who died at Nairobi on the 18th day of February, 1970
  2. "The winner of the Shaw and Hunter Trophy", Nevada State Journal, May 16, 1967
  3. "Iqbal Mauladad (Bali) (1926-1970)", Africa Hunting, 20 July 2010
  4. "Mohamed Iqbal Mauladad", Hunting and Safari (10): 70, 2012
  5. Jan Hemsing (1994), Encounters With Lions, p. 118, ISBN 978-1882458059, Mohamed Iqbal Mauladad, 'Bali' as he was always called, was a huge man. Born in the mid-1920s he stood six foot one (two meters) in his socks, weighed 250 lbs (113 kilos) and sported a magnificent moustache.
  6. Herne, Brian (2001), White Hunters: The Golden Age of African Safaris, Henry Holt & Co, pp. 174–75, 179, 234–35, ISBN 978-0805067361
  7. "Bali Mauladad, with the King and Queen of Nepal on their East African Safari". African Life. 1958. Archived from the original on 2015-02-08. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  8. "White Hunters' Business Booms", Mansfield News Journal, p. 4, 6 February 1966
  9. Omar Kureshi (2003), Home to Pakistan, p. 198, ISBN 978-9690018236
  10. "East African Safari 1961". Youtube. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  11. Marshall Smith (25 May 1962), "The Wildest Auto Ride on Earth", Life, pp. 78–82B
  12. Syed Abid Ali (August 31, 2003), "The Way It Was - Frolicking fifties", Daily Times (II)
  13. "1966 Shaw and Hunter Trophy". East African Professional Hunters Association, Records. October 4, 1966. p. 27.
  14. "Shaw & Hunter Trophy". Africa Hunting. Retrieved Mar 18, 2011.
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