Chuck Norris was America's Rajinikanth

Chuck Norris, legendary martial artist and pop culture icon, passed away at 86, leaving behind a larger-than-life legacy shaped as much by his films as by the global phenomenon of "Chuck Norris facts."

For us in India, where Rajinikanth jokes rule the roost – the man who killed the Dead Sea, who pushes the Earth down during push-ups, and who can divide by zero without a calculator – there existed a similar titan from the West. Chuck Norris -- a bearded warrior whose very name inspired awe and laughter in equal measure. Norris died on Friday. He was 86.

While Rajinikanth makes the sun rise only after he says good morning, Chuck Norris makes time itself wait politely in line. And just like our Thalaivar, Chuck Norris did not just live a life of action and valour; he became the central character in an entire genre of jokes that he himself inspired. These jokes did not make him famous. No. Chuck Norris roundhouse-kicked fame into existence.

Born Carlos Ray Norris on 10 March 1940 in a small town in Oklahoma, young Chuck did not enter the world like ordinary mortals. Rather than being birthed in the usual way, he decided it was time to punch his way out of his mother's womb. The doctors stood in stunned silence as the newborn delivered himself with a powerful kick that sent the delivery room spinning. From that moment, the legend began. Chuck Norris does not age like others. Age waits for Chuck Norris to give it permission – and even then, it hesitates.

As a young man, Chuck joined the United States Air Force. While others trained in martial arts, Chuck Norris trained the martial arts. He stared down karate, taekwondo, and tang soo do until they bowed in submission and begged to be mastered by him.

In Korea, he did not learn the ancient fighting techniques. The techniques learnt him. Soon, he was winning championship after championship, not because he fought well, but because his opponents realised fighting Chuck Norris was as futile as trying to argue with a roundhouse kick. Chuck Norris once arm-wrestled Superman. The loser had to wear his underwear on the outside forever. History records who won, but the universe still feels the aftershocks.

When Hollywood came calling, Chuck Norris did not audition for films. The films auditioned for him. He appeared alongside Bruce Lee, but it was Lee who learnt the true meaning of power from Norris’s gaze. Movies like 'Good Guys Wear Black' and 'Missing in Action' were not action films. They were documentaries of what happens when Chuck Norris decides the bad guys have had enough fun.