10 Crazy Crusaders Of India

ANNA HAZARE

He was a driver in the Indian Army who was once the only survivor in an India-Pakistan battle involving his unit. He then retired from the Army and focused on alcoholism and smoking near his Maharashtra village. He punished alcoholics who wouldn’t change and burnt cigarettes and bidis on Holi. Currently, he is leading an anti-corruption crusade during which he forced the Indian government to give lawmaking powers on an anti-graft law to activists.

POTTI SREERAMULU

A lecturer, Sreeramulu walked barefoot in the (then) Madras Presidency with placards round his neck seeking a separate state for Telugus. At times he had slippers round his neck as well. In October 1952, he began a fast unto death. He died on the 82nd day, and there was an immediate violent public outcry. Jawaharlal Nehru quickly announced the creation of Andhra Pradesh, the first state created on language grounds. It changed the map of India.

BABA AMTE

Murlidhar Devidas Amte, called Baba Amte, was a lawyer who was gripped by the notion that leprosy was just another disease, and deserved no stigma. He set up an ashram for leprosy patients and once allowed bacilli from a leprosy patient to be injected into his body to prove that the disease was not contagious. He had only doctors in his family, both sons and daughters-in-law are in medicine.

IROM SHARMILA

Irom Sharmila, the Iron woman of Manipur, has been on fast since 2000. Her protest began after securitymen fired at, and killed, 10 people that year. Since then, she has been seeking the repeal of a law that offers armed forces immunity from prosecution. Because attempting suicide is a crime in India that attracts punishment for a year, she gets released and arrested every year.

BANT SINGH

In 2006, Bant Singh, a Dalit farmer, was smashed to pulp by thugs employed by a couple of landlords in Punjab. He was hacked and thrashed and left for dead. But, he lived. He was set upon because he fought a legal battle to punish the people who raped his daughter. Today, he still campaigns for Dalit rights though he has rumps for arms and hobbles on one leg.

ARUNDHATI ROY

A writer and once screenwriter, Arundhati Roy spent a day in Tihar Jail in 2002 after the Supreme Court sentenced her for scandalising the court’s authority with malafide intentions. Roy had questioned the court’s motives in ignoring serious cases and taking up minor cases by comparison, and stifling dissent. Since then, Roy has advocated that Kashmir be freed and routinely takes on the Indian State on sundry issues.

PERIYAR EV RAMASWAMY

Periyar was a Tamil Nadu businessman who hated Brahmins. He loved making derogatory references to Lord Rama and other characters in the Ramayana. He started a self-respect movement, garlanded statues of Ram with slippers and encouraged his supporters to throw slippers at statues inside and outside temples. Politically, Periyar was the father of the Dravidian movement, which has resulted in the DMK and the AIADMK.

RAJ NARAIN

Raj Narain, a politician from Uttar Pradesh, routinely got thrown out of Parliament because he was too unruly. He was a joker of sorts, always in a lime green bandana and using anecdotes to make serious points. In his lifetime, Narain went to jail about 80 times. He lost to Indira Gandhi in 1971, won a case that she used unfair means to win, and then defeated Indira in 1977. It was the first time an Indian Prime Minister was defeated.

KANSHI RAM

Kanshi Ram once beat up waiting television journalists at his house in New Delhi because he thought they were affecting his conversations inside with another party leader. But before he lost control, he was a tenacious Dalit politician who formed the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). He chose Mayawati to succeed him and she took him in with her when he was ill. Ram’s family was thrown out when they had come visiting.

GADDAR

The original Maoist bard in India, Gummadi Vittal Rao, known as Gaddar, spent a large portion of his life underground. When he did come overground, he sang songs in an earthy, strong voice with words that shook people. He sang of murder and loot by the State and was shot at once for this. Later, he parted with the Maoist leadership and led a solitary life for a while. He is currently a pro-Telangana campaigner, still bare-chested and outraged.

Text: Avesta Choudhary

Source: Tehelka

Nepali Slaves In The Middle East

Pete Pattison investigates the trafficking of people escaping poverty and conflict in Nepal.

Unscrupulous agents take huge sums of money from them for work abroad then consign them to slavery and appalling conditions in the Middle East.

Many are abused by their employers and some are killed at the hands of agents.

Are These The Worst Music Film Clips Ever?

Music videos were bad before Rebecca Black - look at Kylie, Kate Bush and Cody Simpson

By Robert Burton-Bradley

Kate Bush in Sat In Your Lap, 1981. Misunderstood genius or just weird?

Rebecca Black's song Friday has racked up more than 88 million hits on YouTube, despite critics panning it as one of the worst songs of all time.

REBECCA Black's global humiliation with her debut song Friday is a reminder that, thanks to the internet and sites like YouTube, embarrassing musical follies don't easily go away.

With a few notable exceptions before MTV, music clips were basically four people from a band standing on a stage looking at a camera - often with bored and confused expressions and limp hand actions.
Then in the '80s a new awareness of the power of the visual medium swept the music industry leading to increasingly elaborate videos - think Michael Jackson's Thriller or Madonna's Express Yourself.

Today stars like Lady Gaga and Rihanna are known for their clips as much as their music.
To celebrate three decades of video hits and misses, News.com.au has compiled some of our favourite "so bad they're good (or perhaps just bad)" clips. We challenge you to find worse and tell us below with a comment.

Kate Bush: Sat in Your Lap, 1981 - From the "she's gone mad album" The Dreaming

There’s "out there" and then there’s this. Kate Bush is undoubtedly a talented and intriguing artist, yet that does not excuse this video. How she got funding to shoot herself dancing with minotaurs and what look like members of the Ku Klux Clan (they are supposed to be dunces) is just another one of the many mysteries surrounding this woman. Despite her bizarre interpretative dancing and the fact most of the cast are on roller skates this somehow managed to peak at no. 11 on the UK Singles Chart.

Jan Terri: Losing You, 1993 - Limo driver dreams of the big time
A graduate of Columbia – Columbia College Chicago that is, Jan Terri released two albums in the early '90s with accompanying music videos filmed on VHS - giving them a low-rent karaoke quality.
Desperate to make it as a singer Terri worked by day as a limo driver and handed out video tapes of her songs to clients. Sadly no amount of VHS and hard work could disguise the fact that Terri had neither the looks nor the talent to pursue a career in music. Eventually Marilyn Manson got hold of one of these tapes and ended up taking pity on Terri, reportedly asking her to sing at one of his birthday parties.

If you enjoyed this you may also enjoy her epic fantasy masterpiece: Get Down Goblin

Soap stars: Kylie Minogue: Locomotion, 1988 - Because being on TV means you can sing, right?

Almost any musical effort by an ex-member of Neighbours, E Street or Home and Away is going to be bad.  Think Kylie Locomotion, Melissa Tkautz singing "If you want to wait till later take your hands off my detonator", Stefan Dennis clinging to a wire cage wearing leather or Craig McLachlan singing “Hey Mona” from the back of a ute.
It may have paid off for Natalie, Delta and yes, even Kylie eventually, but for each of those there is a Danni Minogue or Jason Donovan left in their wake and the results are not pretty. Remember Holly Valance or Bec Hewitt nee Cartwright’s forays into music?

Cody Simpon Feat, Flo Rida: IYiYi, 2010 - Making it in the US market Say hello to Australia’s answer to Justin Bieber - 14-year-old Cody Simpson. It seems all an aspiring singer needs to do these days is have an African American rapper mumble a few lines into the background, and hey, you have a hit.  iYiYi does nothing to upset the growing trend embraced by artists like Jess Mauboy of trying to convince US audiences they are looking at one of their own.
His next single is reportedly a cover of I Want Candy.
Stevie Nicks: I can't Wait, 1985 - It probably seemed like a good idea at the time
In the '70s Stevie Nicks, the most popular member of super band Fleetwood Mac, reigned supreme as the queen of semi-mystical rock - adored by legions of young women who dug her vaguely medieval outfits and wicked witchery.
Then came the eighties and her now infamous battle with drug addiction. The result is the lost years of Stevie’s career - the mid eighties. In a decade famous for its flatulent excesses this clip shows just how badly things can go wrong. The hair, the boots and the out of time back up dancers. The stairway to nowhere and the fans, curtains and spotlights paint the rest of the picture. What doesn't this clip have apart from production values?

As Rick James told Dave Chappelle: "Cocaine’s a hell of a drug"

Falco: Rock Me Amadeus, 1986 - Cracking the English language market with Mozart
1980s America - meet Falco.  Falco was an Austrian pop star, wildly successful in Europe with a string of German language Euro trash hits.
However Falco was desperate to crack the US charts. Realising a grasp of English was needed for this, Falco hit on the idea of creating a song in English and German based entirely around the 1984 Mozart biographical film Amadeus.
Logic dictates this was bound for failure, but it was the '80s and so this went to number 1 in the US and the UK along with several other countries.
Some interesting trivia: This song was the basis for The Simpsons' song Dr Zaius from the episode featuring Planet of the Apes the Musical.
Kim Wilde: Kids in America, 1981 - When female mullets were sexy
Before she was a presenter on a UK garden show, Kim Wilde sang for her dinner, scoring several chart hits around the globe. With her non-threatening '80s looks and nasal wail of a voice she was never going to make it to the '90s.
Interestingly, it took a cropped, bleached blonde from the UK to sum up the feelings of America’s disaffected youth. Getting frightened by torch-wielding guys behind aluminium blinds in this clip remains her best known moment in the flood lights.

Collette: Ring My Bell, 1989 - Leather and lycra

Originally from New Zealand, Collette was a model who after moving to Australia decided being nubile was enough to become a pop star. The result is this video. An excruciating mixture of lycra, bike shorts and too thin vocals no studio could beef up. She later ditched this for a more dramatic look, cutting her hair short and dyeing it black but the hits failed to materialise. She was last seen working as a volunteer at Taronga Zoo in Sydney.

Sabrina: Boys (Summertime Love) 1987 - It's just about the music - we swear

Another model who decided she could carve out a place in the charts is Sabrina. Hailing from Italy; Sabrina became an instant male fantasy when she sang Boys, Boys Boys looking for a good time. The video is largely clips of Sabrina frolicking in a pool with a beach ball while trying not to lose a skimpy see-through bikini.

Armi Ja Danny: Love You Tender, 1978 - What did ABBA do that we didn't?

Say hello to Finland’s favourite national icons from the late '70s - Armi and Danny.
It was a match made in Nordic pop heaven – she was a beauty queen and he looked like someone from an ABBA cover band.
They were big in Scandinavia during the late '70s, but sadly this was not to last. Armi spent the late '80s and '90s singing on cruise ships in the Baltic Sea before dying an early death at the age of 44 from alcoholism in 2002. Danny fared better, scoring the odd hit here and there and is now considered a popular figure on the Finnish music scene.

Venga Boys, Shalala Lala, 2000 - Confused sexuality in the Swiss Alps
It was the late '90s and all things Euro pop were wildly popular in Australia and much of the world. Think Steps, S Club 7 and the Spice Girls. If there was one group that summed up the dance end of the Euro music spectrum it was the Venga Boys. They climbed the charts with a none to tasteful remake of '80s song Boom Boom Boom and were known for other sugar pop dance numbers such as We’re Going to Ibizia, weren’t we all.
Yet when it comes to their film clips Shalala Lala stands alone. Set in what appears to be a Swiss chalet nightclub with a Bavaria meets the Midwest dress code this appears to be the group's take on the battle of the sexes.
Apparently they last year released a song which Perez Hilton co-wrote. It didn’t get released outside their native home the Netherlands.

You've Been Googled

What employers don't want to see in your online profile

Before an interview, you've done your research on a company. But it's also important to research what they might have found out about you online too.

By Cary Cooper

Googling yourself - and cleaning up your online image - is an important part of interview preparation.

What are recruiters looking for when they conduct online searches on individuals before deciding whether to offer them interviews? Evidence of involvement in business networks and community projects? Examples of success at work, college or on the sports field? Or are they simply trying to tool themselves with a few choice examples from dodgy websites that will do nothing but cause discomfort for an already nervous candidate?

So, what will employers want to find, and what will put them off? Luci Baldwin, IPC Media resourcing and recruitment manager, says anything constructive and positive will work in a candidate's favour. "Evidence of involvement in community activities, a presence on a business network such as LinkedIn, and anything to demonstrate good communication skills are key attributes we look for," she said.

"Written material should be positive and error-free. So much the better if there is evidence of teamwork, or an account of some really special project a candidate has been involved with. Anything constructive and memorable can go a long way to supporting an individual application."

And what about the bad stuff? Shuvo Loha, director of headhunting specialists Janikin Rooke, starts simply. "It would worry me to find negative remarks about a person or from them," he says.

"So much of what we do is documented somewhere online nowadays people have to be very careful. What seemed like a funny photo from university could end up costing you a job or an interview without you even knowing. Evidence of a negative or bad attitude, revealed through too much complaining or ranting, would put me off, as would anything that suggests a candidate is intolerant or extreme in opinion. Bad mouthing other people, especially employers, is out, as is anything that exaggerates or is too self-promotional."

Luci and Shuvo offer sound advice. After all, the truth is that good interviewers, like good candidates, take time to do some research on the person or people they are planning to meet. Research by ExecuNet showed that 77% of recruiters said they used search engines to find background data on candidates. Additionally, 35% admitted they eliminated a candidate because of what they found online.

The same survey quizzed job candidates, too. It found that 82% expected recruiters to check out their names on a search engine, yet only 33% bothered to search for information on themselves, to see what their prospective employer might find out.

In conclusion, it pays to be a little circumspect about what you contribute to the web, and where your contribution is placed. And since it's tricky to take back any words you might later regret, then do expect questions in an interview, and think hard about how you will explain yourself. That in its own right will earn you valuable points.

Whatever you do, don't get into the position one candidate found himself in. He was at an interview, facing a panel of senior executives. The CEO began the interview by stating, deadpan: "Yes, you ARE stunningly gorgeous." Completely wrong-footed by this bizarre opening to the interview, the candidate failed to recover his composure and the encounter went from bad to worse. Eventually, the penny dropped that the CEO had done a search on the candidate and found the bold assertion on his Facebook page that he was 'stunningly gorgeous'. The candidate's failure to do a mental mop-up of his own cyberspace contributed to his failure on this particular occasion.

Cary Cooper is Professor of Organisational Psychology and Health at Lancaster University Management School. He also heads Interview Guru, a new video-based web resource for interview skills development.

source: guardian.co.uk,

AIFF Seeks Shift in Focus From State To City in Vision Asia

New Delhi, Apr 12 : With its state units failing to ring in changes in their statues for years, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) has decided to start afresh the Vision Asia-India Programme with a change in strategy, where the focus will be on the cities instead of states.

Vision Asia Programme, under the aegis of the AFC, was launched in 2004 in India and China. Manipur and Delhi were the first two Indian states where the programme was launched.

While the programme in Manipur is going strong with even the AFC praising the success in the small northeastern state, the project in Delhi was scrapped last year after six years of inaction by the state association.

Two more projects in Goa and West Bengal have become inactive as they failed to meet the AFC criteria for the programme. Another project in Kerala has yet to take the next step after adopting the recommended statutes.

AIFF general secretary Kushal Das said that Vision India now need a revival by change in focus from state-centric to district or city-centric, a strategy which has seen success in China.

"Vision India programme could not be started in the states except for Manipur, as they failed to change their constitution which was a must for the AFC to give a go-ahead," Das said.

"One reason or the other the states where Vision India were to start they even fail to change their statute. Vision India programmes in Delhi and Tamil Nadu were scrapped because of that. West Bengal and Goa have also remained stuck," he said.

He, however, said that the shift in strategy will be possible only if the AFC clears it.

"We have decided for a change in strategy so as to revive Vision India. Now, instead of state-focused programme, we are looking at a programme which focuses on a district or a city. That way we can have smaller units to implement the Vision Asia Programme," said Das.

"We have submitted a plan to the AFC with the shift in strategy. We want changes in the programme though I can't tell what are they now as it will all depend on AFC to agree to our proposal or not," he said.

The proposal, prepared by the AIFF, would emphasise on area-specific strategy rather than a uniform format for India as the country has diverse cultures and hence different requirements for grassroot development. The AIFF felt that way it would give sustainability to the programme.

AFC Vision Asia director, Michelle Chai, said has already described the AIFF's decision to review the status of the Vision India projects and propose change to the strategy as positive moves.

"Focusing on the cities is not new. In China where the demographics and geography is similar to India, we have worked at city level, bypassing the provinces as each province is quite large in area and huge in terms of population. We have shown in China, focusing on the cities, though they are not direct members of the national association, can also work," she said.

Chai, who is also the AFC assistant secretary, feels that the AFC and the relevant national and project associations need to look at ways to revive their dormant projects.

"This can be done either by revamping the entire strategic development plan or in some cases, by looking at other creative ways to overcome a particular challenge."

After Anna, Netizens Support Irom Sharmila

They went all out to support Anna Hazare's fast against corruption, and now netizens are rooting for Manipur's 'Iron Lady' Irom Chanu Sharmila, who has been on hunger strike for 10 years to demand repealing of AFSPA, a controversial law that gives sweeping powers to the armed forces.

"After Anna Hazare's effort, I am supporting Irom Chanu Sharmila. Are you?" writes Bhautik Sheth on Facebook.

"If the demand for Anna can be met in a few hours of fast, why her demand can't be met when she is on a fast for 10 years?" writes Reshma.

Sharmila is on a fast since Nov 4, 2000, demanding repealing of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act from Manipur and other states of the country's northeast.

Her story, more than a decade old, started with the infamous Malom massacre of November 2000 when 10 people, including a 1988 National Child Bravery Award winner, were gunned down by security forces in Malom town of Imphal valley.

The paramilitary forces claimed the civilians died in cross-firing.

"The lack of government response convinced Irom Sharmila Chanu, then 28, to act. On the evening of Nov 4, after taking blessings from her mother, she launched her hunger strike against the wider problems of AFSPA. In due course she extended the scope of her demand to all regions of India's northeast where AFSPA has been imposed," says the Facebook page on Sharmila.

AFSPA confers special powers upon the armed forces in "disturbed areas", including most of the northeast and Jammu and Kashmir. Enacted 52 years ago, it gives sweeping powers to the security forces to curb terrorism - and many like Sharmila say it has been widely misused.

"She has not met her mother once these 10 years: her pact with her unlettered mother is that they will see each other only after she achieves her political goal. Her body organs have begun to degenerate irreversibly; her menstrual periods have halted. The tube through which she is forcefully fed is continuously painful," reads a cause dedicated to demanding a Nobel prize for the woman, who is popularly called the 'Iron Lady of Manipur'.

The page has so far been supported by over 8,400 people.

Sharmila is fed forcefully, three times a day, through a nasal tube, which has become a part of her identity being featured in all her pictures.

"Anna's fast got its hearing, why not Irom," writes Asha Singh, a Madhya Pradesh based journalist on her Facebook page.

"The younger generation of Manipur is indeed inspired by this Iron woman deeply. We all stand by Sharmila and for the cause. It's all about a balanced democracy and governance all over the country. Certain section of Indian society, specially NE (northeast) and particularly Manipur, should be treated differently or step-motherly. We want equality in all aspects..!," writes Robindro, who hails from Imphal.

Micro-blogging site Twitter too has comments comparing Sharmila's fast to that of Gandhian Anna Hazare, reminding people about her and asking why her fast has not been heard.

"Irom Sharmila will be on hunger strike while the establishment continues to ignore her... worth sparing a thought," writes Avinash Iyer on Twitter.

Anna Hazare, who is from Maharashtra, was on a fast unto death last week to demand a strong anti-graft Lokpal Bill with the involvement of civil society. But 97 hours later, he broke his hunger strike as the government gave into his demands.

Source: IANS

Six Sins Of Indian Motoring

Six sins of Indian motoring including the ‘battling sperm syndrome’

The biggest mistakes that the average Indian motorist make happen even before they set out on the road driving. They get improper training to drive or ride to begin with and are usually stuck with wrong ways that will lead them to trouble at some point of time or the other.

Then they end up buying vehicles that are not safe or are use vehicles such a way that even a relatively safe vehicle becomes lethal. So next time you are shopping for cars buy one with anti-lcok braking system and air-bags than splurging on lakhs on a music system. In this entry we shall concentrate on the six most common mistakes that the average Indian motoring make after they acquire and set forth on wheels - two or four.

Riding without helmets

This got to be the most stupid act of them all. Thanks to an archaic Motor Vehicles Act that is interpreted differently from state to state and city to city the use of helmets varies. It is no rocket science that helmets help save the skull and its innards when you fall from a motorized two-wheeler at any given speed.

And anyone with a modicum of sense will ensure that his or her pillion also wears a helmet - whether needed by law or not. When I was studying law there was a chap who never had a motorcycle to himself but had two of the latest helmets - one of which he duly used every time he sat pillion with any one of us. Now, that is superior thinking which I don't expect from every one - but buying a half decent helmet for your spouse should not take effort, does it?

A good helmet with a proper visor will provide head and eye protection and increases the chance of you surviving an accident by a colossal 50 per cent or more. So please!

Sitting side ways and transporting children on two-wheelers

Sure, I have combined two sins here - both equally horrible. Sitting sideways on the back seat of a two-wheeler constitutes to stunt riding in most other countries. If the excuse is the sari, it is time we knew that one should not be wearing the traditional grab in slippery chiffon while riding pillion. And the MV act has unfortunately gone ahead and leaglised sitting sideways by demanding a sari-guard for all motorcycles sold in India. So much for safety.

As far as transporting children on two-wheelers - well, avoid as much as you can. Never let babies stand on the space between the rider and the pillion as it raises the centre of gravity of the two-wheeler and making it imbalanced. If you have to transport children on two-wheels, ensure that they wear a helmet that suits - you can find helmets for children if you look for it.

Never, ever let the child sit on the rear seat facing backwards - the child will not be prepared to take evasive action in the unfortunate case of an accident, hence.

Allow children to sit in the rear seat of the two-wheeler only when he or she can properly reach the rear foot pegs.

Not using rear view mirrors

This applies to both car and two-wheeler drivers/riders. While most two-wheeler users neglect the mirrors that come with the bikes from the factory, a good per centage are keen on saving them by folding them inwards!! Rear view mirrors are essential tools in safe riding and a glance on one of them before making critical handlebar inputs can make the difference between life and death.

Ditto, the outside rearview mirrors of cars. Again, legislation does not stipulate mirrors on either side of the car and the basic models of cars do not come with them. But these pieces of glass are so useful that once you learn to use the rear view mirrors then you will not be able to drive without them! Folding back life saving accessories rearview mirrors to protect them against possible damage is the limit of silliness and we Indians excel at this.

Not wearing seat belt

'I don't drive fast', 'I am only going to the town', 'I feel knotted down and suffocated' are all excuses made by those who are not inclined towards wearing seat belts. Statistics prove that modern cars with the primary restraints (seat belts) can reduce serious injury and death by over 50 per cent. If that cannot force people from wearing the belt, what should?

Seat belts ensure that you don't continue to travel at the speed of the vehicle before and impact and there by save you from severe injury that can cause even death. And it is important that passengers also wear seat belts since they can cause harm to those who are belted when the vehicle comes to a sudden halt due to an impact or when a vehicle get into a roll. In short wearing seat belts while driving should become a nation-wide habit.

Children in the back seat

We often spot families with husband driving and wife cradling a baby in the front passenger seat. The result could be serious injuries to the child in the event of an accident - caused by the weight of the mother crushing the child!!

So it is advisable to send your spouse to the rear seat with the child next time you are driving out. Better still, the child should be fastened to a proper child seat - not legal in India but strictly followed elsewhere in the world.

If you have children in your car, the rear seat is where they are the safest - and ensure that they are belted (the seat belts are also used to fasten the child seats). And yes, never forget to use the child lock facility (which most cars feature) on the doors.

We Indians are always in a hurry

I call it the battling sperm syndrome. Tailgating, changing lanes without proper signaling, overtaking from the left and some how trying to get ahead of the car or bike ahead are some of the common driving errors that we make.

A whole lot of accidents and fatal injuries can be avoided if the driver is patient behind the wheel. You don't have to follow the car ahead of you with just inches separating them - you can avoid a rear-ending collision (very common on Indian roads) and worse still a pile-up that can cause extensive damage.

Lately I have noticed that we do this at much higher speeds on expressways and toll-highways (i.e.; following fast moving vehicles without adequate space to brake or avoid an impact).

To sum up, let me emphasise that we not the only bad drivers in the world.

Mexicans are even more rash and fast, Argentines think they are all rally drivers and there are countries in Africa where people drive on both sides of the road (ok, I made the last one up).

But we are very good at eliminating a good portion our population on our roads - spread the word!

Source: India Syndicate

Did Yuri Gagarin Meet God in Outer Space?

It was 50 years ago on this day that Yuri Gagarin of the then Soviet Union became the first man to conquer space, setting off a great and bitter race with the US in space flights. The flight was historic as Yuri, a 27-year-old Air Force pilot became the first man to break free from the shackles of earth’s gravity.

Fidel Castro (R) hands out a trophy to Soviet Union's cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin (C) as Ernesto "Che" Guevara stands near in Havana in this file photo from May 26, 1961. Picture taken May 26, 1961 REUTERS

Though much of Yuri's 108 minute journey in outer space is well documented, some interesting snippets have emerged 50 years after a secret Soviet Russia recently made public few key papers.

It should be flagged here that Yuri became a space hero and super hero overnight, but some uncomfortable facts behind the flight were hidden from the world by the bosses in Soviet Union.

Here are some interesting snippets:

Just before his flight, Yuri had lied to his wife Valya. Before boarding the Vostok 1 flight April 12, 1961, for the journey that would propel him into history, Yuri, then 27 years old, did not tell his wife about the real date of the flight. "She knew what he wanted to do, and when he was leaving for Baikonur he told her what he was doing," Yuria, Yuri's daughter, said recently.

"But he didn't tell her the actual date. He told her the flight would take place a few days after the real date, so she wouldn't be worried."

A `secret' death letter

Yuri was not very sure and confident about his space mission. Just before leaving for Baikonur, he wrote a letter to his wife saying he may not return because the flight was extremely dangerous, and that he wanted her not to remain on her own in that case. However, he did not give the letter to Valya, hoping that she would find it in case he did not return.

The stuffed remains of Soviet space dog Strelka is on display during the opening of an exhibition at the Memorial Museum of Astronautics in Moscow April 8, 2011. Russia will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's historic first space flight on April 12. REUTERS

Days later after he came back, she found the letter by chance. On seeing the letter, Valya was moved to tears and a calm Yuri asked her to destroy the letter. But she kept the `letter of death' with her as a treasure of love.

He said in his letter: "I believe completely in the technical equipment, but even on level ground a person sometimes falls over and breaks his neck."

Fellow cosmonauts have described Valya as a "perfect wife of a cosmonaut" - always calm, composed and dignified. The two fell in love when Yuri was undergoing training for his wings the Air Force. The day he graduated, he married Valya.

Did Yuri see God in outer space?

After making the historic flight, Yuri became a superhero. Prime Minister Nitika Khruschev held a grand reception in Moscow. After the reception, while the dignitaries were having a cup of tea, Khruschev spotted Yuri with the head of the Orthodox Church of Russia. A naughty Khruschev went up and asked Yuri if he had seen God in space. A cool and calm Yuri said: "Yes sir, I did." Not taken aback, the PM smiled and said: "Do not tell anyone."

The church head overheard the conversation and took Yuri aside soon after Khruschev left. He asked Yuri: "Tell me my child, did you see God up in space?"

Yuri smiled and said: "No sir, I did not. But do not tell anyone."

A man passes a portrait of Yuri Gagarin during a ceremonial reception, dedicated to the upcoming Day of Aviation and Cosmonautics and the 50th anniversary of Gagarin's historic first space flight celebrated on April 12, in Moscow April 11, 2011. REUTERS

A close shave before launch

Yuri's take-off was not a smooth affair. His premonitions of danger at every nut and bolt were true. Minutes before the flight, 20th century's greatest space hero discovered that the door of his capsule was not getting properly latched and the sensors were beaming red and yelling danger.

The command centre rushed engineers who had to work at breakneck speed to loosen 32 screws, remove the hatch to repair the faulty sensor.

A heavy weight spaceman

The faulty door was not the only hitch. According to the documents of Russia's space agency, Roscosmos, scientists found that Yuri was `overweight' as the combined weight of the cosmonaut, his spacesuit and his seat was 13.6kg above the acceptable maximum. This was discovered just a day before the historic flight.

In a frantic and dangerous attempt to cut down `flab', engineers stripped part of the Vostok's internal apparatus. However, in their tearing hurry, the repair engineers disconnected two gauges, one for pressure and one for temperature. This caused a massive short circuit, which, again, was fixed at the last moment.

Caught overspeeding

Yuri's spacecraft blasted into space at a speed that exceeded the limit by over 100 km. The speed registered was 326 km instead of 230 km. This was because an engine failed to cut out to speed when it exceeded 230 km.

Loses a pencil

Yuri was to write all the details of his mission in space - minute by minute. But the cosmonaut was not able to do so as the pencil he was holding slipped off due to zero gravity and he could not find it.

A mentally and physically fit man

Son of a carpenter, Yuri was a highly disciplined man with a passion for poetry. He was so disciplined that he could take naps of exactly 40 minutes and wake up "on the dot" without an alarm clock, Elena Yuria told Andrea Rose from the British Council.

"He was also phenomenally calm, and mentally disciplined. For example, if he came home during the day and said he was tired, he would say 'I have 40 minutes to sleep, I am very tired.' He then slept for 40 minutes and woke up on the dot, without needing an alarm clock or anyone to wake him."

"Very often, as he was working hard during the day and came back late at night, he would gather up some friends and they'd go to play hockey in the nearby stadium. They'd play through the night, and sometimes ended up sleeping only about three to four hours. But it didn't affect his health: he was always extremely physically fit," she said.

"He didn't even really understand what it meant to have any internal pain. He would say to us that he couldn't actually imagine what it must feel like to have something wrong inside."

Yuri had a passion for literature, his daughter said in the interview reproduced in The Guardian.

"He liked to talk to us about books and literature, and he liked to recite poetry to us. He knew a lot of poetry by heart, and he liked to teach us to recite it too."

"He knew Pushkin very well, and Tvardovsky and Ivakovsky - poetry connected with the war. He liked a great deal of literature - Lermontov, and Saint-Exupery, for example. He liked to read to us in a very loud voice. It was too difficult for us to understand at the time, but he still liked doing it."

Yuri was born in the Russian village of Klushino on March 9, 1934 to Alexey Ivanovich Gagarin and Anna. His father was a carpenter and Yuri was third of four children.

On March 27,1968, Yuri died mysteriously when his MiG-15 crashed.

His smile got him the ticket to space

It was Gherman Titov who was actually supposed to go to space. He had scored higher marks than Yuri in various tests. But Sergei Korolev, the Soviet rocket genius, selected Yuri on some strange parameters: his smile, temperament, modesty, attitude, fantastic memory and sense of attention to his surroundings. Other attributes that went in Yuri's favour: imagination, quick reaction and the capability to understand life better than others.
US caught napping

While Yuri was disciplined with his sleep and health, the US was literally caught napping when Yuri was in space.

It was at 1.30 am 50 years ago that US President John F Kennedy , fast asleep, was woken up by a telephone call. On the other end was Jerome Wiesner, the President's scientific adviser, who told Kennedy that the Soviet Union had stolen a march in space technology by sending a man to outer space.

It was Pentagon that first alerted Wiesner 23 minutes after Yuri blasted off to space. The US caught `Yuri' stealing a march in space when the US radars at Aleutian Islands picked up radio signals from the cosmonaut.

The wake up call that Kennedy got was the second setback for the US in space technology. On October 4,1957, the Soviets launched the world's first satellite, Sputnik, inaugurating the global space era.

Yuri, in a way, flagged off the great race to outer space.

Source: India Syndicate with inputs from IANS