We heard you all like our threads, so we thought we'd tell you about an Indian Mr.Universe
This thread is about, legendary Indian body builder Manohar Aich who was born on 17th March 1912.
At, 4ft 10 his bravery and spirit made him tower over most others.
He was known as "Pocket Hercules" for his extraordinary physique.
Manohar began his career as a stunt man performing with none other than master magician, P C Sorcar in Dhanbad.
He would often thrill audiences by bending steel with his teeth or resting his belly on swords.
In 1942, he joined the Royal Air Force in British India as a physical instructor.
He was then introduced to body building by a British officer in the RAF
His run in the RAF was cut short by what most corporate types call a CLM - career limiting move.
He was imprisoned when he protested against colonial oppression by slapping a British Officer who may or may not have exclaimed - "How can he slap?!".
He said:'In jail I began weight training seriously. I used to practice on my own without equipment for 12 hours in a day.'
The prison authorities were majorly impressed with his perseverance.
He was given a special diet to build stamina and he was released when India achieved independence from the British in 1947.
In 1950, he took part in and won Mr.Hercules. This encouraged him to take part in Mr.Universe in London in 1951.
He came second, losing to another Indian, Monotosh Roy.
Fancy undies, this guy has.
Aich sir stayed on in London to prepare for the 1952 contest and like a sir, won Mr.Universe in 1952.
He also won a host of awards related to body building, allowing him to help uplift his family (wife + 4 kids) and give them a better life.
He once stood for elections in Calcutta in 1991, contesting on behalf of the BJP and came third.
He continued to inspire and entertain people even as he grew older. His last performance was at the age of 89.
For real, 89! Think about that for a bit.
He lived on until the ripe old age of 104, continuing to remain as gangsta as ever.
He credited his good health to a diet of milk, fruits and vegetables with rice, lentils and fish. He also said he didn't allow any tension to creep into his life.
Watch and learn, all of you!
For more, here's a short Youtube video on Manohar Aich -
A trip from Mysore to Bangalore is simply incomplete without indulging in the mouthwatering Maddur Vada in Maddur.
In 1938, the town of Shivapura in Maddur proudly hoisted the Indian national flag, leaving an indelible mark on India's freedom struggle!
A thread🧵
In 1938, The Indian National Congress held its session in Haripura village in Surat, Gujarat.
The session was presided by Netaji Subash Chandra Bose. At a time when hoisting the national flag was banned by the British, the Indian flag was hoisted at the Haripura session!
The Haripura Congress session where the tricolor was hoisted, inspired the Mysore leaders to hold a similar event!
But, the administration in Mysore got a whiff of these plans & banned public gathering. This did not stop leaders like Siddalingaiah & others
Arun Shourie once called the BJP government policies Congress plus Cow. During the first ever election in 1952, Congress had a pair of bullocks as its election symbol.
It is because of this lady from Tamil Nadu that the Congress Party has the hand as a symbol. 🧵
The very first elections took place in 1952. Given that the large portion of the population were illiterate, Sukumar Sen, India's first chief election commissioner decided on symbols to identify each party.
The congress party chose a pair of bullocks as its symbol.
Even during Nehru's time, there was a lot of dissatisfaction with the "Kamraj Plan". It required Congress Leaders to give up government posts, in order to strengthen the party.
K Kamraj realized that the party was losing its vigor and resigned from his post as CM of Madras to focus on rebuilding the party.
Jamnagar these days is famous for being the epicenter of Reliance industries and for welcoming the who's who of the world for a pre-wedding.
But in 1942, it played a significant role in saving over 1000 Polish children from certain death in WW2.
A thread 🧵
In 1939, Nazi Germany attacked Poland which started World War 2. Some Poles tried to escape the wrath of the Germans by moving into Soviet territory.
The Soviet authorities forced hundreds of thousands of Poles to migrate deeper into Soviet territory, including Siberia.
The invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany in 1941 prompted the USSR to declare an amnesty, resulting in the liberation of these Polish exiles. They were asked to find refuge themselves.
They embarked on arduous journeys to various destinations.
"Except for cricketers, poets, and singers, others found it relatively hard to come to India."
This was director John Mathew Matthan's rationale for portraying a ghazal singer as the villain!
25 years ago, crime drama changed forever with the release of Sarfarosh!
A Thread 🧵
John Matthew Matthan was an ad-film director, and "Sarfarosh" was his debut. But, he was an assistant to Govind Nihalani in Nihalani's first film "Aakrosh" and in "Gandhi," where Nihalani was the cinematographer!
He met Naseeruddin Shah on the sets of Aakrosh!
Aamir Khan's rationale to work with a debutant was as follows:
"When I read the script, I realized the social implications of what the film was trying to say (...) I reacted emotionally to it because of what I had been going through as an Indian, it talked of Hindus & Muslims living together."