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Nathaniel pulled Shade aside and brings him to a distant place located far east of the forest. There the two are surrounded by fallen trees, like soldiers on a battlefield. The stench of rotten decay lay thick in the dewy air. It is at this place, the young seasoned hunter explains his story.
"Do you know why I have brought you here?" Nathaniel asked as if it were a simple question. His voice as at ease as if speaking to a child. Shade told him that he did not. Nathaniel then took his seat on a fallen tree.
"This used to be a lively part of the forest--that is until the werewolves tore it bare. For the past several hundred years my family and long with the creatures of the forest serving as our Familiars have protected these mysterious lands from outside infestations. It was only until the 1740's that the werewolves turned on us for the lust for power." He voice softened to a close a brown leaf whizzed by their faces.
"To strip things of their power and leave them dry is their only interest. That it is why it is up to us hunters to protect this worlds remaining innocents. Are you ready to join into the fight?"
"Uh... no," Shade immediately backed off in alarm.
"That's what I thought," the hunter chuckled almost as if he were the only one is sight. "But with time I am sure you will. Lets go, before Fawn gets worried."
We visited Mereworth at some point last year. It was locked, and the notice suggested it might not reopen. Of course, things seemed very black at times in the last two years. So, I had low expectations that St Lawrence would be open. I didn't even take my cameras, instead walked to the door under the portico to see if it was open.
Not only was it open, there was a sign confirming it was open. And inside, a gentleman was sitting and reading in peace and quiet, a flask of coffee beside him.
I apologised for breaking the silence, and said I was going to get my camera. I also could not miss the fact, the steps to the gallery were leading to doors above that were open.
A rare treat.
Upon returning, the strong sunlight had returned from a cloud, and the glass in the east windows were not just bright with colour, but dazzling.
It is over a decade since we first saw the Italianate spire of St Lawrence, looking very out of place in the Weald. We stop that day, but it was locked, but I made sure we visited at the next Heritage weekend a few months later.
My shots were poor: overuse of the ultra-wide angle, so I have wanted to return for some time, but the two visits since I have found it locked.
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One of the few eighteenth-century churches in Kent, built in 1746 by the 7th Earl of Westmoreland. Surprisingly for so late a date the name of the architect is not known although it is in the style of Colen Campbell who designed the nearby castle, but as he died in 1722 it is probably by someone in his office. The main feature of the church is a tall stone steeple with four urns at the top of the tower, whilst the body of the church is a plain rectangular box consisting of an aisled nave and chancel. Inside is an excellent display of eighteenth-century interior decoration - especially fine being the curved ceiling which is painted with trompe l'oeil panels. At the west end is the galleried pew belonging to the owners of Mereworth Castle - it has organ pipes painted on its rear wall. The south-west chapel contains memorials brought here from the old church which stood near the castle, including one to a fifteenth-century Lord Bergavenny, and Sir Thomas Fane (d. 1589). The latter monument has a superb top-knot! The church contains much heraldic stained glass of sixteenth-century date, best seen with binoculars early in the morning. Of Victorian date is the excellent Raising of Lazarus window, installed in 1889 by the firm of Heaton, Butler and Bayne. In the churchyard is the grave of Charles Lucas, the first man to be awarded the Victoria Cross, while serving on the Hecla during the Crimean War.
www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Mereworth
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MEREWORTH.
EASTWARD from West, or Little Peckham, lies Mereworth, usually called Merrud. In Domesday it is written Marourde, and in the Textus Roffensis, MÆRUURTHA, and MERANWYRTHE.
THE PARISH of Mereworth is within the district of the Weald, being situated southward of the quarry hills. It is exceedingly pleasant, as well from its naturalsituation, as from the buildings, avenues, and other ornamental improvements made throughout it by the late earl of Westmoreland, nor do those made at Yokes by the late Mr. Master contribute a little to the continued beauty of this scene. The turnpike road crosses this parish through the vale from Maidstone, towards Hadlow and Tunbridge, on each side of which is a fine avenue of oaks, with a low neatly cut quick hedge along the whole of it, which leaves an uninterrupted view over the house, park, and grounds of lord le Despencer, the church with its fine built spire, and the seat of Yokes, and beyond it an extensive country, along the valley to Tunbridge, making altogether a most beautiful and luxuriant prospect.
Mereworth house is situated in the park, which rises finely wooded behind it, at a small distance from the high road, having a fine sheet of water in the front of it, being formed from a part of a stream which rises at a small distance above Yokes, and dividing itself into two branches, one of them runs in front of Mereworth house as above mentioned, and from thence through Watringbury, towards the Medway at Bow-bridge; the other branch runs more southward to East Peckham, and thence into the Medway at a small distance above Twiford bridge.
Mereworth-house was built after a plan of Palladio, designed for a noble Vicentine gentleman, Paolo Almerico, an ecclesiastic and referendary to two popes, who built it in his own country about a quarter of a mile distance from the city of Venice, in a situation pleasant and delightful, and nearly like this; being watered in front with a river, and in the back encompassed with the most pleasant risings, which form a kind of theatre, and abound with large and stately groves of oak and other trees; from the top of these risings there are most beautiful views, some of which are limited, and others extend so as to be terminated only by the horizon. Mereworth house is built in a moat, and has four fronts, having each a portico, but the two side ones are filled up; under the floor of the hall and best apartments, are rooms and conveniences for the servants. The hall, which is in the middle, forms a cupola, and receives its light from above, and is formed with a double case, between which the smoke is conveyed through the chimnies to the center of it at top. The wings are at a small distance from the house, and are elegantly designed. In the front of the house is an avenue, cut through the woods, three miles in length towards Wrotham-heath, and finished with incredible expence and labour by lord Westmoreland, for a communication with the London road there: throughout the whole, art and nature are so happily blended together, as to render it a most delightful situation.
In the western part of this parish, on the high road is the village, where at Mereworth cross it turns short off to the southward towards Hadlow and Tunbridge, at a small distance further westward is the church and parsonage, the former is a conspicuous ornament to all the neighbouring country throughout the valley; hence the ground rises to Yokes, which is most pleasantly situated on the side of a hill, commanding a most delightful and extensive prospect over the Weald, and into Surry and Sussex.
Towards the north this parish rises up to the ridge of hills, called the Quarry-hills, (and there are now in them, though few in number, several of the Martin Cats, the same as those at Hudson's Bay) over which is the extensive tract of wood-land, called the Herst woods, in which so late as queen Elizabeth's reign, there were many wild swine, with which the whole Weald formerly abounded, by reason of the plenty of pannage from the acorns throughout it. (fn. 1)
The soil of this parish is very fertile, being the quarry stone thinly covered with a loam, throughout the northern part of it; but in the southern or lower parts, as well as in East Peckham adjoining, it is a fertile clay, being mostly pasture and exceeding rich grazing land, and the largest oxen perhaps at any place in this part of England are bred and fatted on them, the weight of some of them having been, as I have been informed, near three hundred stone.
The manors of Mereworth and Swanton, with others in this neighbourhood, were antiently bound to contribute towards the repair of the fifth pier of Rochester bridge. (fn. 2)
THIS PLACE, at the time of taking the survey of Domesday, was part of the possessions of Hamo Vicecomes, under the general title of whose lands it is thus entered in that book.
In Littlefield hundred. Hamo holds Marourde. Norman held it of king Edward, and then, and now, it was and is taxed at two sulings. The arable land is ninecarucates. In demesne there are two, and twenty-eight villeins, with fifteen borderers, having ten carucates. There is a church and ten servants, and two mills of ten shillings, and two fisheries of two shillings. There are twenty acres of meadow, and as much wood as is sufficient for the pannage of sixty hogs. In the time of king Edward the Confessor, it was worth twelve pounds, and afterwards ten pounds, now nineteen pounds.
This Hamo Vicecomes before-mentioned was Hamo de Crevequer, who was appointed Vicecomes, or sheriff of Kent, soon after his coming over hither with the Conqueror, which office he held till his death in the reign of king Henry I.
In the reign of king Henry II. Mereworth was in the possession of a family, which took their surname from it, and held it as two knights fees, of the earls of Clare, as of their honour of Clare.
Roger, son of Eustace de Mereworth, possessed it in the above reign, and then brought a quare impedit against the prior of. Leeds, for the advowson of the church of Mereworth. (fn. 3)
William de Mereworth is recorded among those Kentish knights, who assisted king Richard at the siege of Acon, in Palestine, upon which account it is probable the cross-croslets were added to the paternal arms of this family.
Roger de Mereworth, in the 18th year of king Edward I. obtained the grant of a fair at his manor of Mereworth, to be held there on the feast day of St. Laurence, and likewise for free-warren in the same, and in Eldehaye, &c.
John de Mereworth held this manor in the beginning of the reign of king Edward II. and in the 15th and 16th years of the next reign of king Edward III. he was sheriff, and resided at Mereworth-castle. His son, of the same name, died in the 44th year of it, without issue, on which John de Malmains, of Malmains, in Pluckley, was found to be his heir; and he, in the 46th year of the same reign, alienated his interest in it to Nicholas, son of Sir John de Brembre, who bore for his arms, Argent, three annulets sable, on a canton of the second, a mullet of the first.
Nicholas de Brembre was a citizen and grocer of London, and was lord mayor in the 1st year of king Richard II. in the 5th year of which reign he was knighted for his good services against that rebel Wat Tyler, in the 6th parliament of it, he represented the city of London in it; but at length becoming obnoxious to the prevailing party of that time, he was attainted of high treason in the 10th year of that reign, and was afterwards beheaded, (fn. 4) and his body buried in the Grey Friars church, now Christ church, in London. His estate being thus forfeited to the crown, king Richard, in his 13th year, granted this manor to John Hermenstorpe, who shortly afterwards passed it away to Richard Fitz Alan, earl of Arundel, lord treasurer and admiral of England, whose son, Thomas Fitz Alan, earl of Arundel, dying without issue in the 4th year of king Henry V. anno 1415, his four sisters became his coheirs, and on the division of their inheritance, the manor of Mereworth became the property of Joane, lady Abergavenny, the second sister, who had married William Beauchamp, lord Abergavenny, and she died possessed of it in the 13th year of king Henry VI. (fn. 5) After which it appears to have been vested in Elizabeth, daughter and sole heir of her son, Richard Beauchamp, earl of Worcester, and lord Abergavenny, who afterwards married Edward Nevill, fourth son of Ralph, earl of Westmoreland, who had possession granted of the lands of his wife's inheritance, and was afterwards, in the 29th year of Henry VI. summoned to parliament by the title of lord Bergavenny. He survived her, and died in the 16th year of king Edward IV. being then possessed, as tenant by the curtesy of England, of the inheritance of Elizabeth his first wife before-mentioned, of the manor of Mereworth.
From him it descended to his great grandson, Henry Nevill, lord Abergavenny, who died in the 29th year of queen Elizabeth, (fn. 6) when by inquisition he was found to die possessed, among other premises, of this manor with the advowson of the church of Mereworth, and the manor and farm of Oldhaie, alias Holehaie, in this parish, and that Mary, his daughter, was his sole heir, who had been married in the 17th year of that reign, to Sir Thomas Fane.
The family of Fane, (fn. 7) alias Vane, are of antient Welsh extraction, and for many generations wrote themselves solely Vane. They were first seated in this county in the reign of king Henry VI. when Henry Vane became possessed of Hilden, in Tunbridge, and resided there. He left three sons, the eldest of whom, John, was of Tunbridge; Thomas left a son Humphry; and Henry, the third son, was father of Sir Ralph Vane, who was attainted in the 4th year of king Edward VI.
John Vane, alias Fane, esq. of Tunbridge, the eldest son, had four sons; the eldest of whom Henry, was of Hadlow, but died s. p. Richard was ancestor of the Fanes, of Badsell, in Tudeley, the earls of Westmoreland, the viscounts Fane of Ireland, and the Fanes of Mereworth and Burston. Thomas, was of London, and John, the fourth son, was of Had low, and was ancestor of the two Sir Henry Vanes, whose descendant is the present earl of Darlington, as were the late viscounts Vane, and the Fanes, late of Winchelsea, in Sussex.
John Fane, esq. the father, dying in 1488, anno 4 king Henry VII. was buried in Tunbridge church. whose son Richard, heir to his elder brother Henry, married Agnes, daughter and heir of Thomas Stidolfe, esq. of Badsell, where he afterwards resided, as did his son George Fane, and grandson of the same name, the latter of whom was sheriff, anno 4 and 5 of Philip and Mary, and died in 1571, leaving two sons of the name of Thomas, the eldest of whom will be mentioned hereafter, and the youngest was seated at Burston, in Hunton, where a further account may be seen of him.
Thomas Fane, the eldest son and heir, having engaged in the rebellion raised by Sir Thomas Wyatt, in the first year of queen Mary, was attainted, and a warrant issued for his execution, but the queen having compassion on his youth, pardoned him, and he was soon afterwards restored to his liberty and estate. He was twice married, first to Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Thomas Colepeper, of Bedgbury, by whom he had no issue; and secondly, to lady Mary, sole daughter and heir of Henry Nevill, lord Abergavenny, by his wife Frances, daughter to Thomas Manners, earl of Rutland, and in her right possessed this manor of Mereworth, &c. as has been already mentioned.
Sir Thomas Fane, for he had been knighted the year before his last marriage, in the queen's presence, by the earl of Leicester, after this resided at times, both at Mereworth castle and at Badsell, of which latter place he wrote himself. He died in the 31st year of queen Elizabeth, and was buried at Tudely, whence his body was afterwards removed to Mereworth church. He left by the lady Mary, his wife, who survived him, Francis, his heir, and George, who succeeded to this manor and estate at Mereworth, after his mother's death, and who was made heir to his uncle, Sir Thomas Fane, of Burston.
Lady Mary Fane, on the death of her father, Henry, lord Abergavenny, had challenged the title of baroness of Bergavenny, against Edward Nevill, son of Sir Edward Nevill, a younger brother of George, lord Bergavenny, father of Henry, lord Bergavenny, before-mentioned, on which Sir Edward Nevill, the castle of Bergavenny had been settled both by testament and act of parliament.
This claim was not determined until after Sir Thomas Fane's death, in the first year of king James I. when after great argument used on both sides, the title of baron of Bergavenny, was both by judgment of the house of peers, and order of the lords commissioners for the office of earl marshal, decreed for the heir male, and to give some satisfaction to the heir female, the king, by his letters patent dated as before-mentioned, granted and restored to her and her heirs, the dignity of baroness le Despencer, (fn. 8) with the antient seat, place, and precedency of her ancestors.
The lady Mary, baroness le Despencer, survived her husband many years, and died at Mereworthcastle, in 1626, and was buried in Mereworth church, leaving her two sons, Francis and George, surviving. The eldest of whom Francis, in 1623, was created baron Burghersh, and earl of Westmoreland. He died in 1628, having had by Mary his wife, daughter and sole heir of Sir Anthony Mildmay, of Apethorp, in Northamptonshire, several sons and daughters, of the former, Mildmay was the eldest, who succeeded him in titles; Francis was afterwards knighted; and Henry was ancestor to the viscounts Fane.
Mildmay, the eldest son, earl of Westmoreland, dying in 1665, was buried at Apethorp. He left by his first wife Grace, daughter of Sir William Thorn hurst, one son Charles, who succeeded him in honors and estate, and by his second wife Mary, second daughter and coheir of Horace, lord Vere, of Tilbury, widow of Sir Roger Townsend, bart. of Rainham, in Norfolk, one son, Vere Fane.
Charles, earl of Westmoreland, was twice married, but dying without issue in 1691, was succeeded by his half-brother Sir Vere Fane, K.B. above-mentioned, who was M. P. for this county in 1678, and in 1692 joint lord-lieutenant with Henry, lord viscount Sidney. He died next year, leaving by Rachael his wife, only daughter and heir of John Bunce, esq. alderman of London, several sons and daughters, of the former, Vere, succeeded him in titles and estate, and died unmarried in 1699. Thomas, the second son, succeeded his brother as earl of Westmoreland, and died without issue; and John, the third son, succeeded his brother as earl of Westmoreland, and Mildmay, was the fourth son, both of whom will be further mentioned.
Of the daughters, Mary married Sir Francis Dashwood, bart. of London, father of the late lord le Despencer; Catherine married William Paul, esq. of Berkshire, whose only daughter and heir, Catherine, married Sir William Stapleton, bart. father of Sir Thomas Stapleton, bart. lately deceased, and Susan died unmarried.
But to return to George Fane, the second son of the lady Mary, baroness le Despencer, by her husband, Sir Thomas Fane. He was knighted at the coronation of king James I. in the 18th year of which reign he was chosen M. P. for this county, and on his mother's death in 1626, he succeeded to the manor of Mereworth, with the castle, advowson, and other estates in this parish; and on the death of Sir Thomas Fane, of Burston, his uncle, in 1606, succeeded by his will to his seat at Burston, and the rest of his estates.
Sir George Fane resided afterwards at Burston, where he died in 1640, being succeeded in this manor and estate by his eldest son, Thomas Fane, esq. of Burston, who was a colonel in the army. He died unmarried at Burston in 1692, and was buried near his father in Hunton church, leaving the manor and castle of Mereworth, with the advowson of this church, his seat at Burston, and all other his estates in this county, to Mildmay Fane, the youngest son of Vere, earl of Westmoreland, by Rachael, his wife, daughter of John Bunce, esq.
Mildmay Fane, esq. resided at Mereworth-castle, and in 1715 was chosen M. P. for this county. He died unmarried that year, and was succeeded in this manor and castle, as well as in his other estates, by Thomas, earl of Westmoreland, his eldest surviving brother, who was chief justice in eyre, south of Trent, and of the privy council to king George I. This earl intending to reside at Apethorp, in Northamptonshire, procured an act in the 5th year of that reign, to sell this manor, as well as all the rest of his Kentish estates, but changing his mind, no sale was made of any of them, and he afterwards resided at Mereworth castle, where he died s. p. in 1736, and was buried at Apethorp, so that his honours and estates descended to John, his younger and only surviving brother, who became the 7th earl of Westmoreland, and following a military life in his early youth, at length arrived at the rank of lieutenant general. On the death of his younger brother, Mildmay Fane, he was in 1715 chosen in his room M. P. for this county; and in 1733 was created a peer of Ireland, by the title of baron of Catherlough, and in 1737 he was appointed lordlieutenant of Northamptonshire. He retired to Mereworth castle soon after the death of earl Thomas, which seat he rebuilt, as well as the church of Mereworth, in an elegant manner, and continued adding to the improvements and grandeur of this place till the time of his death, insomuch, that it may now be justly esteemed one of the greatest ornaments of this county.
The earl was high steward, and afterwards chancellor of the university of Oxford, in which last high and honorable office he was installed there, on July 3, 1759, with the greatest solemnity, and with a magnificence and splendor unknown at any former installation. He married Mary, only daughter and heir of the lord Henry Cavendish, but dying in 1762, s. p. he by his will devised this manor and seat, with the rest of his estates in this county, to his nephew Sir Francis Dashwood, bart. son of Sir Francis Dashwood, bart. of West Peckham, by his sister the lady Mary, eldest daughter of Vere, earl of Westmoreland, and to the heirs of his body, with remainder to Sir Thomas Stapleton, bart. his great nephew, viz. son of Sir William Stapleton, bart. by Catherine, daughter and heir of William Paul, of Bromwich, in Oxfordshire, by his sister Catherine, younger daughter of the said Vere, earl of Westmoreland.
On the death of John, earl of Westmoreland, without issue, his Irish peerage became extinct, but the barony of le Despencer being a barony in fee to heirs general, was confirmed to Sir Francis Dashwood, bart his sister's son; and the titles of baron Burghersh and earl of Westmoreland went to Thomas Fane, of Bristol, merchant, the next heir male descendant of Sir Francis Fane, second surviving son of Francis, first earl of Westmoreland. The earls of Westmoreland bore for their arms, Azure, three right hand gauntlets with their backs affrontee, or. And for their crest, Out of a ducal coronet or, a bull's head argent, pyed sable, armed or, and charged on the neck with a rose gules, barbed and seeded proper; being the antient crest of Nevill.
Sir Francis Dashwood, bart. was descended from Samuel Dashwood, esq. of Rowney, near Taunton, who by his first wife had John, ancestor of the Dashwoods, of Essex and Suffolk; Francis, of whom hereafter; Richard and William, of Cheshunt, in Hertfordshire, who fined for alderman of London. By his second wife he had George, ancestor to the Dashwoods, of Oxford, baronets.
Francis Dashwood, the second son, was a Turkey merchant, and an alderman of London, who bore for his arms, Argent, on a fess double cotized gules, three griffins heads erased, or, granted to him in 1662, by Byshe, clarencieux. He died in 1683, leaving several children, the eldest of whom Samuel was knighted, and was lord-mayor of London in 1702, and was ancestor of the Dashwoods, of Well, in Lincolnshire; Francis the youngest was knighted and created a baronet in 1707, whose second wife was the lady Mary, eldest sister of John, earl of Westmoreland, who died in 1710, and lies buried in West Wycomb church, in Bucking hamshire, where an elegant monument is erected to her memory; by whom he had an only son, Francis, and a daughter, Rachael, married in 1738 to Sir Robert Austen, bart. of Bexley, in this county. Sir Francis Dashwood, bart. the son, was of West Wycomb, and on the decease of John, earl of Westmoreland, succeeded by his will to this manor and house of Mereworth, as well as the rest of his estates in this county, to whom the king on April 19, 1763, confirmed to him, in right of the lady Mary, his mother, the premier barony of Le Despencer, the same being a barony in fee descendible to the heirs general.
He married the daughter of Henry Gould, esq. of Iver, in Buckinghamshire, by whom he had no issue, and died in 1760, being a privy-counsellor and lord-lieutenant of Buckinghamshire, upon which this manor and seat, with the rest of his estates in this county, went, by the will of John, earl of Westmoreland, as mentioned before, to Sir Thomas Stapleton, bart. of Grays, in Oxfordshire, (son of Sir Thomas Stapleton, the earl's great nephew who had deceased in 1781) who on the death of Rachael, sister of the late lord le Despencer, widow of Sir Robert Austen, bart. before mentioned, in 1788, s. p. succeeded to the title likewise of lord le Despencer, and he is the present proprietor of this elegant seat, now called Mereworth, or more commonly Merrud house, the manor and the advowson of this church.
He married Elizabeth, second daughter of S. Eliot, esq. of Antigua, by whom he has a son and daughter, He bears for his arms, Argent, a lion rampant gules, for Stapleton, quartered with the arms of Fane; and for his supporters, those of the earls of Westmoreland, the dexter a griffin, the sinister a bull, both collared and chained; crest, a Saracen's head.
YOKES-PLACE, formerly called Fotes-place, is a seat in this parish, the scite of which, in the reign of king Henry III. was in the possession of Fulco de Sharstede, who then held it as the third part of a knight's fee, of the earl of Gloucester, (fn. 9) and his descendant, Simon de Sharsted died possessed of it in the 25th year of king Edward I. After which it became the property of the family of Leyborne; and in the reign of king Edward III. it was come into the possession of William de Clinton, earl of Huntingdon, in right of his wife, Juliana de Leyborne, the heiress of that family, and he, in the 20th year of that reign paid aid for it. His wife survived him, and again possessed this estate in her own right, and died possessed of it in the 41st year of that reign, without issue.
On her death, this estate, among the rest of her possessions, escheated to the crown for want of heirs. Soon after which, it seems to have come into the possession of a family, who implanted their name on it, and were written in several old dateless deeds, Feotes, and by contraction were called Fotes. But this name was extinct here before the end of the reign of king Richard II. when it appears to have been in the possession of Richard Fitzalan, earl of Arundel, from whom it descended in like manner, as Mereworth manor, to Joane his daughter, coheir to Thomas, earl of Arundel, her brother, who married William Beauchamp, lord Abergavenny, and their son, Richard, earl of Worcester, and lord Abergavenny, leaving an only daughter and heir, Elizabeth, she carried Jotes-place in marriage to Edward Nevill, fourth son of Ralph, earl of Westmoreland, who was summoned to parliament as lord Bergavenny, and died in the 16th year of king Edward IV. being then possessed, as tenant by the curtesy of England, in right of Elizabeth his wife, of this estate, as well as of Mereworth manor. His son Sir George Nevill, lord Bergavenny, died possessed of it in the 7th year of king Henry VII. anno 1491, leaving several sons and daughters, of whom George, the eldest son, succeeded him as lord Abergavenny, in this estate, and in the manor of Mereworth; William was the second son; Edward was the third, whose descendants succeeded in process of time to the barony of Abergavenny, and Sir Thomas Nevill was the fourth son, to whom his father bequeathed Jotes-place, with the estate belonging to it. (fn. 10) He was of the privycouncil to king Henry VIII. and secretary of state, and dying in 1542, was buried in Mereworth church. His only daughter and heir, Margaret, married Sir Robert Southwell, master of the rolls, &c. who in her right became possessed of Jotes place, where he resided. (fn. 11) But in the 35th year of king Henry VIII. anno 1543, he alienated it, with other estates in this parish and West Peckham, to Sir Edward Walsingham, of Scadbury, in this county, in whose descendants it continued till the latter end of the reign of king Charles I. when Sir Thomas Walsingham, of Scadbury, conveyed Yokes-place, as it came now to be called, with the other estates before-mentioned, to his son-in-law, Mr. James Master, son of Mr. Nathaniel Master, merchant, of London, whose widow he had married, being the second son of James Master, esq. of East Langdon. Mr. James Master resided here, where he died in 1689, and was buried in Mereworth church. He left three sons and two daughters, James his heir; Streynsham, of Holton, in Oxfordshire, and Richard. The daughters were, Frances, who died without issue, and Martha, who married Lionel Daniel, esq. of Surry, by whom she had William, his heir, and a daughter Elizabeth, married to George, late lord viscount Torrington.
James Master, esq. the eldest son, resided at Yokesplace, and was sheriff in 1725. He died in 1728 unmarried, and gave by his will this seat, with the rest of his estates, to his youngest brother, Richard Master, who likewise resided at Yokes, where he died unmarried in 1767, and by his will devised it, with all his other possessions, to his nephew, William Daniel, esq. of Surry, son of his sister Martha, enjoining him to take the arms and surname of Master; accordingly he bore for his arms, Quarterly, first and fourth, Master; azure, a fess crenelle between three griffins heads erased or; second and third, Daniel, argent, a pale fuslly sable.
William Daniel Master, esq. resided at Yokesplace, where he kept his shrievalty in the year 1771, having almost rebuilt this seat, and laid out the adjoining grounds in a modern and elegant taste. He married Frances-Isabella, daughter of Thomas Dalyson, esq. of West Peckham. He died. s. p. in 1792, and left Mrs. Master still surviving him.
SWANTON-COURT is a manor in this parish, the mansion of which, situated about half a mile westward from Yokes, place, is now only a mean cottage. In the reign of king Henry III. Richard de Swanton held it, as half a knight's fee, of John de Belleacre, as he did of the earl of Gloucester. (fn. 12) In the 10th year of king Edward III. it was become the property of Elizabeth, sole daughter and heir of Wm. de Burgh, earl of Ulster, who by her husband Lionel, duke of Clarence, left an only daughter, Philippa, whose husband, Edward Mortimer, earl of March, had possession granted to him of this manor, among other lands of her inheritance.
Soon after which, this manor came into the possession of that branch of the family of Colepeper, seated at Oxenhoath, in the adjoining parish of West Peckham; in which it remained till Sir John Colepeper, one of the justices of the common pleas, gave it, with other lands in this neighbourhood, in the 10th year of king Henry IV. anno 1408, to the knights hospitallers of St. John, of Jerusalem, who founded a preceptory on that part of these lands, which lay in West Peckham.
This manor continued part of their possessions till the general dissolution of their order in the 32d year of king Henry VIII. when it was suppressed by an act then especially passed for that purpose; and all the lands and revenues of it were given by it to the king and his heirs for ever. The next year the king granted the manor of Swanton to Sir Robert Southwell, who in the 35th year of that reign, alienated it to Sir Edmund Walsingham, in whose descendants it continued till the latter end of king Charles I.'s reign, when Sir Thomas Walsingham alienated it, with Yokes-place and other estates in this neighbourhood, to his son-in-law, Mr. James Master; since which it has descended, in like manner as Yokes, to William Daniel Master, esq. who died possessed of it s. p. in 1792, and by his will de vised it to George Bing, lord viscount Torrington, the present possessor of it.
FOWKES is a manor in this parish, formerly esteemed as an appendage to the manor of Watringbury, under which a further account of it may be seen. It belonged to the abbey of St. Mary Grace, near the Tower, London, and after the dissolution in the reign of king Henry VIII. passed through several owners till the reign of king James I. when it was alienated to Oliver Style, esq. in whose descendants it has continued till this time, the present inheritance of it being vested in Sir Charles Style, bart. of Watringbury.
BARONS-PLACE is a capital messuage in Mereworth, which, with the estate belonging to it, was part of the possessions of Sir Nicholas Pelham, of Cattsfieldplace, in Sussex, who alienated it to Christopher Vane, lord Barnard; after which it descended in like manner as Shipborne and Fairlawne, to William, viscount Vane, who dying in 1789, s. p. devised it by his will to David Papillon, esq. of Acrise, the present owner of it.
THE FAMILY OF BREWER resided in this parish for many generations, before they removed in the reign of king Henry VI. to Smith's hall, in West Farleigh; their seat here, being called from them, Brewer'splace.
Charities.
THE BARONESS, wife of Francis, lord Despencer, gave by will certain land, the yearly produce of it to be applied towards the purchasing of twenty gowns for twenty poor families yearly, vested in the present lord le Despencer, and now of the annual produce of 20l.
A PERSON UNKNOWN gave the sum of 10s. per annum for the use of the poor, vested in Sir William Twysden, bart. and now of that annual produce.
A PERSON UNKNOWN gave the like yearly sum for the same purpose, vested in Mr. Richard Sex.
A person unknown gave certain wood land for the same use, vested in the present lord le Despencer, and now of the annual produce of 15s.
A PERSON UNKNOWN gave certain land for the like use, vested in the churchwardens and overseers, and of the annual produce of 3l. 10s.
MEREWORTH is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Rochester and deanry of Malling.
The church was dedicated to St. Laurence. It was an antient building, and formerly stood where the west wing of Mereworth-house, made use of for the stables, now stands. It was pulled down by John, late earl of Westmoreland, when he rebuilt that house, and in lieu of it he erected, about half a mile westward from the old one, in the center of the village, the present church, a most elegant building, with a beautiful spire steeple, and a handsome portico in the front of it, with pillars of the Corinthian order. The whole of it is composed of different sorts of stone; and the east window is handsomely glazed with painted glass, collected by him for this purpose.
In the reign of king Henry II. the advowson of this church was the property of Roger de Mereworth, between whom and the prior and convent of Ledes, in this county, there had been much dispute, concerning the patronage of it: at length both parties submitted their interest to Gilbert, bishop of Rochester, who decreed, that the advowson of it should remain to Roger de Mereworth; and he further granted, with his consent, and that of Martin then parson of it, to the prior and convent, the sum of forty shillings, in the name of a perpetual benefice, and not in the name of a pension, in perpetual alms, to be received yearly for ever, from the parson of it. (fn. 13)
The prior and the convent of Ledes afterwards, anno 12 Henry VII. released to Hugh Walker, rector of this church, their right and claim to this pension, and all their right and claim in the rectory, by reason of it, or by any other means whatsoever.
In the reign of king Henry VI. the rector and parishioners of this church petitioned the bishop of Ro chester, to change the day of the feast of the dedication of it, which being solemnized yearly on the 4th day of June, and the moveable seasts of Pentecost, viz. of the sacred Trinity, or Corpus Christi, very often happening on it; the divine service used on the feasts of dedications could not in some years be celebrated, but was of necessity deferred to another day, that these solemnities of religion and of the fair might not happen together. Upon which the bishop, in 1439, transferred the feast to the Monday next after the exaltation of the Holy Cross, enjoining all and singular the rectors, and their curates, as well as the parishioners from time to time to observe it accordingly as such. And to encourage the parishioners and others to resort to it on that day, he granted to such as did, forty days remission of their sins.
Soon after the above-mentioned dispute between Roger de Mereworth and the prior and convent of Ledes, the church of Mereworth appears to have been given to the priory of Black Canons, at Tunbridge. (fn. 14) And it remained with the above-mentioned priory till its dissolution in the 16th year of king Henry VIII. a bull having been obtained from the pope, with the king's leave, for that purpose. After which the king, in his 17th year, granted that priory, with others then suppressed for the like purpose, together with all their manors, lands, and possessions, to cardinal Wolsey, for the better endowment of his college, called Cardinal college, in Oxford. But four years afterwards, the cardinal being cast in a præmunire; all the estates of that college, which for want of time had not been firmly settled on it, became forfeited to the crown. (fn. 15) After which, the king granted the patronage of the church of Mereworth, to Sir George Nevill, lord Abergavenny, whose descendant Henry, lord Abergavenny, died possessed of it in the 29th year of queen Elizabeth, leaving an only daughter and heir Mary, married to Sir Thomas Fane, who in her right possessed it. Since which it has continued in the same owners, that the manor of Mereworth has, and is as such now in the patronage of the right hon. Thomas, lord le Despencer.
It is valued in the king's books at 14l. 2s. 6d. and the yearly tenths at 1l. 8s. 3d.
¶It appears by a valuation of this church, and a terrier of the lands belonging to it, subscribed by the rector, churchwardens, and inhabitants, in 1634, that there belonged to it, a parsonage-house, with a barn, &c. a field called Parsonage field, a close, and a garden, two orchards, four fields called Summerfourds, Ashfield, the Coney-yearth, and Millfield, and the herbage of the church-yard, containing in the whole about thirty acres, that the house and some of the land where James Gostlinge then dwelt, paid to the rector for lord's rent twelve-pence per annum; that the houses and land where Thomas Stone and Henry Filtness then dwelt, paid two-pence per annum; that there was paid to the rector the tithe of all corn, and all other grain, as woud, would, &c. and all hay, tithe of all coppice woods and hops, and all other predial tithes usually paid, as wool, and lambs, and all predials, &c. in the memory of man; that all tithes of a parcel of land called Old-hay, some four or five miles from the church, but yet within the parish, containing three hundred acres, more or less; and the tithe of a meadow plot lying towards the lower side of Hadlow, yet in Mereworth, containing by estimation twelve acres, more or less, commonly called the Wish, belonged to this church.
The parsonage-house lately stood at a small distance north-eastward from Mereworth-house; but obstructing the view from the front of it, the late lord le Despencer obtained a faculty to pull the whole of it down, and to build a new one of equal dimensions, and add to it a glebe of equal quantity to that of the scite and appurtenances of the old parsonage, in exchange. Accordingly the old parsonage was pulled down in 1779, and a new one erected on a piece of land allotted for the purpose about a quarter of a mile westward from the church, for the residence of the rector of Mereworth and his successors.
Now at the mainstore,
Classy Dual colors MESH shirts. XS, S, M, L, XL sizes.
You can get separatly or all in one HUD!
or on SL Marketplace
The Chesterfield Watchman 'watching' the visitors. This male and his mate right above him had the biggest yellow eyes I have ever seen. Very beautiful. T8tohs2 spotted them both.
If you love Frederick and want him to be an official LEGO set, go here to support this project. It's easy and free! Frederick needs 10,000 supporters to be reviewed by LEGO. If you would like to help this project more, feel free to spread the word and post this on any online outlet you can think of.
Frederick is a non-IP based original design by my wife and I. Her LEGO Ideas user ID is jiminyc. Frederick didn't start out as a LEGO Ideas project, but he made such a great pet, we had to share him. We were unable to build him in these colors in real life due to LEGO not producing all of these pieces in the colors pictured.
If you are interested in building Frederick, we posted the LEGO Digital Design file on lego.com, here. Just search for "Frederick" (without the quotes) in the creation name search box to download the file.
If you dare to see him in FULL-HD click HERE
An ugly beauty 3 ( I hope you can sleep tonight)
More macro {also in Full-HD!!} click here
Dutch:
Griezelig mooi.
De spin heeft zojuist een nachtvlinder "ingepakt" in spinrag
De Kruisspin (Araneus diadematus) is een middelgrote spin die behoort tot de familie wielwebspinnen (Araneidae).
De kruisspin is in tegenstelling tot veel andere spinnen geen schuwe soort, maar eentje die vaak midden in het web zit en moeilijk over het hoofd is te zien. De spin wordt ook relatief groot tot zo'n 17 millimeter. De naam is te danken aan de op een kruis gelijkend patroon op het achterlijf dat bestaat uit een groepje lichtere tot witte vlekjes die afsteken tegen de donkerbruine tot gele achtergrondkleur. De kruisspin is in Europa een van de meer algemene soorten en de spin komt ook in België en Nederland voor. Omdat de kruisspin in beschaduwde, van de wind afgeschermde hogere planten leeft duikt de spin vaak op in tuinen en hierdoor is het een van de bekendste Europese spinnen.
De kruisspin bouwt het web op enige hoogte en vangt voornamelijk vliegende insecten. De spin wordt zelf gegeten door insecteneters zoals vogels. De levenscyclus is tweejarig; de paring vindt plaats in de herfst en de eitjes overwinteren. In de lente komen ze uit en pas het volgende jaar worden de spinnen volwassen.
De kruisspin is door de Europese Arachnologische Vereniging uitgeroepen tot spin van het jaar 2010.
D200 (kan ik nog steeds niet weg doen)
Sigma macro 180mm macro APO,HSM
Camera .......................Nikon D200
Exposure ....................0.01 sec (1/100)
Aperture .....................f/32.0
Focal Length .............180 mm
ISO Speed ................320
12A_8749XP1N
Stranger #87 – Danny –I met him in downtown Santa Barbara, California. He is Adriana’s friend (Stranger #86) and he showed up during my conversation with her. Danny’s very friendly attitude was obvious the moment we met as he greeted me with a big smile :) Noticing his cool look, I asked for a photo. Danny agreed without hesitation. I took a few pictures and then we chatted a bit and laughed a lot ;) Actually he surprised me because he knows some very simple Polish phrases. It turned out he was growing up in a neighborhood with a strong Polish community and picked up a few lines from other kids. Danny is an extremely chilled guy and it was a pleasure to meet him :)
This picture is #87 in my 100 strangers project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page
IN ENGLISH BELOW THE LINE
Inspecció dels uniformes, l'oficial està parlant al nostre home.
Aquestes fotografies formen part d'un album de records d'un soldat alemany de la Segona Guerra Mundial. Aparentment, formava part d'una unitat sanitaria de la Wehrmacht, la Sänitatskompanie 263, part de la 263 Infanterie Division.
Aquest album mostra fotografies sense textos però que segueixen al seu autor (amb moltes fotos d'ell) des de Alemania cap a la costa francesa el 1940-41, i d'allà cap al front del est entre Minsk i Moscou des del 1941 fins probablement el 1943.
Per més informació sobre aquestes unitats:
www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gliederungen/Infanteriedivis...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/263rd_Infantry_Division_(Wehrmacht)
www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gliederungen/Infanteriedivis...
www.forum-der-wehrmacht.de/index.php?thread/53989-standor...
=====================
Some kind of dress inspection, probably in Germany.
These photographs are part of a photo album of a German World War II soldier. Apparently, he was part of a medical unit of the Wehrmacht, the Sänitatskompanie 263, part of the 263rd Infantry Division.
This album shows photographs without text but following the author (with many photos of him) from Germany to the French coast in 1940-41, and from there to the eastern front between Minsk and Moscow from 1941 to probably in 1943.
For more information on these units:
www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gliederungen/Infanteriedivis...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/263rd_Infantry_Division_(Wehrmacht)
www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gliederungen/Infanteriedivis...
www.forum-der-wehrmacht.de/index.php?thread/53989-standor...
Macro Mondays > "What's that smell?"
Kraut Juice ingredients; Cabbage juice and salt.
Smell; NAAASSSTY!!! HOR-RI-BLE! Potent smell.
Its used as a broth in cooking say ... cabbage rolls & etc.
Honestly Vincent had been looking forward to flying the skies with Damien despite everything that had happened between them recently. The engines were fired up and they were off for hours! It felt like old times with just the two of them. It was good to have one-on-one time again now that they weren't fighting. He was still clinging to the hope that things would go back to normal.
But while Vincent was smiling and chuckling...it was just a facade. What should have been a fun evening out instead had been secretly ruined for him. He had to put on a brave face because he sure as Hell wasn't about to tell Damien that he was thinking about Aiden and Charlie the Octopus (as he very recently and bitterly dubbed her). Even Damien and all the strong herb he could smoke couldn't stop those intrusive thoughts and images of the two of them together and all the what-ifs of what could be. And to top it all off he KNEW this was illogical!
The next morning after a restless sleep, Vincent groggily found himself standing alone with a steaming mug of coffee while staring up at Aiden's vacant hammock. He...he missed Aiden. What was up with that? He'd just seen him yesterday afternoon! There was no reason to be missing him already! Yet he was oblivious of the prevalent look of longing upon his face that suggested otherwise.
Damien returned very shortly afterwards with breakfast. He insisted on sticking around and keeping Vincent company while waiting. Aiden wasn't expected until noon and there was still a couple hours to go so Vincent was glad to have some sort of distraction again.
When Aiden arrived at the appointed time, he was greeted by Vincent and Damien up on the deck waiting for him while Vincent smoked from his pipe. It was the best way for Vincent to keep himself centered while they'd waited. Yet, if you'd looked at him you'd never guess anything was amiss. Thankfully, the moment his eyes rested on Aiden, relief filled him. That was better. However, there was still the matter of wanting to know how things had gone last night...
Aiden quickly put up his overnight bag and rejoined his crewmates on the top deck with Eugene the mechanical hermit crab in hand. He flashed a grin at Vincent as he took a seat down on the ground next to where his captain sat on a crate. With his legs spread out wide, Aiden set Eugene down on the floorboards and watched as he crawled around. With an impish little smile Aiden glanced up at Damien and gestured towards his creation.
"Damien, meet Eugene! I made him while you were gone. I used Fulgora's Eye just like with Pete!"
"You...you made another one."
"I did! He's adorable, isn't he? He just moves around aimlessly forever and ever and ever!"
"Yes," Damien agreed with a wry smile. He obviously didn't think so. "Absolutely ...adorable."
Aiden knew Damien didn't think much of him or his ideas. Likewise, Aiden didn't think much of Damien, so was he antagonizing him a little bit? Yes, he was! Pretending that Damien had meant it after all, Aiden grinned a little wider and responded enthusiastically, "Right?! Vincent thought so, too! You should have seen how tiny the screws were! I had a lot of fun breaking apart the Fulgora's Eye and chipping off a piece tiny enough to fit inside and..."
Vincent smirked a little to himself and said nothing as Aiden launched into one of his excited explanations about how he'd done it. He basically gave Damien a taste of his own medicine by not letting him get much of a word in. Nearly three minutes passed and Aiden was STILL talking about Fulgora's Eye and Vincent could see Damien was already spacing out. Vincent, however, was still following along interestedly.
When Aiden finished his excited rant one more minute after that, Vincent chuckled and told him, "Good! I'm glad you're making good use of the Fulgora's Eye." Though, opposite him, Damien sneered, "Good use? Eh, if you say so. At least the lantern is somewhat useful."
Aiden's head snapped up in defense and he opened his mouth to buck back when he saw Vincent's silent, pleading look; begging him to not say anything. So instead Aiden closed his mouth and scooped Eugene into his hand and held him close and tried not to let Damien get to him. This was bullshit. Utter...bullshit...
"We had a marvelous time last night! Leon's Claw is in great condition by the way," Damien informed Aiden with a small grin as he strode over and stood on Vincent's other side. "After sitting these two months on her ass there were no problems whatsoever getting her up in the air!"
Vincent chuckled and shifted off the crate and gave a small little stretch as he responded, "Well, thank Aiden! He's done a great job keeping the engines running and the ship ready to go at any time. Did you really think I was going to let my ship sit all this time as if she were dead in the water? Speaking of, I'd like to get back on schedule as soon as possible." Deflecting to the safer, new topic Vincent turned to look at his crewmates and huffed, "My uncle has been delayed further in his return to the capital. I need to speak with him before we make our final arrangements. He better be back before the ball or else I'd hate to be in his shoes when Aunt Jennifer finally gets a hold of him..."
Had...had Vincent not told Damien about their moonlit flight? Aiden wondered. He tried to listen as Damien and Vincent discussed how soon after the ball they'd be leaving. But instead his mind was occupied by the idea that Vincent and he shared a secret knowledge of a wonderful night together sailing the skies during the full moon.
Not long after Damien suggested that they head out to let Aiden settle in. Vincent didn't really want to go but he wanted to talk to Aiden in private. It would be easier to do that if Damien thought he was leaving, too. They had managed to skirt around yesterday's details. He'd not told Damien that Aiden had gone to the Dubois manor for dinner alone nor that there had been a gathering yesterday in Vincent's office beforehand. It wasn't that Aiden or he were doing anything wrong, right? He didn't 'have' to tell Damien everything that went on in his life!
After managing to shake Damien off half an hour later Vincent returned to Leon's Claw while trying to ignore the gnawing feeling in his stomach. Not knowing the details was eating at him! Yet in his calm voice he called out, "Aiden?"
"I'm here! Come on down!"
When Vincent made his descent, he found Aiden sitting atop his hammock and leaning back against the wall with his knees drawn up and forearms resting over his knees. In his hand was Eugene, who was turned off. It was as if he simply was wanting to hold something in his hands. There was no sign of Aiden's sketchbook or tools beside him. It appeared he was just...sitting. Aiden rarely just sat there unless something was heavy on mind. But he saw how Aiden sat up a bit more and his smile lighting up upon seeing him. With a small, curious tilt of his head Aiden asked, "Is everything okay?"
"Yes, everything's fine. I-I was wanting to speak with you in private is all," Vincent explained with a slight smile. "About yesterday."
In private? That all but confirmed it, Aiden realized. Vincent really hadn't told Damien much of any of what's been going on lately. He felt his stomach fill with butterflies that Vincent had come to see him...just him.
"What about yesterday?" Aiden wondered aloud to him to which Vincent simply smiled as he leaned against one of the pillars.
"Ah, nothing serious. I was simply wanting to know how your evening was at my aunt's. Did you have a good time?"
Vincent gave a soft chuckle as Aiden lit up with an enthusiastic nod and exclaimed, "I did! I swear if I could eat Mrs. Faris' cooking again, I could die happy!"
"Without a doubt her cooking is worth visiting home for every time. What did she make?"
"Shepherd's pie!"
"I'm jealous! I don't think I've had that since last Summer."
"Next time, you should come with me! I'm going back over there on Monday afternoon!"
Wait...Aiden was going back over there on Monday? But why? Wetting his lips and ignoring the feeling of a rock sitting in his stomach, Vincent dared to ask, "What's happening on Monday?"
"Oh, I'm practicing with Charlotte for the masquerade! She even offered to come as my plus one."
"I see. Good for you! That's wonderful. I appreciate the invitation but I have plans that day. I'm sure you'll do great. Like I said, you've already got natural talent."
Vincent gave a nod and forced a smile to indicate his approval despite feeling as though he'd just been slapped. Apparently, Abigail hadn't kept an eye on things as much as he'd hoped she would. The idea of going back to his family home on Monday with Aiden didn't sound appealing at all; not if he was going to be subjected to watching Charlie and Aiden dancing and looking so fucking perfect together...
"Anyway," Vincent quickly added as his gaze diverted and pretended not to be bothered, "I'm glad things went well but I should take my leave. I'll be in touch."
Already?! Aiden didn't want Vincent to go yet! He'd only just gotten here! He quickly suggested, "You don't have to go yet. Did you want to stay and smoke together?"
"As tempting as that is, I really must be going. Maybe next time. Have a pleasant day. I'll see you soon."
"Oh, okay. See you soon."
And with that, Vincent left, leaving Aiden sitting atop his hammock with a small furrow on his brow and feeling even more troubled than before Vincent had arrived. That hadn't been Vincent's real smile. He knew his captain enough to be able to tell the difference. Aiden didn't like it when Vincent fake-smiled...but why do it to begin with? What was wrong?
...
The following week felt like a blur for Vincent. With the masquerade being less than a week away now and preparations to be made for leaving the capital in the near future, it was easy to keep himself busy. Plus, his uncle had finally returned after his massive but unavoidable delay. Unfortunately, that meant there was even MORE to be done with much less time to do it. Thankfully he had made it back in time! At least it helped keep Vincent's mind occupied...
Today, Vincent was due to meet with Damien and run a few errands for the ship's business. Once that was all taken care of, then he'd be heading to his most anticipated and final stop of the week: Rosamund's!
Rosamund warmly welcomed the captain and his first mate to her wagon. It had been since last Summer since she'd seen Damien. However, this time she observed the two of them with a slightly different lens now that she was aware that not all had been well with them lately.
It was a profitable meeting for both parties. Deals were struck, a late lunch of venison was shared, herb was smoked, and the day was going swell thus far! Vincent was happy with everything and he made sure Rosamund was well compensated for her wares and sensitive, particular information of which he'd not be able to find out otherwise regarding some rivals and competition. He was eagerly looking forward to the day here very soon where he'd be inviting Aiden along on these sort of meetings and get him fully integrated into the crew of Leon's Claw. In fact, he already had plans to do so after things settled down from the ball before heading back to the skies.
Once everything was all said and done, Rosamund escorted her guests back into the bustling city. She needed to run an errand there so they decided to walk together. Once they made it to where they needed to part, Vincent and Damien began to bid their hostess a final farewell. As Damien was chuckling and speaking with Rosamund, Vincent turned to look around at the city and...felt like he was suddenly punched very, very hard in the stomach.
Across the road and completely oblivious to Vincent's staring was Aiden. And he wasn't alone. Looking more mature and grown up than Vincent had ever seen her was Charlotte. She had her hands ('More like tentacles,' Vincent thought to himself) wrapped around Aiden's arm as he escorted her along. They were smiling! And laughing! At least they weren't completely alone. One of the family lady's maids was following behind a short distance away as a chaperone of sorts.
Vincent was aware that they were meeting for dance practices this week but what the Hell were they doing all the way out here?! The longer Vincent stared, the worse he felt! It felt like everything inside him was clenching painfully. And to make matters worse, Damien had suddenly noticed them as well.
"Is that-? It is!" Damien exclaimed with a wide grin. "Who would have thought it, eh, Vincent?" He set his elbow atop Vincent's shoulder and lightly leaned against him as he watched the young couple walk together from afar. Vincent folded his arms across his chest as Rosamund came up alongside Vincent's other side. She brought her hand up over her brows and peered around.
"Who are we talking about?"
"See the blond man with the blue shirt over there? That's our engineer: Aiden," Damien explained. Vincent silently begged him to stop talking, but Damien did not. He cheerfully continued, "And the beauty on his arm is Vincent's cousin. I had no idea they were courting! This is brilliant!"
"Ooh, I see! He's real easy on the eyes, too," Rosamund responded with an appreciative smile as she appraised Aiden's appearance from afar. With a smirk she gently nudged Vincent's arm and demanded, "So when were you planning to introduce us?! I forgot you said you had a new engineer!"
Vincent turned towards Rosamund and with absolutely no emotion on his face or in his tone as he responded simply, "Very soon. Forgive me, I just remembered I have a sudden urgent matter to attend to."
"Wait, Vincent! Where are you going?"
Ignoring Damien's demands and Rosamund's bewildered expression, Vincent continued to briskly walk away in the opposite direction of his associates and the direction Aiden and Charlotte were heading. He...he needed to go home. Now. He was done. Just...so fucking done with everything.
---
NEXT PART: (Soon to come!)
To select another chapter (or even start from the beginning), here's the album link:
www.flickr.com/photos/153660805@N05/albums/72157717075565127
***Please note this is a BOY LOVE (LGBTQ+) series. It is a slow burn and is rated YOUNG ADULT!***
Special thank you to my husband Vin for collaborating with me on this series and co-starring as The Captain! And BIG THANK YOU to Vin for also putting together all these poses and being my hero! ♥
And also thank you to Mythra Rose-Älskling for starring, once again, as our lovely Rosamund!
*** This scene was taken in Second Life at Victorian London - Time Portal! When you first land, head down the main road and just as you come to the main city square, look straight ahead across the courtyard and you'll find the location for this scene!
You can check out this AMAZING roleplay-type parcel and even rent from there! Its so realistic! Seriously! The details here are incredible!
DISCORD SERVER: That's right! The Captain and the Engineer has a Discord Server! If you would like to join and chat with other crewmates and see what's new and happening before it gets posted to Flickr, click the link!
FACEBOOK PAGE: The Captain and the Engineer has a FACEBOOK PAGE! Please come Like, Follow, and join the crew! Thank you so much for all your support!
A long planned visit to Leeds to record the church.
Leeds is just off the M20, and nearby to Leeds Castle, which means the roads are often busy. St Nicholas is on the main road leading up the down, but before the road gets narrow as it winds between the timber framed houses. Thankfully there is good parking next door, so we were able to get off the main road and out of the traffic, as unbeknown to us, there was a classical music show on that night, and most of Kent were going and in the process of arriving.
St Nicholas is a grand church, the chancel and two side chapels are partially hidden behind a very fine Rood Screen, which at first didn't look original, but actually is.
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One of the largest twelfth-century towers in Kent. The arch between tower and nave is of three very plain orders with no hint of the usual zigzag moulding of the period, and is so large that a meeting room has recently been built into it. The nave has three bay aisles and short chapels to north and south of the chancel. The outstanding rood screen was partially reconstructed in 1892, and runs the full width of nave and aisles - with the staircase doorways in the south aisle. That the chancel was rebuilt in the sixteenth century may be seen by the plain sedilia through which is cut one of two hagioscopes from chapels to chancel. The north chapel contains some good seventeenth- and eighteenth-century tablets and monuments. The stained glass shows some excellent examples of the work of Heaton, Butler and Bayne (south aisle) whilst there is an uncharacteristically poor example of the work of C.E. Kempe & Co. Ltd. in the north aisle. The church has recently been reordered to provide a spacious, light and manageable interior with excellent lighting and a welcoming atmosphere without damaging the character of the building.
www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Leeds
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LEEDS
IS the next parish southward from Hollingborne. Kilburne says, that one Ledian, a chief counsellor to king Ethelbert II. who began his reign in 978, raised a fortress here, which was called in Latin, from him, Ledani Castrum, and in process of time in English, LEEDS. This castle was afterwards demolished by the Danes, and continued in that situation till the time of the Norman conquest.
THE PRESENT CASTLE is situated at the southeast boundary of this parish, adjoining to Bromfield, which includes a part of the castle itself. It is situated in the midst of the park, an ample description of it the reader will find hereafter. The Lenham rivulet takes its course through the park, and having supplied the moat, in which the castle stands, and the several waters in the grounds there, and having received into it the several small streamlets from Hollingborne, and one from the opposite side, which comes from Leeds abbey, it flows on, and at a small distance from Caring street, in this parish, adjoining to Bersted, the principal estate of which name there belongs to the Drapers company, it turns a mill, and then goes on to Maidstone, where it joins the river Medway. The high road from Ashford and Lenham runs close by the outside of the pales of Leeds park, at the northern boundary of the parish next to Hollingborne, and thence goes on towards Bersted and Maidstone, from which the park is distant a little more than five miles; here the soil is a deep sand, but near the river it changes to a black moorish earth. Southward from the castle the ground rises, at about three quarters of a mile south-west from it is Leeds abbey, the front of which is a handsome well-looking building, of the time of queen Elizabeth. It is not unpleasantly situated on a gentle eminence, and is well watered by a small stream which rises just above it, and here turns a mill. It is well cloathed with wood at the back part of it, to which the ground still keeps rising; adjoining to the abbey grounds westward is Leeds-street, a long straggling row of houses, near a mile in length, having the church at the south end of it; here the soil becomes a red unfertile earth much mixed with slints, which continues till it joins to Langley and Otham.
LEEDS was part of those possessions given by William the Conqueror to his half-brother Odo, bishop of Baieux; accordingly it is thus entered, under the general title of that prelate's lands, in the survey of Domesday, taken in the year 1080.
Adelold holds of the bishop (of Baieux) Esiedes. It was taxed at three sulings. The arable land is twelve carucates. In demesne there are two carucates, and twenty-eight villeins, with eight borderers, having seven carucates. There is a church, and eighteen servants. There are two arpends of vineyard, and eight acres of meadow. Wood for the pannage of twenty bogs, and five mills of the villeins. In the time of king Edward the Confessor, it was worth sixteen pounds, the like when be received it, now twenty pounds, and yet it pays twentyfive pounds. Earl Leuuin held it.
Of this manor the abbot of St. Augustine has half a suling, which is worth ten shillings, in exchange of the park of the bishop of Baieux. The earl of Ewe has four denns of this manor, which are worth twenty shillings.
The mention of the two arpends of vineyard in the above survey, is another instance of there having been such in this county in early times, some further observations of which the reader will find in the description of the parish of Chart Sutton, not far distant, and he will likewise observe, that at the above time the bishop of Baieux had a park here, which he acquired by exchange with the abbot of St. Augustine, who must therefore have had possessions here before that time.
On the bishop of Baieux's disgrace, about four years after the taking of the above-mentioned survey, this estate, among the rest of his possessions, became consiscated to the crown.
After which it was granted by king William to the eminent family of Crevequer, called in antient charters Creveceur, and in Latin, De Crepito Corde, who at first made Chatham in this county their seat, or caput baroniæ, i. e. the principal manor of their barony, for some time, until they removed hither, being before frequently written Domini de Cetham.
Robert, son of Hamon de Crevequer, who had probably a grant of Leeds from the Conqueror, appears to have held it of the king, as of his castle of Dover, in capite by barony, their barony, which consisted of five knight's sees, being stiled Baronia de Crevequer . (fn. 1) He erected the castle here, to which he asterwards removed the capital seat of his barony. This castle being environed with water, was frequently mentioned in antient writings by the name of Le Mote. In the north-west part of it he built a chapel, in which he placed three canons, which on his foundation of the priory of Leeds, in the 19th year of king Henry I. he removed thither.
His descendant, Hamon de Crevequer, lived in the reign of king Henry III. in the 19th year of which, he was joined with Walterand Teutonicus, or Teys, in the wardenship of the five ports, and the next year had possession granted to him of the lands of William de Albrincis or Averenches, whose daughter and heir Maud he had married. He died in the 47th year of king Henry III. possessed of the manor of Ledes, held of the king in capite, as belonging to his barony of Chatham; upon which Robert, his grandson, viz. son of Hamon his son, who died in his life-time, succeeded him as his heir, and in the 52d year of that reign, exchanged the manor of Ledes, with its appurtenances, together with a moiety of all his fees, with Roger de Leyburne, for the manors of Trottesclyve and Flete. He lest William de Leyburne, his son and heir, who in the 2d year of king Edward I. had possession granted to him of the manor of Ledes, as well as of the rest of his inheritance, of which Eleanor, countess of Winchester, his father's widow, was not endowed. (fn. 2)
His son, William de Leyborne, observing that the king looked on the strength of this fortress with a jealous eye, in the beginning of king Edward Ist.'s reign reinstated the crown in the possession of both the manor and castle; and the king having, in his 27th year married Margaret, sister of Philip, king of France, he settled them, being then of the clear yearly value of 21l. 6s. 8d. among other premises, as part of her dower. She survived the king her husband, who died in 1307, and in the 5th year of the next reign of king Edward II. by the king's recommendation, appointed Bartholomew de Badlesmere, a nobleman of great power and eminence, and much in that prince's favor, governor of this castle. (fn. 3) She died possessed of them in the 10th year of that reign; on which they came once more into the hands of the crown, and in the beginning of the next year the king appointed Bartholomew de Badlesmere, above-mentioned, governor of this castle, as well as of that of Bristol. In the 11th year of that reign, the king granted to him in see, this manor and castle, and the advowson of the priory of Ledes, in exchange for the manor of Addresley, in Shropshire. Being possessed of great possessions, especially in this county, he was usually stiled, the rich lord Badlesmere of Ledes. Being pussed up through ambition and his great wealth, he forgot his allegiance, and associated himself with the earl of Lancaster, and the discontented barons; which the king being well informed of, resolved, if possible, to gain possession of this strong fortress of Ledes: to effect which, under pretence of the queen's going on a pilgrimage to Canterbury, she set forward for that city with a large train of attendants, and, with a secret intention of surprising this castle, sent her marshal with others of her servants, to prepare lodging for her and her suit in it. The lord Badlesmere's family, that is, his wife, son, and four daughters, were at that time in it, together with all his treasure, deposited there for safety, under the care of Thomas Colepeper, the castellan, who refused the queen's servants admittance, and on her coming up, peremptorily persisted in denying her or any one entrance, without letters from his lord. The queen, upon this, made some attempt to gain admittance by force, and a skirmish ensued, in which one or more of her attendants were slain, but being repulsed, she was obliged to relinquish her design, and to retire for a lodging elsewhere.
The king, chagrined at the failure of his scheme, and highly resenting the indignity offered to the queen, sent a force under the earls of Pembroke and Richmond, to besiege the castle; (fn. 4) and those within it finding no hopes of relief, for though the lord Badlesmere had induced the barons to endeavours to raise the siege, yet they never advanced nearer than Kingston, yielded it up. Upon which, the lady Badlesmere and her children were sent prisoners to the tower of London, Thomas Colepeper, the castellan, was hung up, and the king took possession of the castle, as well as of all the lord Badlesmere's goods and treasures in it. But by others, Thomas de Aldone is said to have been castellan at this time, and that the castle being taken, he, with the lord Badlesmere's wife, his only son Giles, his daughters, Sir Bartholomew de Burgershe, and his wife, were sent to the tower of London by the king's order; and that afterwards, he caused Walter Colepeper, bailiff of the Seven Hundreds, to be drawn in a pitiable manner at the tails of horses, and to be hung just by this castle; on which Thomas Colepeper, and others, who were with him in Tunbridge castle, hearing of the king's approach, sled to the barons.
After which the lord Badlesmere, being taken prisoner in Yorkshire, was sent to Canterbury, and there drawn and hanged at the gallows of Blean, and his head being cut off, was set on a pole on Burgate, in that city. Upon which the manor and castle of Leeds, became part of the royal revenue and the castle remained in a most ruinous condition till the year 1359, anno 34 Edward III. in which year that munisicent prelate, William of Wickham, was constituted by the king, chief warden and surveyor of his castle of Ledes, among others, (fn. 5) having power to appoint all workmen, to provide materials, and to order every thing with regard to building and repairs; and in those manors to hold leets and other courts of trespass and misdemeanors, and to enquire of the king's liberties and rights; and from his attention to the re-edisying and rebuilding the rest of them, there is little doubt but he restored this of Leeds to a very superior state to whatever it had been before, insomuch, that it induced king Richard to visit it several times, particularly in his 19th year, in which several of his instruments were dated at his castle of Ledes; and it appears to have been at that time accounted a fortress of some strength, for in the beginning of the next reign, that unfortunate prince was, by order of king Henry IV. sent prisoner to this castle; and that king himself resided here part of the month of April in his 2d year.
After which, archbishop Arundel, whose mind was by no means inferior to his high birth, procured a grant of this castle, where he frequently resided and kept his court, whilst the process against the lord Cobham was carrying forward, and some of his instruments were dated from his castle of Ledes in the year 1413, being the year in which he died. On his death it reverted again to the crown, and became accounted as one of the king's houses, many of the principal gentry of the county being instrusted with the custody of it:
In the 7th year of king Henry V. Joane of Navarre, the second queen of the late king Henry IV. being accused of conspiring against the life of the king, her son-in-law, was committed to Leeds-castle, there to remain during the king's pleasure; and being afterwards ordered into Sir John Pelham's custody, he removed her to the castle of Pevensey, in Sussex.
In the 18th year of king Henry VI. archbishop Chichele sat at the king's castle of Leeds, in the process against Eleanor, duchess of Gloucester, for forcery and witchcrast.
King Edward IV. in his 11th year, made Ralph St. Leger, esq. of Ulcomb, who had served the office of sheriff of this county three years before, constable of this castle for life, and annexed one of the parks as a farther emolument to that office. He died that year, and was buried with his ancestors at Ulcomb.
Sir Thomas Bourchier resided at Leeds castle in the 1st year of king Richard III. in which year he had commission, among others of the principal gentry of this county, to receive the oaths of allegiance to king Richard, of the inhabitants of the several parts of Kent therein mentioned; in which year, the king confirmed the liberties of Leeds priory, in recompence of twentyfour acres of land in Bromfield, granted for the enlargement of his park of Ledes.
In the 4th year of king Henry VIII. Henry Guildford, esq. had a grant of the office of constable of Leeds castle, and of the parkership of it; and in the 12th year of that reign, he had a grant of the custody of the manor of Leeds, with sundry perquisities, for forty years. He died in the 23d year of that reign, having re-edisied great part of the castle, at the king's no small charge.
But the fee simple of the manor and castle of Leeds remained in the hands of the crown, till Edward VI. in his 6th year, granted them, with their appurtenances in the parishes of Leeds, Langley, and Sutton, to Sir Anthony St. Leger, lord deputy of Ireland, to hold in capite by knight's service.
His son, Sir Warham St. Leger, succeeded him in this manor and castle, and was afterwards chief governor of Munster, in Ireland, in which province he was unfortunately slain in 1599, (fn. 6) but before his death he alienated this manor and castle to Sir Richard Smyth, fourth son of Thomas Smyth, esq. of Westenhanger, commonly called Customer Smyth.
Sir Richard Smyth resided at Leeds castle, of which he died possessed in 1628, and was buried in Ashford church, where there is a costly monument erected to his memory.
Sir John Smith, his only son, succeeded his father, and resided at Leeds castle, and dying s. p. in 1632, was buried in this church; upon which his two sisters, Alice, wife of Sir Timothy Thornhill, and Mary, of Maurice Barrow, esq. became his coheirs, and entitled their respective husbands to the property of this manor and castle, which they afterwards joined in the sale of to Sir T. Culpeper, of Hollingborne, who settled this estate, after his purchase of it, on his eldest son Cheney Culpeper, remainder to his two other sons, Francis and Thomas. Cheney Culpeper, esq. resided at Leedscastle for some time, till at length persuading his brother Sir Thomas Culpeper, of Hollingborne, (then his only surviving brother, Francis being dead. s. p.) to cut off the entail of this estate, he alienated it to his cousin Sir John Colepeper, lord Colepeper, only son of Sir John Culpeper, of Wigsell, in Sussex, whose younger brother Francis was of Greenway-court, in Hollingborne, and was father of Sir Thomas Culpeper, the purchaser of this estate as before-mentioned.
Sir John Colepeper represented this county in parliament in the 16th year of king Charles I. and being a person, who by his abilities had raised himself much in the king's favor, was made of his privy council, and chancellor of the exchequer, afterwards master of the rolls, and governor of the Isle of Wight. During the troubles of that monarch, he continued stedfast to the royal cause, and as a reward for his services, was in 1644 created lord Colepeper, baron of Thoresway, in Lincolnshire.
After the king's death he continued abroad with king Charles II. in his exile. During his absence, Leeds-castle seems to have been in the possession of the usurping powers, and to have been made use of by them, for the assembling of their committee men and sequestrators, and for a receptacle to imprison the ejected ministers, for in 1652, all his estates had been declared by parliament forfeited, for treason against the state. He died in 1660, a few weeks only after the restoration, and was buried at Hollingborne. He bore for his arms, Argent, a bend ingrailed gules, the antient bearing of this family; he left by his second wife Judith, daughter of Sir Thomas Culpeper, of Hollingborne, several children, of whom Thomas was his successor in title and estates, and died without male issue as will be mentioned hereafter, John succeeded his brother in the title, and died in 1719 s. p. and Cheney succeeded his brother in the title, and died at his residence of Hoston St. John, in 1725, s. p. likewise, by which the title became extinct; they all, with the rest of the branch of the family, lie buried at Hollingborne. Thomas, lord Colepeper, the eldest son, succeeded his father in title, and in this manor and castle, where he resided, and having married Margaret, daughter of Signior Jean de Hesse, of a noble family in Germany, he left by her a sole daughter and heir Catherine, who intitled her husband Thomas, lord Fairfax, of Cameron, in Scotland, to this manor and castle, with his other estates in this neighbourhood.
The family of Fairfax appear by old evidences in the hands of the family to have been in possession of lands in Yorkshire near six hundred years ago. Richard Fairfax was possessed of lands in that county in the reign of king John, whose grandson William Fairfax in the time of king Henry III. purchased the manor of Walton, in the West Riding, where he and his successors resided for many generations afterwards, and from whom descended the Fairfax's, of Walton and Gilling, in Yorkshire; of whom, Sir Thomas Fairfax, of Gilling, was created viscount Fairfax, of the kingdom of Ireland, which title became extinct in 1772; and from a younger branch of them descended Sir Thomas Fairfax, of Denton, who lived in queen Elizabeth's reign, and changed the original field of his coat armour from argent to or, bearing for his arms, Or, 3 bars gemelles, gules, surmounted of a lion rampant, sable, crown'd, of the first, and was father of Sir. T. Fairfax, who was, for his services to James and Charles I. created in 1627 lord Fairfax, baron of Cameron, in Scotland. He died in 1640, having had ten sons and two daughters; of whom, Ferdinando was his successor; Henry was rector of Bolton Percy, and had two sons, Henry, who became lord Fairfax, and Bryan, who was ancestor of Bryan Fairfax, late commissioner of the customs; and colonel Charles Fairfax, of Menston, was the noted antiquary, whose issue settled there.
Ferdinando, the second lord Fairfax, in the civil wars of king Charles I. was made general of the parliamentary forces, and died at York in 1646. His son, Sir Thomas Fairfax, succeeded him as lord Fairfax, and in all his posts under the parliament, and was that famous general so noted in English history during the civil wars, being made commander in chief of all the parliamentary forces; but at last he grew so weary of the distress and confusion which his former actions had brought upon his unhappy country, that he heartily concurred in the restoration of king Charles II. After which he retired to his seat at Bilborough, in Yorkshire, where he died in 1671, and was buried there, leaving by Anne, daughter and coheir of Horatio, lord Vere of Tilbury, a truly loyal and virtuous lady, an only daughter; upon which the title devolved to Henry Fairfax, esq. of Oglesthorpe, in Yorkshire, his first cousin, eldest son of Henry, rector of Bolton Percy, the second son of Thomas, the first lord Fairfax. Henry, lord Fairfax, died in 1680, and was succeeded by his eldest son Thomas, fifth lord Fairfax, who was bred to a military life, and rose to the rank of a brigadier-general. He represented Yorkshire in several parliaments and marrying Catherine, daughter and heir of Thomas, lord Colepeper, possessed, in her right this manor and castle, and other large possessions, as before-mentioned. (fn. 7)
He died possessed of them in 1710, leaving three sons and four daughters, Thomas, who succeeded him as lord Fairfax; Henry Culpeper, who died unmarried, in 1734; and Robert, of whom hereafter. Of the daughters, Margaret married David Wilkins, D. D. and prebendary of Canterbury, and Francis married Denny Martin, esq. Thomas, lord Fairfax, the son, resided at Leeds-castle till his quitting England, to reside on his great possessions in Virginia, where he continued to the time of his death. On his departure from England, he gave up the possession of this manor and castle, with his other estates in this neighbourhood, to his only surviving brother, the hon. Robert Fairfax, who afterwards resided at Leeds-castle, and on his brother's death unmarried, in 1782, succeeded to the title of lord Fairfax. He was at first bred to a military life, but becoming possessed of Leeds castle, he retired there, and afterwards twice served in parliament for the town of Maidstoue, as he did afterwards in two successive parliaments for this county. He was twice married; first to Marsha, daughter and coheir of Anthony Collins, esq. of Baddow, in Essex, by whom he had one son, who died an instant; and, secondly, to one of the daughters of Thomas Best, esq. of Chatham, who died s. p. in 1750. Lord Fairfax dying s. p. in 1793, this castle and manor, with the rest of his estates in this county, came to his nephew the Rev. Denny Martin, the eldest son of his sister Frances, by Denny Martin, esq. of Loose, who had before his uncle's death been created D. D. and had, with the royal licence, assumed the name and arms of Fairfax. Dr. Fairfax is the present possessor of this manor and castle, and resides here, being at present unmarried.
A court leet and court baron is held for the manor of Leeds, at which three borsholders are appointed. It is divided into six divisions, or yokes as they are called, viz. Church-yoke, Ferinland-yoke, Mill-yoke, Russerken-yoke, Stockwell-yoke, and Lees-yoke.
John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art
Sarasota, Florida
David
Artist: Michelangelo Buonarroti (Italian, 1475 - 1564)
Maker: Fonderia Chiurazzi (Italian, founded 1870)
Date: early 20th century
Fully nude and standing over seventeen feet tall, Michelangelo’s David was a revelation in Renaissance sculpture and remains today the most recognizable statue in the world. The figure’s dimensions, piercing gaze, and tensed musculature were a subject of discussion in the 16th century just as they are now, drawing admirers and detractors alike, all of whom played a part in determining the artistic and psychological significance of such a masterwork. In Florence, the statue became an image of republican fortitude, and in Sarasota, centuries later, it has become a symbol of the city’s identity as an arts capital.
Assuming a familiar contrapposto stance and poised with his humble armaments – a stone and a sling – David was as much a summation of antique and Renaissance sculpture as it was a break with tradition. The pose and treatment of the body are decidedly ancient, filtered through Renaissance sensibilities. But not since the Romans had anyone erected a nude male figure of such colossal proportions, nor with as much attention to human anatomy and interest in accentuated bodily forms. The choice of subject, the biblical David, was not novel either. Sculptors Donatello (ca. 1386-1466) and Verrocchio (ca. 1435-1488) had in the previous century shown the young hero standing victoriously over Goliath’s severed head. Michelangelo however cast David not as a haughty, ephebic prince but as a powerful, muscled young man, choosing to show him in the moments just before the battle. Its artistic qualities and symbolic potential were immediately recognized, and the statue, originally intended for the buttresses high up on the Florence Duomo, was placed instead at the entrance to the political center of the short-lived Florentine Republic (1494-1512), the Palazzo della Signoria. The statue stood there until the late 19th century, when it was removed to its present location in the Galleria dell’Accademia.
By virtue of the prime real estate it occupied and its subsequent glorification by art history (Vasari said it “eclipsed all other statues”), the David was copied extensively. The Ringling David, made in bronze from a cast of the marble original, has been the centerpiece of John Ringling’s Renaissance-inspired art museum since its founding in the late 1920s.
I was able to enjoy him for almost 4 years, but yesterday I had to put him to sleep.
Since November '24 he was palliative with severe lung problems, pulmonary fibrosis and shrivelled bronchial tubes. This meant he could not breathe properly and often felt short of breath.
For his comfort he was given the maximum dose of medication but despite that his lungs filled with water this weekend, he had to cough a lot and was very short of breath. So sad to see him fighting for a little air. There was nothing more they could do for him except more and other pills and injections (just to prolong his life, but what a life !), so I decided to let him go.
I am very sad and what an emptiness such a small dog leaves behind !
Bijna 4 jaar mocht ik van 'm genieten maar gisteren moest ik hem laten inslapen.
Sinds november '24 was hij palliatief: zware longproblemen, longfibrose en verschrompelde luchtpijptakken. Daardoor kon hij niet goed ademen en had hij het dikwijls benauwd.
Voor z'n comfort kreeg hij de maximale dosis medicatie maar ondanks dat schoten zijn longen dit weekend vol water, hij moest veel hoesten en had het benauwd. Zo zielig om hem te zien vechten voor een beetje lucht. Ze konden niets meer voor hem doen alleen nog meer en andere pillen en spuitjes (alleen om z'n leven te verlengen, maar wat voor een leven), dus besliste ik om hem te laten gaan.
Ik ben heel erg verdrietig en wat een leegte laat zo'n klein hondje achter !
“Whoever does the Will of God is my brother and sister…” Mark 3:31-35
“Then HIS mother and HIS brothers came to HIM, but they could not reach HIM for the crowd. And HE was told, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you." But HE said to them, "My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it." Luke 8:19-21
MEDITATION
“Imagine yourself sitting with Jesus when word comes that His relatives want to see Him. As He speaks, Jesus gestures toward you with a warm smile: “Here is my brother and sister and mother.” How would that make you feel?
“This isn’t just your imagination. It’s true! Through God’s free gift, you have been brought into a family relationship with Him.
“…To be a brother or sister of Jesus is both a fact about who you already are and a calling toward who you will become as you “take on the family resemblance” more and more. If you have been baptized, you have been “born again” as a son or daughter of God (John 3:4). And as this family member whom Jesus looks at with love, you are also called to love God and do His Will more and more each day.
“…How can you do God’s Will today? By doing the simple tasks that God gives you each day. By calling to mind Jesus’ presence with you as you work. By asking Him for the Grace to perform those deeds with a Loving, Cheerful heart, and offering them to the Lord. These shifts in attitude can change your experience, turning drudgery into Joyful service. Whether they feel pleasant or trying, these decisions to do God’s Will in company with Jesus will bring you even more deeply into your Father’s Loving Embrace.”
PRAYER
“Here I am, Lord. I come to do Your Will.”
#prayer from today’s #meditation reflection @ www.DailyScripture.Net or APP at Daily Scripture Servants of the Word
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Filename - “Whoever does the will of God…” - Mark 3, 2023
Following the Son...
Blessings,
Sharon 🌻
God’s Beauty In Nature is calling us into a deeper relationship with Him...
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Taken for 52 weeks for dogs. Jake. Against the fall leaves on our WNC vacation. Jake was studying some people about to take off on a trip- he's such a curious fellow-- so focused when there is some point of interest. Today was such a glorious sunny, blue sky day. Many of the leaves are gone from the trees, at the higher elevations, where I am. But there are still a few leaves left. Jake loves it here. I know- another head shot. I'll include in the first comment below- a partial body shot of Jake at the waterfall, where we hiked. I can't let Jake off leash on hikes. He eats things he shouldn't and gets sick if I do. He is too curious about other dogs and wild life. So it's very hard to let him be off leash, outside (where my camera works best),, to get his whole body in a shot. Darn.
Taken 10/13/11, Uploaded 10/23/11, 2011 10 23_zTSBS82pctLevelsScreen30pctEnhanceDDLevelsJake Treespots WNC dogs_7428
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An old friend of mine who collects older trucks once said to me the thing that fascinated him the most was the amount of butts that have sat in them. While this isn't the oldest car I have ever inventoried, (a 79 Tbird has that honor) it still is a rite of passage experience to release the clutch and give an engine that is older than you some go juice. This 4x4 short bed came equipped with the bulletproof 4.9 inline 6 and even though it wasn't a 5.0 V8 she still sounds much much better than her grandchildren 26 years later. And that isn't the only change that has happened in 26 years. It is truly a shame the path the auto industry has taken today, trying to squeeze every last penny out of the manufacturing process. Ford, GM, Fiat/Chrysler and every other car company is guilty of this, and with Fords recent recall on rupturing brake lines goes to show how even simple safety is subject to capitalisms greed across the board. I am just happy that relics like these roam the pavement and can offer a short taste of "what once was".
Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin [nb 1] (9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968) was a Soviet Air Forces pilot and cosmonaut who became the first human to journey into outer space, achieving a major milestone in the Space Race; his capsule Vostok 1 completed one orbit of Earth on 12 April 1961. Gagarin became an international celebrity and was awarded many medals and titles, including Hero of the Soviet Union, his nation's highest honour.
Vostok 1 was Gagarin's only spaceflight but he served as the backup crew to the Soyuz 1 mission, which ended in a fatal crash, killing his friend and fellow cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov. Gagarin later served as the deputy training director of the Cosmonaut Training Centre, which was subsequently named after him. He was elected as a deputy to the Soviet of the Union in 1962 and then to the Soviet of Nationalities, respectively the lower and upper chambers of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Gagarin died in 1968 when the MiG-15 training jet he was piloting with his flight instructor Vladimir Seryogin crashed near the town of Kirzhach.
Contents
1 Early life and education
2 Soviet Air Force service
3 Soviet space program
3.1 Selection and training
3.2 Vostok 1
4 After the Vostok 1 flight
5 Personal life
6 Death
7 Awards and honours
7.1 Medals and orders of merit
7.2 Tributes
7.3 Statues and monuments
7.4 50th anniversary
8 See also
9 Notes
10 References
10.1 Sources
11 Further reading
12 External links
Early life and education
Yuri Gagarin was born 9 March 1934 in the village of Klushino,[1] near Gzhatsk (renamed Gagarin in 1968 after his death).[2] His parents worked on a collective farm:[3] Alexey Ivanovich Gagarin as a carpenter and Anna Timofeyevna Gagarina as a dairy farmer.[nb 2][4] Yuri was the third of four children: his siblings were brothers Valentin (1924) and Boris (1936), and sister Zoya (1927).[5][6]
Like millions of Soviet Union citizens, the Gagarin family suffered during the Nazi occupation of Russia during World War II. Klushino was occupied in November 1941 during the German advance on Moscow and a German officer took over the Gagarin residence. The family were allowed to build a mud hut approximately 3 by 3 metres (10 by 10 ft) inside on the land behind their house, where they spent twenty-one months until the end of the occupation.[7] His two older siblings were deported by the Germans to Poland for slave labour in 1943 and did not return until after the war in 1945.[5][8] In 1946, the family moved to Gzhatsk, where Gagarin continued his secondary education.[7]
In 1950, aged 16, Gagarin began an apprenticeship as a foundryman at the Lyubertsy steel plant near Moscow,[5][8] and enrolled at a local "young workers" school for seventh-grade evening classes.[9] After graduating in 1951 from both the seventh grade and the vocational school with honours in mouldmaking and foundry work,[9] he was selected for further training at the Saratov Industrial Technical School, where he studied tractors.[5][8][10] While in Saratov, Gagarin volunteered at a local flying club for weekend training as a Soviet air cadet, where he trained to fly a biplane, and later a Yak-18.[8][10] He earned extra money as a part-time dock labourer on the Volga River.[7]
Soviet Air Force service
In 1955, Gagarin was accepted to the 1st Chkalovsky Higher Air Force Pilots School, a flight school in Orenburg.[11][12] He initially began training on the Yak-18 already familiar to him and later graduated to training on the MiG-15 in February 1956.[11] Gagarin twice struggled to land the two-seater trainer aircraft, and risked dismissal from pilot training. However, the commander of the regiment decided to give him another chance at landing. Gagarin's flight instructor gave him a cushion to sit on, which improved his view from the cockpit, and he landed successfully. Having completed his evaluation in a trainer aircraft,[13] Gagarin began flying solo in 1957.[5]
On 5 November 1957, Gagarin was commissioned a lieutenant in the Soviet Air Forces having accumulated 166 hours and 47 minutes of flight time. He graduated from flight school the next day and was posted to the Luostari airbase close to the Norwegian border in Murmansk Oblast for a two-year assignment with the Northern Fleet.[14] On 7 July 1959, he was rated Military Pilot 3rd Class.[15] After expressing interest in space exploration following the launch of Luna 3 on 6 October 1959, his recommendation to the Soviet space program was endorsed and forward by Lieutenant Colonel Babushkin.[14][16] By this point, he had accumulated 265 hours of flight time.[14] Gagarin was promoted to the rank of senior lieutenant on 6 November 1959,[15] three weeks after he was interviewed by a medical commission for qualification to the space program.[14]
Soviet space program
Selection and training
See also: Vostok programme
Vostok I capsule on display at the RKK Energiya museum
Gagarin's selection for the Vostok programme was overseen by the Central Flight Medical Commission led by Major General Konstantin Fyodorovich Borodin of the Soviet Army Medical Service. He underwent physical and psychological testing conducted at Central Aviation Scientific-Research Hospital, in Moscow, commanded by Colonel A.S. Usanov, a member of the commission. The commission also included Colonel Yevgeniy Anatoliyevich Karpov, who later commanded the training centre, Colonel Vladimir Ivanovich Yazdovskiy, the head physician for Gagarin's flight, and Major-General Aleksandr Nikolayevich Babiychuk, a physician flag officer on the Soviet Air Force General Staff to the Commander in Chief of the Air Force.[17]
From a pool of 154 qualified pilots short-listed by their Air Force units, the military physicians chose 29 cosmonaut candidates, of which 20 were approved by the Credential Committee of the Soviet Government. The first twelve including Gagarin were approved on 7 March 1960 and eight more were added in a series of subsequent orders issued until June.[18] Gagarin began training at the Khodynka Airfield in downtown Moscow on 15 March 1960. The training regiment involved vigorous and repetitive physical exercises which Alexei Leonov, a member of the initial group of twelve, described as akin to training for the Olympics Games.[19] In April 1960, they began parachute training in Saratov Oblast and each completed about 40 to 50 jumps from both low and high altitude, and over land and water.[20]
Gagarin was a candidate favoured by his peers. When they were asked to vote anonymously for a candidate besides themselves they would like to be the first to fly, all but three chose Gagarin.[21] One of these candidates, Yevgeny Khrunov, believed that Gagarin was very focused and was demanding of himself and others when necessary.[22] On 30 May 1960, Gagarin was further selected for an accelerated training group, known as the Vanguard Six or Sochi Six,[23][nb 3] from which the first cosmonauts of the Vostok programme would be chosen. The other members of the group were Anatoliy Kartashov, Andriyan Nikolayev, Pavel Popovich, German Titov, and Valentin Varlamov. However, Kartashov and Varlamov were injured and replaced by Khrunov and Grigoriy Nelyubov.[25]
As several of the candidates selected for the program including Gagarin did not have higher education degrees, they were enrolled into a correspondence course program at Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy. Gagarin enrolled in the program in September 1960 and did not earn his specialist diploma until early 1968.[26][27] Gagarin was also subjected to experiments that were designed to test physical and psychological endurance including oxygen starvation tests in which the cosmonauts were locked in an isolation chamber and the air slowly pumped out. He also trained for the upcoming flight by experiencing g-forces in a centrifuge.[28][25] Psychological tests included placing the candidates in an anechoic chamber in complete isolation; Gagarin was in the chamber on July 26 – August 5.[29][20] In August 1960, a Soviet Air Force doctor evaluated his personality as follows:
Modest; embarrasses when his humor gets a little too racy; high degree of intellectual development evident in Yuriy; fantastic memory; distinguishes himself from his colleagues by his sharp and far-ranging sense of attention to his surroundings; a well-developed imagination; quick reactions; persevering, prepares himself painstakingly for his activities and training exercises, handles celestial mechanics and mathematical formulae with ease as well as excels in higher mathematics; does not feel constrained when he has to defend his point of view if he considers himself right; appears that he understands life better than a lot of his friends.[21]
The Vanguard Six were given the title of pilot-cosmonaut in January 1961[25] and entered a two-day examination conducted by a special interdepartmental commission led Lieutenant-General Nikolai Kamanin, tasked with ranking of the candidates based on their mission readiness for the first human Vostok mission. On 17 January 1961, they were tested in a simulator at the M. M. Gromov Flight-Research Institute on a full-size mockup of the Vostok capsule. Gagarin, Nikolayev, Popovich, and Titov all received excellent marks on the first day of testing in which they were required to describe the various phases of the mission followed by questions from commission.[22] On the second day, they were given a written examination following which the special commission ranked Gagarin as the best candidate the first mission. He and the next two highest-ranked cosmonauts, Titov and Nelyubov, were sent to Tyuratam for final preparations.[22] Gagarin and Titov were selected to train in the flight-ready spacecraft on 7 April 1961. Historian Asif Siddiqi writes of the final selection:[30]
In the end, at the State Commission meeting on April 8, Kamanin stood up and formally nominated Gagarin as the primary pilot and Titov as his backup. Without much discussion, the commission approved the proposal and moved on to other last-minute logistical issues. It was assumed that in the event Gagarin developed health problems prior to liftoff, Titov would take his place, with Nelyubov acting as his backup.
Vostok 1
Main article: Vostok 1
Poyekhali!
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Gagarin's voice
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On 12 April 1961, 6:07 am UTC, the Vostok 3KA-3 (Vostok 1) spacecraft was launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome. Aboard was Gagarin, the first human to travel into space, using the call sign Kedr (Russian: Кедр, Siberian pine or Cedar).[31] The radio communication between the launch control room and Gagarin included the following dialogue at the moment of rocket launch:
Korolev: Preliminary stage ... intermediate... main... LIFT-OFF! We wish you a good flight. Everything's all right.
Gagarin: Off we go! Goodbye, until [we meet] soon, dear friends.[32][33]
Gagarin's farewell to Korolev using the informal phrase Poyekhali! (Russian: Поехали!)[nb 4] later became a popular expression in the Eastern Bloc that was used to refer to the beginning of the Space Age.[35][36] The five first-stage engines fired until the first separation event, when the four side-boosters fell away, leaving the core engine. The core stage then separated while the rocket was in a suborbital trajectory, and the upper stage carried it to orbit. Once the upper stage finished firing, it separated from the spacecraft, which orbited for 108 minutes before returning to Earth in Kazakhstan.[37] Gagarin became the first to orbit the Earth.[31]
File:1961-04-19 First Pictures-Yuri Gagarin-selection.ogvPlay media
An April 1961 newsreel of Gagarin arriving in Moscow to be greeted by First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev.
"The feeling of weightlessness was somewhat unfamiliar compared with Earth conditions. Here, you feel as if you were hanging in a horizontal position in straps. You feel as if you are suspended", Gagarin wrote in his post-flight report.[38] He also wrote in his autobiography released the same year that he sang the tune "The Motherland Hears, The Motherland Knows" (Russian: "Родина слышит, Родина знает") during re-entry.[39] Gagarin was qualified a Military Pilot 1st Class and promoted to the rank of major in a special order given during his flight.[15][39]
At about 23,000 feet (7,000 m), Gagarin ejected from the descending capsule as planned and landed using a parachute. There were concerns Gagarin's spaceflight record would not be certified by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), the world governing body for setting standards and keeping records in the field, which at the time required that the pilot land with the craft.[40] Gagarin and Soviet officials initially refused to admit that he had not landed with his spacecraft,[41] an omission which became apparent after Titov's subsequent flight on Vostok 2 four months later. Gagarin's spaceflight records were nonetheless certified and again reaffirmed by the FAI, which revised it rules, and acknowledge that the crucial steps of the safe launch, orbit, and return of the pilot had been accomplished. Gagarin continues to be internationally recognised as the first human in space and first to orbit the Earth.[42]
After the Vostok 1 flight
Gagarin in Warsaw, 1961
Gagarin's flight was a triumph for the Soviet space program and he became a national hero of the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc, as well as a worldwide celebrity. Newspapers around the globe published his biography and details of his flight. He was escorted in a long motorcade of high-ranking officials through the streets of Moscow to the Kremlin where, in a lavish ceremony, Nikita Khrushchev awarded him the title Hero of the Soviet Union. Other cities in the Soviet Union also held mass demonstrations, the scale of which were second only to World War II Victory Parades.[43]
Gagarin and Valentina Tereshkova (seated to his right) sign autographs in 1964
Gagarin gained a reputation as an adept public figure and was noted for his charismatic smile.[44][45][46] On 15 April 1961, accompanied by official from the Soviet Academy of Sciences, he answered questions at a press conference in Moscow reportedly attended by 1,000 reporters.[47] Gagarin visited the United Kingdom three months after the Vostok 1 mission, going to London and Manchester.[48][44] While in Manchester, despite heavy rain, he refused an umbrella, insisted that the roof of the convertible car he was riding in remain open, and stood so the cheering crowds could see him.[44][49] Gagarin toured widely abroad, accepting the invitation of about 30 countries.[50] In just the first four months, he also went to Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Finland, Hungary, and Iceland.[51]
In 1962, Gagarin began serving as a deputy to the Soviet of the Union,[52] and was elected to the Central Committee of the Young Communist League. He later returned to Star City, the cosmonaut facility, where he spent several years working on designs for a reusable spacecraft. He became a lieutenant colonel of the Soviet Air Forces on 12 June 1962, and received the rank of colonel on 6 November 1963.[15] On 20 December 1963, Gagarin became Deputy Training Director of the Star City cosmonaut training base.[53] Soviet officials, including cosmonaut overseerer Nikolai Kamanin, tried to keep Gagarin away from any flights, being worried about losing their hero in an accident noting that he was "too dear to mankind to risk his life for the sake of an ordinary space flight".[54] Kamanin was also concerned by Gagarin's drinking and believed the sudden rise to fame had taken its toll on the cosmonaut. While acquaintances say Gagarin had been a "sensible drinker", his touring schedule placed him in social situations in which he was increasingly expected to drink alcohol.[5][10]
Gagarin with U.S. Vice President Hubert Humphrey, French Prime Minister Georges Pompidou and the Gemini 4 astronauts at the 1965 Paris Air Show
Two years later, he was re-elected as a deputy of the Soviet Union but this time to the Soviet of Nationalities, the upper chamber of legislature.[52] The following year, he began to re-qualify as a fighter pilot[55] and was backup pilot for his friend Vladimir Komarov on the Soyuz 1 flight after five years without piloting duty. Kamanin had opposed Gagarin's reassignment to cosmonaut training; he had gained weight and his flying skills had deteriorated. Despite this, he remained a strong contender for Soyuz 1 until he was replaced by Komarov in April 1966 and reassigned to Soyuz 3.[56]
The Soyuz 1 launch was rushed due to implicit political pressures[57] and despite Gagarin's protests that additional safety precautions were necessary.[58] Gagarin accompanied Komarov to the rocket before launch and relayed instructions to Komarov from ground control following multiple system failures aboard the spacecraft.[59] Despite their best efforts, Soyuz 1 crash landed after its parachutes failed to open, killing Komarov instantly.[60] After the Soyuz 1 crash, Gagarin was permanently banned from training for and participating in further spaceflights.[61] He was also grounded from flying aircraft solo, a demotion he worked hard to lift. He was temporarily relieved of duties to focus on academics with the promise that he would be able to resume flight training.[62] On 17 February 1968, Gagarin successfully defended his aerospace engineering thesis on the subject of spaceplane aerodynamic configuration and graduated cum laude from Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy.[27][63][62]
Personal life
Gagarin and his wife Valentina clapping at a concert in Moscow in 1964.
Gagarin and his wife Valentina at a concert in Moscow in 1964.
Gagarin was a keen sportsman and fond of ice hockey as a goal keeper.[64] He was also a basketball fan and coached the Saratov Industrial Technical School team, as well as being a referee.[65]
In 1957, while a cadet in flight school, Gagarin met Valentina Goryacheva at the May Day celebrations at the Red Square in Moscow.[66] She was a medical technician who graduated from Orenburg Medical School.[8][10] They were married on 7 November 1957,[8] the same day Gagarin graduated from Orenburg, and they had two daughters.[67][68] Yelena Yurievna Gagarina, born 1959,[68] is an art historian who has worked as the director-general of the Moscow Kremlin Museums since 2001;[69][70] and Galina Yurievna Gagarina, born 1961,[68] is a professor of economics and the department chair at Plekhanov Russian University of Economics in Moscow.[69][71] Following his rise to fame, at a Black Sea resort in September 1961, he was reportedly caught by his wife during a liaison with a nurse who had aided him after a boating incident. He attempted to escape through a window and jumped off a second floor balcony. The resulting injury left a permanent scar above his left eyebrow.[5][10]
Death
Plaque on a brick wall with inscription: Юрий Алексеевич Гагарин, 1934-03-09–1968-03-27
Plaque indicating Gagarin's interment in the Kremlin Wall
On 27 March 1968, while on a routine training flight from Chkalovsky Air Base, Gagarin and flight instructor Vladimir Seryogin died when their MiG-15UTI crashed near the town of Kirzhach. The bodies of Gagarin and Seryogin were cremated and their ashes were buried in the walls of the Kremlin.[72] Wrapped in secrecy, the cause of the crash that killed Gagarin is uncertain and became the subject of several theories.[73][74] At least three investigations into the crash were conducted separately by the Air Force, official government commissions, and the KGB.[75][76] According to a biography of Gagarin by Jamie Doran and Piers Bizony, Starman: The Truth Behind the Legend of Yuri Gagarin, the KGB worked "not just alongside the Air Force and the official commission members but against them."[75]
The KGB's report declassified in March 2003 dismissed various conspiracy theories and instead indicated the actions of airbase personnel contributed to the crash. The report states that an air-traffic controller provided Gagarin with outdated weather information and that by the time of his flight, conditions had deteriorated significantly. Ground crew also left external fuel tanks attached to the aircraft. Gagarin's planned flight activities needed clear weather and no outboard tanks. The investigation concluded Gagarin's aircraft entered a spin, either due to a bird strike or because of a sudden move to avoid another aircraft. Because of the out-of-date weather report, the crew believed their altitude was higher than it was and could not react properly to bring the MiG-15 out of its spin.[76] Another theory, advanced in 2005 by the original crash investigator, hypothesizes that a cabin air vent was accidentally left open by the crew or the previous pilot, leading to oxygen deprivation and leaving the crew incapable of controlling the aircraft.[73] A similar theory, published in Air & Space magazine, is that the crew detected the open vent and followed procedure by executing a rapid dive to a lower altitude. This dive caused them to lose consciousness and crash.[74]
On 12 April 2007, the Kremlin vetoed a new investigation into the death of Gagarin. Government officials said they saw no reason to begin a new investigation.[77] In April 2011, documents from a 1968 commission set up by the Central Committee of the Communist Party to investigate the accident were declassified. The documents revealed that the commission's original conclusion was that Gagarin or Seryogin had manoeuvered sharply, either to avoid a weather balloon or to avoid "entry into the upper limit of the first layer of cloud cover", leading the jet into a "super-critical flight regime and to its stalling in complex meteorological conditions".[78]
A Russian MiG-15UTI, the same type as Gagarin was flying
Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, a member of a state commission established to investigate Gagarin's death, was conducting parachute training sessions that day and heard "two loud booms in the distance". He believes that a Sukhoi Su-15 was flying below its minimum altitude and, "without realizing it because of the terrible weather conditions, he passed within 10 or 20 meters of Yuri and Seregin's plane while breaking the sound barrier". The resulting turbulence would have sent the MiG-15UTI into an uncontrolled spin. Leonov said the first boom he heard was that of the jet breaking the sound barrier and the second was Gagarin's plane crashing.[79] In a June 2013 interview with Russian television network RT, Leonov said a report on the incident confirmed the presence of a second, "unauthorized" Su-15 flying in the area. However, as a condition of being allowed to discuss the declassified report, Leonov was barred from disclosing the name of the Su-15 pilot who was 80 years old and in poor health as of 2013.[80]
Awards and honours
Medals and orders of merit
Jânio Quadros, President of Brazil, decorated Gagarin in 1961.
On 14 April 1961, Gagarin was honoured with a 12-mile (19 km) parade attended by millions of people that concluded at the Red Square. After a short speech, he was bestowed the Hero of the Soviet Union,[81][82] Order of Lenin,[81] Merited Master of Sports of the Soviet Union[83] and the first Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR.[82] On 15 April, the Soviet Academy of Sciences awarded him with the Konstantin Tsiolkovsky Gold Medal, named after the Russian pioneer of space aeronautics.[84] Gagarin had also been awarded four Soviet commemorative medals over the course of his career.[15]
He was honoured as a Hero of Socialist Labor (Czechoslovakia) on 29 April 1961,[85][86] and Hero of Socialist Labor (Bulgaria, including the Order of Georgi Dimitrov) on 24 May.[15][chronology citation needed] On the eighth anniversary of the beginning of Cuban Revolution (26 July), President Osvaldo Dorticos of Cuba presented him with the first Commander of the Order of Playa Girón, a newly created medal.[87]
Gagarin was also awarded the 1960 Gold Air Medal and the 1961 De la Vaulx Medal from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale in Switzerland.[88] He received numerous awards from other nations that year, including the Star of the Republic of Indonesia (2nd Class), the Order of the Cross of Grunwald (1st Degree) in Poland, the Order of the Flag of the Republic of Hungary, the Hero of Labor award from Democratic Republic of Vietnam,[15] the Italian Columbus Day Medal,[89] and a Gold Medal from the British Interplanetary Society.[90][91] President Jânio Quadros of Brazil decorated Gagarin on 2 August 1961 with the Order of Aeronautical Merit, Commander grade.[92] During a tour of Egypt in late January 1962, Gagarin received the Order of the Nile[93] and the golden keys to the gates of Cairo.[50] On 22 October 1963, Gagarin and Valentina Tereshkova were honoured with the Order of Karl Marx from the German Democratic Republic.[94]
Tributes
The date of Gagarin's space flight, 12 April, has been commemorated. Since 1962, it has been celebrated in the USSR and most of its former territories as Cosmonautics Day.[95] Since 2000, Yuri's Night, an international celebration, is held annually to commemorate milestones in space exploration.[96] In 2011, it was declared the International Day of Human Space Flight by the United Nations.[97]
Yuri Gagarin statue at the Royal Greenwich Observatory in London
A number of buildings and locations have been named for Gagarin. The Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, was named on 30 April 1968.[98] The launch pad at Baikonur Cosmodrome from which Sputnik 1 and Vostok 1 were launched is now known as Gagarin's Start. Gagarin Raion in Sevastopol, Ukraine, was named after him during the period of the Soviet Union. The Russian Air Force Academy was renamed Gagarin Air Force Academy in 1968.[99] A street in Warsaw, Poland, is called Yuri Gagarin Street.[100] The town of Gagarin, Armenia was renamed in his honour in 1961.[101]
Gagarin has been honoured on the Moon by astronauts and astronomers. During the American space program's Apollo 11 mission in 1969, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin left a memorial satchel containing medals commemorating Gagarin and fellow cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov on the Moon's surface.[102][103] In 1971, Apollo 15 astronauts David Scott and James Irwin left the small Fallen Astronaut sculpture at their landing site as a memorial to the American astronauts and Soviet cosmonauts who died in the Space Race; the names on its plaque included Yuri Gagarin and 14 others.[104][105] In 1970, a 262 km (163 mi)-wide crater on the far side after him.[106] Gagarin was inducted as a member of the 1976 inaugural class of the International Space Hall of Fame in New Mexico.[107]
Gagarin is memorialised in music; a cycle of Soviet patriotic songs titled The Constellation Gagarin (Russian: Созвездье Гагарина, tr. Sozvezdie Gagarina) was written by Aleksandra Pakhmutova and Nikolai Dobronravov in 1970–1971.[108] The most famous of these songs refers to Gagarin's poyekhali!: in the lyrics, "He said 'let's go!' He waved his hand".[35][108] He was the inspiration for the pieces "Hey Gagarin" by Jean-Michel Jarre on Métamorphoses, "Gagarin" by Public Service Broadcasting, and "Gagarin, I loved you" by Undervud.[109]
Russian ten-ruble commemorating Gagarin in 2001
Vessels have been named for Gagarin; Soviet tracking ship Kosmonavt Yuri Gagarin was built in 1971[110] and the Armenian airline Armavia named their first Sukhoi Superjet 100 in his honour in 2011.[111]
Two commemorative coins were issued in the Soviet Union to honour the 20th and 30th anniversaries of his flight: a one-ruble coin in copper-nickel (1981) and a three-ruble coin in silver (1991). In 2001, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Gagarin's flight, a series of four coins bearing his likeness was issued in Russia; it consisted of a two-ruble coin in copper-nickel, a three-ruble coin in silver, a ten-ruble coin in brass-copper and nickel, and a 100-ruble coin in silver.[112] In 2011, Russia issued a 1,000-ruble coin in gold and a three-ruble coin in silver to mark the 50th anniversary of his flight.[113]
In 2008, the Kontinental Hockey League named their championship trophy the Gagarin Cup.[114] In a 2010 Space Foundation survey, Gagarin was ranked as the sixth-most-popular space hero, tied with Star Trek's fictional James T. Kirk.[115] A Russian docudrama titled Gagarin: First in Space was released in 2013. Previous attempts at portraying Gagarin were disallowed; his family took legal action over his portrayal in a fictional drama and vetoed a musical.[116]
Statues and monuments
There are statues of Gagarin and monuments to him located in Gagarin (Smolensk Oblast), Orenburg, Cheboksary, Irkutsk, Izhevsk, Komsomolsk-on-Amur, and Yoshkar-Ola in Russia, as well as in Nicosia, Cyprus, Druzhkivka, Ukraine, Karaganda, Kazakhstan, and Tiraspol, Moldova. On 4 June 1980, Monument to Yuri Gagarin in Gagarin Square, Leninsky Avenue, Moscow, was opened.[117] The monument is mounted to a 38 m (125 ft) tall pedestal and is constructed of titanium. Beside the column is a replica of the descent module used during his spaceflight.[118]
Bust of Gagarin at Birla Planetarium in Kolkata, India
In 2011, a statue of Gagarin was unveiled at Admiralty Arch in The Mall in London, opposite the permanent sculpture of James Cook. It is a copy of the statue outside Gagarin's former school in Lyubertsy.[119] In 2013, the statue was moved to a permanent location outside the Royal Observatory, Greenwich.[120]
In 2012, a statue was unveiled at the site of NASA's original spaceflight headquarters on South Wayside Drive in Houston. The sculpture was completed in 2011 by artist and cosmonaut Alexei Leonov and was a gift to Houston by various Russian organisations. Houston Mayor Annise Parker, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak were present for the dedication.[121][122] The Russian Federation presented a bust of Gagarin to several cities in India including one that was unveiled at the Birla Planetarium in Kolkata in February 2012.[123]
In April 2018, a bust of Gagarin erected on the street in Belgrade, Serbia, that bears his name was removed, after less than week. A new work was commissioned following the outcry over the disproportionately small size of its head which locals said was an "insult" to Gagarin.[124][125] Belgrade City Manager Goran Vesic stated that neither the city, the Serbian Ministry of Culture, nor the foundation that financed it had prior knowledge of the design.[126]
50th anniversary
50th anniversary stamp of Ukraine
The 50th anniversary of Gagarin's journey into space was marked in 2011 by tributes around the world. A film titled First Orbit was shot from the International Space Station, combining sound recordings from the original flight with footage of the route taken by Gagarin.[127] The Russian, American, and Italian crew of Expedition 27 aboard the ISS sent a special video message to wish the people of the world a "Happy Yuri's Night", wearing shirts with an image of Gagarin.[128]
The Central Bank of the Russian Federation released gold and silver coins to commemorate the anniversary.[129] The Soyuz TMA-21 spacecraft was named Gagarin with the launch in April 2011 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the first manned space mission.
Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin [nb 1] (9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968) was a Soviet Air Forces pilot and cosmonaut who became the first human to journey into outer space, achieving a major milestone in the Space Race; his capsule Vostok 1 completed one orbit of Earth on 12 April 1961. Gagarin became an international celebrity and was awarded many medals and titles, including Hero of the Soviet Union, his nation's highest honour.
Vostok 1 was Gagarin's only spaceflight but he served as the backup crew to the Soyuz 1 mission, which ended in a fatal crash, killing his friend and fellow cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov. Gagarin later served as the deputy training director of the Cosmonaut Training Centre, which was subsequently named after him. He was elected as a deputy to the Soviet of the Union in 1962 and then to the Soviet of Nationalities, respectively the lower and upper chambers of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Gagarin died in 1968 when the MiG-15 training jet he was piloting with his flight instructor Vladimir Seryogin crashed near the town of Kirzhach.
Contents
1 Early life and education
2 Soviet Air Force service
3 Soviet space program
3.1 Selection and training
3.2 Vostok 1
4 After the Vostok 1 flight
5 Personal life
6 Death
7 Awards and honours
7.1 Medals and orders of merit
7.2 Tributes
7.3 Statues and monuments
7.4 50th anniversary
8 See also
9 Notes
10 References
10.1 Sources
11 Further reading
12 External links
Early life and education
Yuri Gagarin was born 9 March 1934 in the village of Klushino,[1] near Gzhatsk (renamed Gagarin in 1968 after his death).[2] His parents worked on a collective farm:[3] Alexey Ivanovich Gagarin as a carpenter and Anna Timofeyevna Gagarina as a dairy farmer.[nb 2][4] Yuri was the third of four children: his siblings were brothers Valentin (1924) and Boris (1936), and sister Zoya (1927).[5][6]
Like millions of Soviet Union citizens, the Gagarin family suffered during the Nazi occupation of Russia during World War II. Klushino was occupied in November 1941 during the German advance on Moscow and a German officer took over the Gagarin residence. The family were allowed to build a mud hut approximately 3 by 3 metres (10 by 10 ft) inside on the land behind their house, where they spent twenty-one months until the end of the occupation.[7] His two older siblings were deported by the Germans to Poland for slave labour in 1943 and did not return until after the war in 1945.[5][8] In 1946, the family moved to Gzhatsk, where Gagarin continued his secondary education.[7]
In 1950, aged 16, Gagarin began an apprenticeship as a foundryman at the Lyubertsy steel plant near Moscow,[5][8] and enrolled at a local "young workers" school for seventh-grade evening classes.[9] After graduating in 1951 from both the seventh grade and the vocational school with honours in mouldmaking and foundry work,[9] he was selected for further training at the Saratov Industrial Technical School, where he studied tractors.[5][8][10] While in Saratov, Gagarin volunteered at a local flying club for weekend training as a Soviet air cadet, where he trained to fly a biplane, and later a Yak-18.[8][10] He earned extra money as a part-time dock labourer on the Volga River.[7]
Soviet Air Force service
In 1955, Gagarin was accepted to the 1st Chkalovsky Higher Air Force Pilots School, a flight school in Orenburg.[11][12] He initially began training on the Yak-18 already familiar to him and later graduated to training on the MiG-15 in February 1956.[11] Gagarin twice struggled to land the two-seater trainer aircraft, and risked dismissal from pilot training. However, the commander of the regiment decided to give him another chance at landing. Gagarin's flight instructor gave him a cushion to sit on, which improved his view from the cockpit, and he landed successfully. Having completed his evaluation in a trainer aircraft,[13] Gagarin began flying solo in 1957.[5]
On 5 November 1957, Gagarin was commissioned a lieutenant in the Soviet Air Forces having accumulated 166 hours and 47 minutes of flight time. He graduated from flight school the next day and was posted to the Luostari airbase close to the Norwegian border in Murmansk Oblast for a two-year assignment with the Northern Fleet.[14] On 7 July 1959, he was rated Military Pilot 3rd Class.[15] After expressing interest in space exploration following the launch of Luna 3 on 6 October 1959, his recommendation to the Soviet space program was endorsed and forward by Lieutenant Colonel Babushkin.[14][16] By this point, he had accumulated 265 hours of flight time.[14] Gagarin was promoted to the rank of senior lieutenant on 6 November 1959,[15] three weeks after he was interviewed by a medical commission for qualification to the space program.[14]
Soviet space program
Selection and training
See also: Vostok programme
Vostok I capsule on display at the RKK Energiya museum
Gagarin's selection for the Vostok programme was overseen by the Central Flight Medical Commission led by Major General Konstantin Fyodorovich Borodin of the Soviet Army Medical Service. He underwent physical and psychological testing conducted at Central Aviation Scientific-Research Hospital, in Moscow, commanded by Colonel A.S. Usanov, a member of the commission. The commission also included Colonel Yevgeniy Anatoliyevich Karpov, who later commanded the training centre, Colonel Vladimir Ivanovich Yazdovskiy, the head physician for Gagarin's flight, and Major-General Aleksandr Nikolayevich Babiychuk, a physician flag officer on the Soviet Air Force General Staff to the Commander in Chief of the Air Force.[17]
From a pool of 154 qualified pilots short-listed by their Air Force units, the military physicians chose 29 cosmonaut candidates, of which 20 were approved by the Credential Committee of the Soviet Government. The first twelve including Gagarin were approved on 7 March 1960 and eight more were added in a series of subsequent orders issued until June.[18] Gagarin began training at the Khodynka Airfield in downtown Moscow on 15 March 1960. The training regiment involved vigorous and repetitive physical exercises which Alexei Leonov, a member of the initial group of twelve, described as akin to training for the Olympics Games.[19] In April 1960, they began parachute training in Saratov Oblast and each completed about 40 to 50 jumps from both low and high altitude, and over land and water.[20]
Gagarin was a candidate favoured by his peers. When they were asked to vote anonymously for a candidate besides themselves they would like to be the first to fly, all but three chose Gagarin.[21] One of these candidates, Yevgeny Khrunov, believed that Gagarin was very focused and was demanding of himself and others when necessary.[22] On 30 May 1960, Gagarin was further selected for an accelerated training group, known as the Vanguard Six or Sochi Six,[23][nb 3] from which the first cosmonauts of the Vostok programme would be chosen. The other members of the group were Anatoliy Kartashov, Andriyan Nikolayev, Pavel Popovich, German Titov, and Valentin Varlamov. However, Kartashov and Varlamov were injured and replaced by Khrunov and Grigoriy Nelyubov.[25]
As several of the candidates selected for the program including Gagarin did not have higher education degrees, they were enrolled into a correspondence course program at Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy. Gagarin enrolled in the program in September 1960 and did not earn his specialist diploma until early 1968.[26][27] Gagarin was also subjected to experiments that were designed to test physical and psychological endurance including oxygen starvation tests in which the cosmonauts were locked in an isolation chamber and the air slowly pumped out. He also trained for the upcoming flight by experiencing g-forces in a centrifuge.[28][25] Psychological tests included placing the candidates in an anechoic chamber in complete isolation; Gagarin was in the chamber on July 26 – August 5.[29][20] In August 1960, a Soviet Air Force doctor evaluated his personality as follows:
Modest; embarrasses when his humor gets a little too racy; high degree of intellectual development evident in Yuriy; fantastic memory; distinguishes himself from his colleagues by his sharp and far-ranging sense of attention to his surroundings; a well-developed imagination; quick reactions; persevering, prepares himself painstakingly for his activities and training exercises, handles celestial mechanics and mathematical formulae with ease as well as excels in higher mathematics; does not feel constrained when he has to defend his point of view if he considers himself right; appears that he understands life better than a lot of his friends.[21]
The Vanguard Six were given the title of pilot-cosmonaut in January 1961[25] and entered a two-day examination conducted by a special interdepartmental commission led Lieutenant-General Nikolai Kamanin, tasked with ranking of the candidates based on their mission readiness for the first human Vostok mission. On 17 January 1961, they were tested in a simulator at the M. M. Gromov Flight-Research Institute on a full-size mockup of the Vostok capsule. Gagarin, Nikolayev, Popovich, and Titov all received excellent marks on the first day of testing in which they were required to describe the various phases of the mission followed by questions from commission.[22] On the second day, they were given a written examination following which the special commission ranked Gagarin as the best candidate the first mission. He and the next two highest-ranked cosmonauts, Titov and Nelyubov, were sent to Tyuratam for final preparations.[22] Gagarin and Titov were selected to train in the flight-ready spacecraft on 7 April 1961. Historian Asif Siddiqi writes of the final selection:[30]
In the end, at the State Commission meeting on April 8, Kamanin stood up and formally nominated Gagarin as the primary pilot and Titov as his backup. Without much discussion, the commission approved the proposal and moved on to other last-minute logistical issues. It was assumed that in the event Gagarin developed health problems prior to liftoff, Titov would take his place, with Nelyubov acting as his backup.
Vostok 1
Main article: Vostok 1
Poyekhali!
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Gagarin's voice
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On 12 April 1961, 6:07 am UTC, the Vostok 3KA-3 (Vostok 1) spacecraft was launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome. Aboard was Gagarin, the first human to travel into space, using the call sign Kedr (Russian: Кедр, Siberian pine or Cedar).[31] The radio communication between the launch control room and Gagarin included the following dialogue at the moment of rocket launch:
Korolev: Preliminary stage ... intermediate... main... LIFT-OFF! We wish you a good flight. Everything's all right.
Gagarin: Off we go! Goodbye, until [we meet] soon, dear friends.[32][33]
Gagarin's farewell to Korolev using the informal phrase Poyekhali! (Russian: Поехали!)[nb 4] later became a popular expression in the Eastern Bloc that was used to refer to the beginning of the Space Age.[35][36] The five first-stage engines fired until the first separation event, when the four side-boosters fell away, leaving the core engine. The core stage then separated while the rocket was in a suborbital trajectory, and the upper stage carried it to orbit. Once the upper stage finished firing, it separated from the spacecraft, which orbited for 108 minutes before returning to Earth in Kazakhstan.[37] Gagarin became the first to orbit the Earth.[31]
File:1961-04-19 First Pictures-Yuri Gagarin-selection.ogvPlay media
An April 1961 newsreel of Gagarin arriving in Moscow to be greeted by First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev.
"The feeling of weightlessness was somewhat unfamiliar compared with Earth conditions. Here, you feel as if you were hanging in a horizontal position in straps. You feel as if you are suspended", Gagarin wrote in his post-flight report.[38] He also wrote in his autobiography released the same year that he sang the tune "The Motherland Hears, The Motherland Knows" (Russian: "Родина слышит, Родина знает") during re-entry.[39] Gagarin was qualified a Military Pilot 1st Class and promoted to the rank of major in a special order given during his flight.[15][39]
At about 23,000 feet (7,000 m), Gagarin ejected from the descending capsule as planned and landed using a parachute. There were concerns Gagarin's spaceflight record would not be certified by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), the world governing body for setting standards and keeping records in the field, which at the time required that the pilot land with the craft.[40] Gagarin and Soviet officials initially refused to admit that he had not landed with his spacecraft,[41] an omission which became apparent after Titov's subsequent flight on Vostok 2 four months later. Gagarin's spaceflight records were nonetheless certified and again reaffirmed by the FAI, which revised it rules, and acknowledge that the crucial steps of the safe launch, orbit, and return of the pilot had been accomplished. Gagarin continues to be internationally recognised as the first human in space and first to orbit the Earth.[42]
After the Vostok 1 flight
Gagarin in Warsaw, 1961
Gagarin's flight was a triumph for the Soviet space program and he became a national hero of the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc, as well as a worldwide celebrity. Newspapers around the globe published his biography and details of his flight. He was escorted in a long motorcade of high-ranking officials through the streets of Moscow to the Kremlin where, in a lavish ceremony, Nikita Khrushchev awarded him the title Hero of the Soviet Union. Other cities in the Soviet Union also held mass demonstrations, the scale of which were second only to World War II Victory Parades.[43]
Gagarin and Valentina Tereshkova (seated to his right) sign autographs in 1964
Gagarin gained a reputation as an adept public figure and was noted for his charismatic smile.[44][45][46] On 15 April 1961, accompanied by official from the Soviet Academy of Sciences, he answered questions at a press conference in Moscow reportedly attended by 1,000 reporters.[47] Gagarin visited the United Kingdom three months after the Vostok 1 mission, going to London and Manchester.[48][44] While in Manchester, despite heavy rain, he refused an umbrella, insisted that the roof of the convertible car he was riding in remain open, and stood so the cheering crowds could see him.[44][49] Gagarin toured widely abroad, accepting the invitation of about 30 countries.[50] In just the first four months, he also went to Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Finland, Hungary, and Iceland.[51]
In 1962, Gagarin began serving as a deputy to the Soviet of the Union,[52] and was elected to the Central Committee of the Young Communist League. He later returned to Star City, the cosmonaut facility, where he spent several years working on designs for a reusable spacecraft. He became a lieutenant colonel of the Soviet Air Forces on 12 June 1962, and received the rank of colonel on 6 November 1963.[15] On 20 December 1963, Gagarin became Deputy Training Director of the Star City cosmonaut training base.[53] Soviet officials, including cosmonaut overseerer Nikolai Kamanin, tried to keep Gagarin away from any flights, being worried about losing their hero in an accident noting that he was "too dear to mankind to risk his life for the sake of an ordinary space flight".[54] Kamanin was also concerned by Gagarin's drinking and believed the sudden rise to fame had taken its toll on the cosmonaut. While acquaintances say Gagarin had been a "sensible drinker", his touring schedule placed him in social situations in which he was increasingly expected to drink alcohol.[5][10]
Gagarin with U.S. Vice President Hubert Humphrey, French Prime Minister Georges Pompidou and the Gemini 4 astronauts at the 1965 Paris Air Show
Two years later, he was re-elected as a deputy of the Soviet Union but this time to the Soviet of Nationalities, the upper chamber of legislature.[52] The following year, he began to re-qualify as a fighter pilot[55] and was backup pilot for his friend Vladimir Komarov on the Soyuz 1 flight after five years without piloting duty. Kamanin had opposed Gagarin's reassignment to cosmonaut training; he had gained weight and his flying skills had deteriorated. Despite this, he remained a strong contender for Soyuz 1 until he was replaced by Komarov in April 1966 and reassigned to Soyuz 3.[56]
The Soyuz 1 launch was rushed due to implicit political pressures[57] and despite Gagarin's protests that additional safety precautions were necessary.[58] Gagarin accompanied Komarov to the rocket before launch and relayed instructions to Komarov from ground control following multiple system failures aboard the spacecraft.[59] Despite their best efforts, Soyuz 1 crash landed after its parachutes failed to open, killing Komarov instantly.[60] After the Soyuz 1 crash, Gagarin was permanently banned from training for and participating in further spaceflights.[61] He was also grounded from flying aircraft solo, a demotion he worked hard to lift. He was temporarily relieved of duties to focus on academics with the promise that he would be able to resume flight training.[62] On 17 February 1968, Gagarin successfully defended his aerospace engineering thesis on the subject of spaceplane aerodynamic configuration and graduated cum laude from Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy.[27][63][62]
Personal life
Gagarin and his wife Valentina clapping at a concert in Moscow in 1964.
Gagarin and his wife Valentina at a concert in Moscow in 1964.
Gagarin was a keen sportsman and fond of ice hockey as a goal keeper.[64] He was also a basketball fan and coached the Saratov Industrial Technical School team, as well as being a referee.[65]
In 1957, while a cadet in flight school, Gagarin met Valentina Goryacheva at the May Day celebrations at the Red Square in Moscow.[66] She was a medical technician who graduated from Orenburg Medical School.[8][10] They were married on 7 November 1957,[8] the same day Gagarin graduated from Orenburg, and they had two daughters.[67][68] Yelena Yurievna Gagarina, born 1959,[68] is an art historian who has worked as the director-general of the Moscow Kremlin Museums since 2001;[69][70] and Galina Yurievna Gagarina, born 1961,[68] is a professor of economics and the department chair at Plekhanov Russian University of Economics in Moscow.[69][71] Following his rise to fame, at a Black Sea resort in September 1961, he was reportedly caught by his wife during a liaison with a nurse who had aided him after a boating incident. He attempted to escape through a window and jumped off a second floor balcony. The resulting injury left a permanent scar above his left eyebrow.[5][10]
Death
Plaque on a brick wall with inscription: Юрий Алексеевич Гагарин, 1934-03-09–1968-03-27
Plaque indicating Gagarin's interment in the Kremlin Wall
On 27 March 1968, while on a routine training flight from Chkalovsky Air Base, Gagarin and flight instructor Vladimir Seryogin died when their MiG-15UTI crashed near the town of Kirzhach. The bodies of Gagarin and Seryogin were cremated and their ashes were buried in the walls of the Kremlin.[72] Wrapped in secrecy, the cause of the crash that killed Gagarin is uncertain and became the subject of several theories.[73][74] At least three investigations into the crash were conducted separately by the Air Force, official government commissions, and the KGB.[75][76] According to a biography of Gagarin by Jamie Doran and Piers Bizony, Starman: The Truth Behind the Legend of Yuri Gagarin, the KGB worked "not just alongside the Air Force and the official commission members but against them."[75]
The KGB's report declassified in March 2003 dismissed various conspiracy theories and instead indicated the actions of airbase personnel contributed to the crash. The report states that an air-traffic controller provided Gagarin with outdated weather information and that by the time of his flight, conditions had deteriorated significantly. Ground crew also left external fuel tanks attached to the aircraft. Gagarin's planned flight activities needed clear weather and no outboard tanks. The investigation concluded Gagarin's aircraft entered a spin, either due to a bird strike or because of a sudden move to avoid another aircraft. Because of the out-of-date weather report, the crew believed their altitude was higher than it was and could not react properly to bring the MiG-15 out of its spin.[76] Another theory, advanced in 2005 by the original crash investigator, hypothesizes that a cabin air vent was accidentally left open by the crew or the previous pilot, leading to oxygen deprivation and leaving the crew incapable of controlling the aircraft.[73] A similar theory, published in Air & Space magazine, is that the crew detected the open vent and followed procedure by executing a rapid dive to a lower altitude. This dive caused them to lose consciousness and crash.[74]
On 12 April 2007, the Kremlin vetoed a new investigation into the death of Gagarin. Government officials said they saw no reason to begin a new investigation.[77] In April 2011, documents from a 1968 commission set up by the Central Committee of the Communist Party to investigate the accident were declassified. The documents revealed that the commission's original conclusion was that Gagarin or Seryogin had manoeuvered sharply, either to avoid a weather balloon or to avoid "entry into the upper limit of the first layer of cloud cover", leading the jet into a "super-critical flight regime and to its stalling in complex meteorological conditions".[78]
A Russian MiG-15UTI, the same type as Gagarin was flying
Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, a member of a state commission established to investigate Gagarin's death, was conducting parachute training sessions that day and heard "two loud booms in the distance". He believes that a Sukhoi Su-15 was flying below its minimum altitude and, "without realizing it because of the terrible weather conditions, he passed within 10 or 20 meters of Yuri and Seregin's plane while breaking the sound barrier". The resulting turbulence would have sent the MiG-15UTI into an uncontrolled spin. Leonov said the first boom he heard was that of the jet breaking the sound barrier and the second was Gagarin's plane crashing.[79] In a June 2013 interview with Russian television network RT, Leonov said a report on the incident confirmed the presence of a second, "unauthorized" Su-15 flying in the area. However, as a condition of being allowed to discuss the declassified report, Leonov was barred from disclosing the name of the Su-15 pilot who was 80 years old and in poor health as of 2013.[80]
Awards and honours
Medals and orders of merit
Jânio Quadros, President of Brazil, decorated Gagarin in 1961.
On 14 April 1961, Gagarin was honoured with a 12-mile (19 km) parade attended by millions of people that concluded at the Red Square. After a short speech, he was bestowed the Hero of the Soviet Union,[81][82] Order of Lenin,[81] Merited Master of Sports of the Soviet Union[83] and the first Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR.[82] On 15 April, the Soviet Academy of Sciences awarded him with the Konstantin Tsiolkovsky Gold Medal, named after the Russian pioneer of space aeronautics.[84] Gagarin had also been awarded four Soviet commemorative medals over the course of his career.[15]
He was honoured as a Hero of Socialist Labor (Czechoslovakia) on 29 April 1961,[85][86] and Hero of Socialist Labor (Bulgaria, including the Order of Georgi Dimitrov) on 24 May.[15][chronology citation needed] On the eighth anniversary of the beginning of Cuban Revolution (26 July), President Osvaldo Dorticos of Cuba presented him with the first Commander of the Order of Playa Girón, a newly created medal.[87]
Gagarin was also awarded the 1960 Gold Air Medal and the 1961 De la Vaulx Medal from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale in Switzerland.[88] He received numerous awards from other nations that year, including the Star of the Republic of Indonesia (2nd Class), the Order of the Cross of Grunwald (1st Degree) in Poland, the Order of the Flag of the Republic of Hungary, the Hero of Labor award from Democratic Republic of Vietnam,[15] the Italian Columbus Day Medal,[89] and a Gold Medal from the British Interplanetary Society.[90][91] President Jânio Quadros of Brazil decorated Gagarin on 2 August 1961 with the Order of Aeronautical Merit, Commander grade.[92] During a tour of Egypt in late January 1962, Gagarin received the Order of the Nile[93] and the golden keys to the gates of Cairo.[50] On 22 October 1963, Gagarin and Valentina Tereshkova were honoured with the Order of Karl Marx from the German Democratic Republic.[94]
Tributes
The date of Gagarin's space flight, 12 April, has been commemorated. Since 1962, it has been celebrated in the USSR and most of its former territories as Cosmonautics Day.[95] Since 2000, Yuri's Night, an international celebration, is held annually to commemorate milestones in space exploration.[96] In 2011, it was declared the International Day of Human Space Flight by the United Nations.[97]
Yuri Gagarin statue at the Royal Greenwich Observatory in London
A number of buildings and locations have been named for Gagarin. The Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, was named on 30 April 1968.[98] The launch pad at Baikonur Cosmodrome from which Sputnik 1 and Vostok 1 were launched is now known as Gagarin's Start. Gagarin Raion in Sevastopol, Ukraine, was named after him during the period of the Soviet Union. The Russian Air Force Academy was renamed Gagarin Air Force Academy in 1968.[99] A street in Warsaw, Poland, is called Yuri Gagarin Street.[100] The town of Gagarin, Armenia was renamed in his honour in 1961.[101]
Gagarin has been honoured on the Moon by astronauts and astronomers. During the American space program's Apollo 11 mission in 1969, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin left a memorial satchel containing medals commemorating Gagarin and fellow cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov on the Moon's surface.[102][103] In 1971, Apollo 15 astronauts David Scott and James Irwin left the small Fallen Astronaut sculpture at their landing site as a memorial to the American astronauts and Soviet cosmonauts who died in the Space Race; the names on its plaque included Yuri Gagarin and 14 others.[104][105] In 1970, a 262 km (163 mi)-wide crater on the far side after him.[106] Gagarin was inducted as a member of the 1976 inaugural class of the International Space Hall of Fame in New Mexico.[107]
Gagarin is memorialised in music; a cycle of Soviet patriotic songs titled The Constellation Gagarin (Russian: Созвездье Гагарина, tr. Sozvezdie Gagarina) was written by Aleksandra Pakhmutova and Nikolai Dobronravov in 1970–1971.[108] The most famous of these songs refers to Gagarin's poyekhali!: in the lyrics, "He said 'let's go!' He waved his hand".[35][108] He was the inspiration for the pieces "Hey Gagarin" by Jean-Michel Jarre on Métamorphoses, "Gagarin" by Public Service Broadcasting, and "Gagarin, I loved you" by Undervud.[109]
Russian ten-ruble commemorating Gagarin in 2001
Vessels have been named for Gagarin; Soviet tracking ship Kosmonavt Yuri Gagarin was built in 1971[110] and the Armenian airline Armavia named their first Sukhoi Superjet 100 in his honour in 2011.[111]
Two commemorative coins were issued in the Soviet Union to honour the 20th and 30th anniversaries of his flight: a one-ruble coin in copper-nickel (1981) and a three-ruble coin in silver (1991). In 2001, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Gagarin's flight, a series of four coins bearing his likeness was issued in Russia; it consisted of a two-ruble coin in copper-nickel, a three-ruble coin in silver, a ten-ruble coin in brass-copper and nickel, and a 100-ruble coin in silver.[112] In 2011, Russia issued a 1,000-ruble coin in gold and a three-ruble coin in silver to mark the 50th anniversary of his flight.[113]
In 2008, the Kontinental Hockey League named their championship trophy the Gagarin Cup.[114] In a 2010 Space Foundation survey, Gagarin was ranked as the sixth-most-popular space hero, tied with Star Trek's fictional James T. Kirk.[115] A Russian docudrama titled Gagarin: First in Space was released in 2013. Previous attempts at portraying Gagarin were disallowed; his family took legal action over his portrayal in a fictional drama and vetoed a musical.[116]
Statues and monuments
There are statues of Gagarin and monuments to him located in Gagarin (Smolensk Oblast), Orenburg, Cheboksary, Irkutsk, Izhevsk, Komsomolsk-on-Amur, and Yoshkar-Ola in Russia, as well as in Nicosia, Cyprus, Druzhkivka, Ukraine, Karaganda, Kazakhstan, and Tiraspol, Moldova. On 4 June 1980, Monument to Yuri Gagarin in Gagarin Square, Leninsky Avenue, Moscow, was opened.[117] The monument is mounted to a 38 m (125 ft) tall pedestal and is constructed of titanium. Beside the column is a replica of the descent module used during his spaceflight.[118]
Bust of Gagarin at Birla Planetarium in Kolkata, India
In 2011, a statue of Gagarin was unveiled at Admiralty Arch in The Mall in London, opposite the permanent sculpture of James Cook. It is a copy of the statue outside Gagarin's former school in Lyubertsy.[119] In 2013, the statue was moved to a permanent location outside the Royal Observatory, Greenwich.[120]
In 2012, a statue was unveiled at the site of NASA's original spaceflight headquarters on South Wayside Drive in Houston. The sculpture was completed in 2011 by artist and cosmonaut Alexei Leonov and was a gift to Houston by various Russian organisations. Houston Mayor Annise Parker, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak were present for the dedication.[121][122] The Russian Federation presented a bust of Gagarin to several cities in India including one that was unveiled at the Birla Planetarium in Kolkata in February 2012.[123]
In April 2018, a bust of Gagarin erected on the street in Belgrade, Serbia, that bears his name was removed, after less than week. A new work was commissioned following the outcry over the disproportionately small size of its head which locals said was an "insult" to Gagarin.[124][125] Belgrade City Manager Goran Vesic stated that neither the city, the Serbian Ministry of Culture, nor the foundation that financed it had prior knowledge of the design.[126]
50th anniversary
50th anniversary stamp of Ukraine
The 50th anniversary of Gagarin's journey into space was marked in 2011 by tributes around the world. A film titled First Orbit was shot from the International Space Station, combining sound recordings from the original flight with footage of the route taken by Gagarin.[127] The Russian, American, and Italian crew of Expedition 27 aboard the ISS sent a special video message to wish the people of the world a "Happy Yuri's Night", wearing shirts with an image of Gagarin.[128]
The Central Bank of the Russian Federation released gold and silver coins to commemorate the anniversary.[129] The Soyuz TMA-21 spacecraft was named Gagarin with the launch in April 2011 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the first manned space mission.
Padmasambhava (lit. "Lotus-Born"), also known as Guru Rinpoche, was an 8th century Indian Buddhist master. Although there was a historical Padmasambhava, nothing is known of him apart from helping the construction of the first Buddhist monastery in Tibet at Samye, at the behest of Trisong Detsen, and shortly thereafter leaving Tibet due to court intrigues.
A number of legends have grown around Padmasambhava's life and deeds, and he is widely venerated as a 'second Buddha' across Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, and the Himalayan states of India.
In Tibetan Buddhism, he is a character of a genera of literature called terma, an emanation of Amitābha that is said to appear to tertöns in visionary encounters and a focus of guru yoga practice, particularly in the Rimé schools. The Nyingma school considers Padmasambhava to be a founder of their tradition.
MYTHOS
SOURCES
Nyangrel Nyima Özer (1136-1204) was the principal architect of the Padmasambhava mythos according to Janet Gyatso. Guru Chöwang (1212–1270) was the next major contributor to the mythos. Padmasambhava's Namtar (biography) is Zanglingma (Jeweled Rosary) revealed by Nyang Ral Nyima Özer and is in the Rinchen Terdzö terma collection.
In the eleventh and twelfth centuries there were several competing terma traditions surrounding Padmasambhava, but also for example Vimalamitra, Songtsän Gampo, and Vairotsana. At the end of the 12th century, there was the "victory of the Padmasambhava cult," in which a much greater role is assigned to the role of Padmasambhava in the introduction of Buddhism to Tibet.
EARLY YEARS
BIRTH
According to tradition, Padmasambhava was incarnated as an eight-year-old child appearing in a lotus blossom floating in Lake Dhanakosha, in the kingdom of Oḍḍiyāna in Ancient India and in modern times identified with the Swat Valley of South Asia present-day Pakistan. His special nature was recognized by the childless local king of Oḍḍiyāna and was chosen to take over the kingdom, but he left Oḍḍiyāna for northern parts of India.
TANTRA
In Rewalsar, known as Tso Pema in Tibetan, he secretly taught tantric teachings to princess Mandarava, the local king's daughter. The king found out and tried to burn him, but it is believed that when the smoke cleared he just sat there, still alive and in meditation. Greatly astonished by this miracle, the king offered Padmasambhava both his kingdom and Mandarava.
Padmasambhava left with Mandarava, and took to Maratika Cave in Nepal to practice secret tantric consort rituals. They had a vision of buddha Amitāyus and achieved what is called the "phowa rainbow body," a very rare type of spiritual realization. Both Padmasambhava and one of his consorts, Mandarava, are still believed to be alive and active in this rainbow body form by their followers. She and Padmasambhava's other main consort, Yeshe Tsogyal, who reputedly hid his numerous termas in Tibet for later discovery, reached Buddhahood. Many thangkas and paintings show Padmasambhava in between them.
TIBET
SUBJECTION OF LOCAL RELIGIONS
According to Sam van Schaik, from the 12th century on a greater role was assigned to Padmasambhava in the introduction of tantric Buddhism into Tibet:According to earlier histories, Padmasambhava had given some tantric teachings to Tibetans before being forced to leave due to the suspicions of the Tibetan court. But from the twelfth century an alternative story, itself a terma discovery, gave Padmasambhava a much greater role in the introduction of Buddhism to Tibet, and in particular credited him with travelling all over the country to convert the local spirits to Buddhism.According to this enlarged story, King Trisong Detsen, the 38th king of the Yarlung dynasty and the first Emperor of Tibet (742–797), invited the Nalanda University abbot Śāntarakṣita (Tibetan Shiwatso) to Tibet. Śāntarakṣita started the building of Samye. Demonical forces hindered the introduction of the Buddhist dharma, and Padmasambhava was invited to Tibet to subdue the demonic forces. The demons were not annihilated, but were obliged to submit to the dharma. This was in accordance with the tantric principle of not eliminating negative forces but redirecting them to fuel the journey toward spiritual awakening. According to tradition, Padmasambhava received the Emperor's wife, identified with the dakini Yeshe Tsogyal, as a consort.
TRANSLATIONS
King Trisong Detsen ordered the translation of all Buddhist Dharma Texts into Tibetan. Padmasambhava, Shantarakṣita, 108 translators, and 25 of Padmasambhava's nearest disciples worked for many years in a gigantic translation-project. The translations from this period formed the base for the large scriptural transmission of Dharma teachings into Tibet. Padmasambhava supervised mainly the translation of Tantra; Shantarakshita concentrated on the Sutra-teachings.
NYINGMA
Padmasambhava introduced the people of Tibet to the practice of Tantric Buddhism.
He is regarded as the founder of the Nyingma tradition. The Nyingma tradition is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The Nyingma tradition actually comprises several distinct lineages that all trace their origins to Padmasambhava.
"Nyingma" literally means "ancient," and is often referred to as "Nga'gyur" " or the "early translation school" because it is founded on the first translations of Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into Tibetan, in the eighth century.
Nyingma maintains the earliest tantric teachings. The Nyingmapa incorporates mysticism and local deities shared by the pre-Buddhist Bon religion, which has shamanic elements. The group particularly believes in hidden terma treasures. Traditionally, Nyingmapa practice was advanced orally among a loose network of lay practitioners. Monasteries with celibate monks and nuns, along with the practice of reincarnated spiritual leaders are later adaptations, though Padmasambhava is regarded as the founder of Samye Gompa, the first monastery in the country. In modern times the Nyingma lineage has been centered in Kham in eastern Tibet.
BHUTAN
In Bhutan he is associated with the famous Paro Taktsang or "Tiger's Nest" monastery built on a sheer cliff wall about 500m above the floor of Paro valley. It was built around the Taktsang Senge Samdup (stag tshang seng ge bsam grub) cave where he is said to have meditated in the 8th Century. He flew there from Tibet on the back of Yeshe Tsogyal, whom he transformed into a flying tigress for the purpose of the trip. Later he travelled to Bumthang district to subdue a powerful deity offended by a local king. Padmasambhava's body imprint can be found in the wall of a cave at nearby Kurje Lhakhang temple.
ICONOGRAPHY, MANIFESTATIONS AND ATTRIBUTES
ICONOGRAPHY
GENERAL
- He has one face and two hands.
- He is wrathful and smiling.
- He blazes magnificently with the splendour of the major and minor marks.
HEAD
- On his head he wears a five-petalled lotus hat, which has
- Three points symbolizing the three kayas,
- Five colours symbolizing the five kayas,
- A sun and moon symbolizing skilful means and wisdom,
- A vajra top to symbolize unshakable samadhi,
- A vulture's feather to represent the realization of the highest view.
- His two eyes are wide open in a piercing gaze.
- He has the youthful appearance of an eight-year old child.
SKIN
- His complexion is white with a tinge of red.
DRESS
- On his body he wears a white vajra undergarment. On top of this, in layers, a red robe, a dark blue mantrayana tunic, a red monastic shawl decorated with a golden flower pattern, and a maroon cloak of silk brocade.
- On his body he wears a silk cloak, Dharma robes and gown.
- He is wearing the dark blue gown of a mantra practitioner, the red and yellow shawl of a monk, the maroon cloak of a king, and the red robe and secret white garments of a bodhisattva.
HANDS
- In his right hand, he holds a five-pronged vajra at his heart.
- His left hand rests in the gesture of equanimity,
- In his left hand he holds a skull-cup brimming with nectar, containing the vase of longevity that is also filled with the nectar of deathless wisdom and ornamented on top by a wish-fulfilling tree.
KHATVANGA
The khaṭvāńga is a particular divine attribute of Padmasambhava and intrinsic to his iconographic representation. It is a danda with three severed heads denoting the three kayas (the three bodies of a Buddha, the dharmakaya, sambhogakaya, and nirmanakaya), crowned by a trishula, and dressed with a sash of the Himalayan Rainbow or Five Pure Lights of the Mahabhuta. The iconography is utilized in various Tantric cycles by yogis as symbols to hidden meanings in transmitted practices.
- Cradled in his left arm he holds the three-pointed khatvanga (trident) symbolizing the Princess consort (Mandarava). who arouses the wisdom of bliss and emptiness, concealed as the three-pointed khatvanga trident.
- Its three points represent the essence, nature and compassionate energy (ngowo, rangshyin and tukjé).
- Below these three prongs are three severed heads, dry, fresh and rotten, symbolizing the dharmakaya, sambhogakaya and nirmanakaya.
- Nine iron rings adorning the prongs represent the nine yanas.
- Five-coloured strips of silk symbolize the five wisdoms
- The khatvanga is also adorned with locks of hair from dead and living mamos and dakinis, as a sign that the Master subjugated them all when he practised austerities in the Eight Great Charnel Grounds.
SEAT
- He is seated with his two feet in the royal posture.
SURROUNDING
- All around him, within a lattice of five-coloured light, appear the eight vidyadharas of India, the twenty-five disciples of Tibet, the deities of the three roots, and an ocean of oath-bound protectors
There are further iconographies and meanings in more advanced and secret stages.
EIGHT MANIFESTATIONS
Padmasambhava is said to have taken eight forms or manifestations (Tib. Guru Tsen Gye) representing different aspects of his being, such as wrath or pacification for example. According to Rigpa Shedra the eight principal forms were assumed by Guru Rinpoche at different points in his life. The Eight Manifestations of Padmasambhava belong to the tradition of the Revealed Treasures (Tib.: ter ma).
- Guru Orgyen Dorje Chang (Wylie: gu ru U-rgyan rDo-rje ‘chang, Sanskrit: Guru Uddiyana Vajradhara) The vajra-holder (Skt. Vajradhara), shown dark blue in color in the attire of the Sambhogakaya. Depicted in union with consort.
- Guru Shakya Senge (Wylie: shAkya seng-ge, Skrt: Guru Śākyasimha) of Bodh Gaya, Lion of the Sakyas, who learns the Tantric practices of the eight Vidyadharas. He is shown as a fully ordained Buddhist monk.
- Guru Pema Gyalpo (Wylie: gu ru pad ma rgyal-po, Skrt: Guru Padmarāja) of Uddiyana, the Lotus Prince, king of the Tripitaka (the Three Collections of Scripture). He is shown looking like a young crowned prince or king.
- Guru Pema Jungne (Wylie: pad ma ‘byung-gnas, Skrt: Guru Padmakara) Lotus-arisen, the Saviour who teaches the Dharma to the people. He is shown sitting on a lotus, dressed in the three robes of a monk, under which he wears a blue shirt, pants and heavy Tibetan boots, as protection against the cold. He holds the diamond-scepter of compassionate love in his right hand and the yogi's skull-bowl of clear wisdom in his left. He has a special trident called khatvanga of a wandering Yogi, and wears on his head a Nepalese cloth crown, stylistically designed to remind one of the shape of a lotus flower. Thus he is represented as he must have appeared in Tibet.
- Guru Loden Chokse (Wylie: gu ru blo ldan mchog sred; Skrt: Guru Mativat Vararuci) of Kashmir, the Intelligent Youth, the one who gathers the knowledge of all worlds. He is shown in princely clothes, beating a hand-drum and holding a skull-bowl.
- Guru Nyima Ozer (Wylie: gu ru nyi-ma ‘od-zer, Skrt: Guru Suryabhasa or Sūryaraśmi), the Sunray Yogi, who illuminates the darkness of the mind through the insight of Dzogchen. He is shown as a naked yogi dressed only in a loin-cloth and holding a Khatvanga which points towards the sun.
- Guru Dorje Drolo, (Wylie: gu ru rDo-rje gro-lod, Skrt: Guru Vajra ?) the fierce manifestation of Vajrakilaya (wrathful Vajrasattva) known as "Diamond Guts", the comforter of all, imprinting the elements with Wisdom-Treasure.
- Guru Senge Dradog (Wylie: gu ru seng-ge sgra-sgrogs, Skrt: Guru Simhanāda) of Nalanda University, the Lion of Debate, promulgator of the Dharma throughout the six realms of sentient beings. He is shown in a very fierce form, dark blue and imitative of the powerful Bodhisattva Vajrapani, holding a thunderbolt scepter in one hand and a scorpion in the other.
Padmasambhava's various Sanskrit names are preserved in mantras such as those found in the Yang gsang rig 'dzin youngs rdzogs kyi blama guru mtshan brgyad bye brag du sgrub pa ye shes bdud rtsi'i sbrang char zhe bya ba
ATTRIBUTES
PURE-LAND PARADISE
His Pureland Paradise is Zangdok Palri (the Copper-Coloured Mountain).
SAMANTABHADRA AND SAMANTABHADRI
Padmasambhava said:
My father is the intrinsic awareness, Samantabhadra (Sanskrit; Tib. ཀུན་ཏུ་བཟང་པོ). My mother is the ultimate sphere of reality, Samantabhadri (Sanskrit; Tib. ཀུན་ཏུ་བཟང་མོ). I belong to the caste of non-duality of the sphere of awareness. My name is the Glorious Lotus-Born. I am from the unborn sphere of all phenomena. I act in the way of the Buddhas of the three times.
FIVE WISDOM DAKINS
Padmasambhava had five major female tantric companions, the so-called 'Five Wisdom Dakinis' (Wylie: Ye-shes mKha-'gro lnga) or 'Five Consorts.' In Padmasambhava's biography, they are described as the five women "who had access to the master's heart", and practiced tantric rites which are considered to have exorcised the previous demons of Tibet and converted them into protectors of the country.' They were:
- Mandarava of Zahor, the emanation of Vajravarahi's Body;
- Belwong Kalasiddhi of (north-west) India, the emanation of Vajravarahi's Quality, Belmo Sakya Devi of Nepal;
- the emanation of Vajravarahi's Mind, Yeshe Tsogyal of Tibet;
- the emanation of Vajravarahi's Speech
- and Mangala or Tashi Kyedren of "the Himalayas", the emanation of Vajravarahi's Activity.
PRINCESS SAKYA DEVI FROM NEPAL
On Padmasambhava's consort practice with Princess Sakya Devi from Nepal it is said:
- In a state of intense bliss, Padmasambhava and Sakyadevi realized the infinite reality of the Primordial Buddha Mind, the All-Beneficent Lord (Samantabhadra), whose absolute love is the unimpeded dynamo of existence. Experiencing the succession of the four stages of ecstasy, their mutual state of consciousness increased from height to height. And thus, meditating on Supreme Vajrasattva Heruka as the translucent image of compassionate wrathful (energized) activity, they together acquired the mahamudra of Divinity and attained complete Great Enlightenment.
TEACHINGS AND PRACTICES ASCRIBED TO PADMASAMBHAVA
THE VAJRA GURU MANTRA
The Vajra Guru (Padmasambhava) mantra Om Ah Hum Vajra Guru Padma Siddhi Hum is favoured and held in esteem by sadhakas. Like most Sanskritic mantras in Tibet, the Tibetan pronunciation demonstrates dialectic variation and is generally Om Ah Hung Benza Guru Pema Siddhi Hung. In the Vajrayana traditions, particularly of the Nyingmapa, it is held to be a powerful mantra engendering communion with the Three Vajras of Padmasambhava's mindstream and by his grace, all enlightened beings. In response to Yeshe Tsogyal's request, the Great Master himself explained the meaning of the mantra although there are larger secret meanings too. The 14th century tertön Karma Lingpa has a famous commentary on the mantra.
THE SEVEN LINE PRAYER TO PADMASAMBHAVA
The Seven Line Prayer to Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche) is a famous prayer that is recited by many Tibetans daily and is said to contain the most sacred and important teachings of Dzogchen.
Jamgon Ju Mipham Gyatso composed a famous commentary to the Seven Line Prayer called White Lotus. It explains the meanings, which are embedded in many levels and intended to catalyze a process of realization. These hidden teachings are described as ripening and deepening, in time, with study and with contemplation. Tulku Thondup says:
- Enshrining the most sacred prayer to Guru Padmasambhava, White Lotus elucidates its five layers of meaning as revealed by the eminent scholar Ju Mipham. This commentary now makes this treasure, which has been kept secret among the great masters of Tibet for generations, available as a source of blessings and learning for all.
There is also a shorter commentary, freely available, by Tulku Thondup himself. There are many other teachings and Termas and widely practiced tantric cycles incorporating the text as well as brief ones such as Terma Revelation of Guru Chöwang.
TERMAS
Padmasambhava also hid a number of religious treasures (termas) in lakes, caves, fields and forests of the Himalayan region to be found and interpreted by future tertöns or spiritual treasure-finders. According to Tibetan tradition, the Bardo Thodol (commonly referred to as the Tibetan Book of the Dead) was among these hidden treasures, subsequently discovered by a Tibetan terton, Karma Lingpa.
TANTRIC CYCLES
Tantric cycles related to Padmasambhava are not just practiced by the Nyingma, they even gave rise to a new offshoot of Bon which emerged in the 14th century called the New Bön. Prominent figures of the Sarma (new translation) schools such as the Karmapas and Sakya lineage heads have practiced these cycles and taught them. Some of the greatest tertons revealing teachings related to Padmasambhava have been from the Kagyu or Sakya lineages. The hidden lake temple of the Dalai Lamas behind the Potala called Lukhang is dedicated to Dzogchen teachings and has murals depicting the eight manifestations of Padmasambhava. Padmasambhava established Vajrayana Buddhism and the highest forms of Dzogchen (Mengagde) in Tibet and transformed the entire nation.
TWENTY-FIVE MAIN DISCIPLES
Twenty-five Main Disciples of Padmasambhava (Tibetan: རྗེ་འབངས་ཉེར་ལྔ, Wylie: rje 'bangs nyer lnga) -also called the disciples of Chimphu - in various lists these include:
- King Trisong Detsen (Tibetan: ཁྲི་སྲོང་ལྡེའུ་བཏཟན, Wylie: khri srong lde'u btzan)
- Denma Tsémang (Tibetan: ལྡན་མ་རྩེ་མང, Wylie: ldan ma rtse mang)
- Dorje Dudjom of Nanam (Tibetan: རྡོ་རྗེ་བདུད་འཇོམ, Wylie: rdo rje bdud 'joms)
- Khyechung Lotsawa (Tibetan: ཁྱེའུ་ཆུང་ལོ་ཙཱ་བ, Wylie: khye'u chung lo tsā ba)
- Gyalwa Changchub of Lasum (Tibetan: ལ་སུམ་རྒྱལ་བ་བྱང་ཆུབ, Wylie: la sum rgyal ba byang chub)
- Gyalwa Choyang (Tibetan: རྒྱལ་བ་མཆོག་དབྱངས, Wylie: rgyal ba mchog dbyangs)
- Gyalwe Lodro of Dré (Tibetan: རྒྱལ་བའི་བློ་གྲོས, Wylie: rgyal ba'i blo gros)
- Jnanakumara of Nyak (Tibetan: གཉགས་ཛཉའ་ན་ཀུ་མ་ར, Wylie: gnyags dzny' na ku ma ra)
- Kawa Paltsek (Tibetan: སྐ་བ་དཔལ་བརྩེགས, Wylie: ska ba dpal brtsegs)
- Khandro Yeshe Tsogyal, the princess of Karchen (Tibetan: མཁར་ཆེན་བཟའ་མཚོ་རྒྱལ, Wylie: mkhar chen bza' mtsho rgyal)
- Konchog Jungné of Langdro (Tibetan: ལང་གྲོ་དཀོན་མཆོག་འབྱུང་གནས, Wylie: lang gro dkon mchog 'byung gnas)
- Lhapal the Sokpo (Tibetan: སོག་པོ་ལྷ་དཔལ, Wylie: sog po lha dpal)
- Namkhai Nyingpo (Tibetan: ནམ་མཁའི་སྙིང་པོ, Wylie: nam mkha'i snying po)
- Zhang Yeshe De (Tibetan: ཞང་ཡེ་ཤེས་སྡེ, Wylie: zhang ye shes sde)
- Lhalung Pelgyi Dorje (Tibetan: ལྷ་ལུང་དཔལ་གྱི་རྡོ་རྗེ, Wylie: lha lung dpal gyi rdo rje)
- Palgyi Senge (Tibetan: དཔལ་གྱི་སེང་གེ, Wylie: dpal gyi seng ge)
- Palgyi Wangchuk (Tibetan: དཔལ་གྱི་དབང་ཕྱུག, Wylie: dpal gyi dbang phyug)
- Palgyi Wangchuk of Odren (Tibetan: འོ་དྲན་དཔལ་གྱི་དབང་ཕྱུག, Wylie: 'o dran dpal gyi dbang phyug)
- Palgyi Yeshe (Tibetan: དཔལ་གྱི་ཡེ་ཤེས, Wylie: dpal gyi ye shes)
- Rinchen Chok of Ma (Tibetan: རྨ་རིན་ཆེན་མཆོག, Wylie: rma rin chen mchog)
- Sangye Yeshe (Tibetan: སངས་རྒྱས་ཡེ་ཤེས, Wylie: sangs rgyas ye shes)
- Shubu Palgyi Senge (Tibetan: ཤུད་བུ་དཔལ་གྱི་སེང་གེ, Wylie: shud bu dpal gyi seng ge)
- Vairotsana, the great translator (Tibetan: བཻ་རོ་ཙ་ན, Wylie: bai ro tsa na)
- Yeshe Yang (Tibetan: ཡེ་ཤེས་དབྱངས, Wylie: ye shes dbyangs)
- Yudra Nyingpo of Gyalmo (Tibetan: ག་ཡུ་སྒྲ་སྙིང་པོ, Wylie: g.yu sgra snying po)
Also:
- Vimalamitra (Tibetan: དྲུ་མེད་བཤེས་གཉེན, Wylie: dru med bshes gnyen)
- Tingdzin Zangpo (Tibetan: ཏིང་འཛིན་བཟང་པོ, Wylie: ting 'dzin bzang po)
WIKIPEDIA
Spoto loves kittens and they seem to adore him. He follows them around and gets them all wet sniffing them.
The Park Central Hotel (formerly the Omni Park Central, The Park Sheraton)
870 7th Avenue
New York, NY
Construction started in 1926 on the Park Central Hotel. The 25-story renaissance revival style building at 870 Seventh Avenue was designed by Gronenberg & Leuchtag. The 1,600 room hotel was named Park Central due to its close proximity to Central Park, its rooms though, did not have actual views of the park. Previously at this location was the Van Corlear apartment house, designed by Henry Hardenbergh for builder Edward Clark and put up in 1878.
Gronenberg & Leuchtag were noted for many of Manhattan's apartment buildings and for one previous hotel - the Times Square Hotel (now the Common Ground Times Square Building - housing for 652 low income individuals) built in 1922 located at 255 West 43rd Street.
The hotel was built for approximately $15 million in the pre-Depression building frenzy of the late-twenties; its grand opening took place on June 12, 1927. The NY Times described the hotel as 31-stories and had a swimming pool and an elaborate roof garden. The hotel's mural paintings were done by William Clark Rice and J Scott Williams. The hotel's lobby had wood carvings and marble designed by Leo Lentelli. In 1929 the hotel opened a sales office in Paris, France.
The owner was Harry A. Lanzer who operated the 1,600 room hotel through the Great Depression and managed to make ends meet and hold on to it until he sold it in 1948 to the Sheraton Corporation of America. Ernest Henderson, president of the Sheraton Corp., led the negotiations, and the Park Central Hotel became the 28th hotel within the Sheraton chain - renamed Park Sheraton Hotel.
*Arnold Rothstein Murder*
Arnold Rothstein was known coast to coast as the nation's most notorious gambler. He was heading to a meeting in room 349 of the Park Central Hotel on Sunday, November 4, 1928, but never made it. He was found shot and mortally wounded in a first floor service corridor at the Park Central Hotel.
Rothstein had lost $300,000 at a 3-day poker game in September of 1928 and refused to pay the debt. More famously he was known as the man behind the Black Sox scandal in which the 1919 World Series was fixed. No one is ever convicted of his murder. Rothstein's show biz girlfriend, Inez Norton, opens in the Broadway play "Room 349" at the National Theater (now the Nederlander Theatre) on April 21, 1930 - it closes after 15 performances.
*WPCH*
Prior to the Park Central opening the radio station WFBH (the Voice of Central Park) was given notice in 1927 its antenna located atop the Hotel Majestic would have to move since the Majestic was to be demolished. WFBH moved its broadcasting facilities and transmitting towers to the Park Central Hotel. The move to the Park Central Hotel ended the WFBH call letters and the station became known as WPCH, incorporating the new hotel's initials into their call sign. It seems that once the Park Central installed its electrical roof signage there were transmission problems and WPCH had to again relocate - this time to the Hotel McAlpin. WPCH went silent in 1933 and was absorbed by WMCA - named after its transmission tower location - the Hotel McAlpin.
*Wine Cellar*
Prohibition was lifted in 1933. The Park Central Hotel was opened without any consideration to the possibility of storing or serving alcoholic beverages. To prepare for the expected demand of wine and spirits the NY Times reported Park Central Hotel's Chief Steward, J.J. Mullins, authorized the excavation through the hotel's bed rock of a wine cellar some 30 feet below the hotel. The wine cellar would hold up to 150,000 bottles. In those days it was thought that vibrations from subways would rattle the wine and spoil it, hence the need to go in to the bedrock.
*Albert Anastasia Murder*
Albert Anastasia was a founder of the American Mafia. A Brooklyn gangster, he was an accomplished underworld enforcer, earning the nickname of "Lord High Executioner." Anastasia was gunned down in what was probably the most sensational public and daytime assassination in mob history.
On the morning on October 25, 1957, Anastasia went to his usual barber at Arthur Grasso's Barber Shop at the Park Sheraton Hotel for a shave and haircut. He sat in the fourth of twelve barber chairs manned by Joseph Bocchino. Starbucks is now located at approximately this location on the hotel's first floor at 55th Street and Seventh Avenue. According to www.mafiahistory.us two masked gunmen burst into the shop and unloaded handguns into the 55-year-old Anastasia's body. The former Murder Inc. chief was hit in his head, back, right hip and left hand. Witnesses said he lunged from the chair and attacked the reflection of his attackers in the mirror in front of him before collapsing dead in a pool of blood on the floor.
The murder has never been solved. The killing allowed Carlo Gambino to take control of the crime family that would now bear his name.
Two weeks after the killing the Park Sheraton Hotel attempted to evict the operator of the barber shop claiming the shop served objectionable patrons. Thomas C. de Veau, the Park Sheraton Manager said the Anastasia killing was a ghastly incident that resulted from Arthur Grasso's failure to heed the term of the lease for maintaining an orderly shop. The complaint alleged that Grasso solicited and encouraged the patronage in the barbershop of notorious underworld characters.
*Jackie Gleason*
In 1953 Jackie Gleason negotiated a two year deal with CBS TV to produce 39 episodes of the Honeymooners to be filmed live at the Adelphi Theater. Upon signing the contract Gleason leased a penthouse atop the Park Sheraton Hotel to be the headquarters of his entertainment company. The 7-room 23rd floor suite had a terrace and sweeping views of Manhattan. According to www.drunkard.com Gleason outfitted the penthouse with a pool table, dance studio and four bars, staffed by a live-in bartender. It resembled a sultan’s palace more than a place of business. Gleason used the penthouse from 1953 to 1957, the heady years of ''The Honeymooners.''
In 1987 the Omni Park Central Hotel named "the Great One's” penthouse suite ''The Jackie Gleason Suite''.
Hilton New York owned the Adelphi Theater (demolished in 1970) which was adjacent to the hotel and held the site for expansion. In 1989 an office tower 1325 Avenue of the Americas was built on the site.
*Eleanor Roosevelt*
Eleanor Roosevelt was the niece of President Theodore Roosevelt and married her father's fifth cousin, Franklin D. Roosevelt who was president from 1933 to 1945. After FDR's death, the First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt rented suites at the Park Sheraton Hotel from 1950 to 1953. She returned to the Park Sheraton Hotel in 1958 as she waited for renovations on a new house to be completed. During the 1950's long term guests were using the 202 West 56th Street address (today 200 West 56th Street is the address for the Manhattan Club).
According to a 1956 Walter Winchell column it was Eleanor Roosevelt who forced the hand of hotel management to cover the bare breasted mermaids hanging from the Mermaid Room's ceiling. The room was celebrated for its Mermaids... but Eleanor Roosevelt complained the undraped sea sirens were indecent. Bras made of fish net were made to cover their frontages.
*The Mermaid Room*
The Mermaid Room was established on the main floor of the Park Central Hotel in the late 40's. Its fare was cocktails, steak, lobster lamb chops with dinner music 6.30 to 9.30pm and star entertainment from 10pm to 4am. The Mermaid Room had a large curvaceous bar and dance floor. It was known for its four very large terra cotta mermaids on the walls.
The Mermaid Room was designed by night club designer Franklin Hughes - live orchids in his night clubs was his signature. He also designed the decor for El Morocco and the Copacabana.
Irving Fields and his Trio found a home at the Mermaid Room and played for 16 years, 1950 to 1966. His hits included Miami Beach Rhumba and "Managua Nicaragua." Other Mermaid Room entertainers included pianist Belle Gale, Rosa Linda, The Milt Herth Trio, the Pepe Morreale Trio and the renowned organist, Ashley Miller.
*Cocktail Hostess Sues Widow of Park Sheraton Hotel Manager for Husband's Estate*
In 1952 Ralph H. Freeman was appointed General Manager of the Park Sheraton. He brought with him from the Sheraton Hotel in Chicago his mistress Delores Dunn, a cocktail lounge hostess. Freeman died unexpectedly in 1957 at the age of 54. A lawsuit was filed by Dunn against Freeman's widow for $100,000 claiming she had a relationship with Freeman for 8 years, that he induced her to move to New York and performed all the nursing, housework and cooking for him. Freeman had been a prominent hotelier serving as a director for the New York Convention and Visitors Bureau and a director for New York City Hotel Association. At his death he was the Sheraton Hotel's Regional Manager for the Atlantic Division.
*70's and 80's*
The Park Sheraton Hotel changed its name to the New York Sheraton in 1972. A press release issued by Jim Sheeran, the public relations spokesperson for the Sheraton chain said there was a corporate decision made to boost New York and the West Side of New York with the name change.
In May, 1983 V.M.S. Realty, a Chicago-based national real estate investment firm, acquired the New York Sheraton Hotel, on Seventh Avenue between 55th and 56th Streets, from the Sheraton Corporation. V.M.S. paid $60 million for the 1,450- room hotel, at the time the city's fifth largest. V.M.S contracted with Dunfey Hotels Corporation (owned by Aer Lingus) to manage the hotel. Peter R. Morris, the chairman of V.M.S., called the acquisition a ''once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.'' He added that the company's decision to take over the Sheraton reflected its strong belief in the renaissance taking place on the West Side between Times Square and Lincoln Center. In January 1984 Dunfey changed the name to Omni Park Central. V.M.S. and Dunfey provided the 1,450 room hotel with $15 million in improvements. Philip Grosse was the Omni Park Central's general manager in 1984.
Since its beginning in 1977, V.M.S. has acquired 3,500 hotel and motel units. VMS was one of the largest real estate syndicators, raising more than $1.5 billion through more than 100 real-estate limited partnerships. The firm's hotel properties included the Boca Raton Hotel in Florida, Four Seasons Hotel in Santa Barbara, California and Caneel Bay in the Virgin Islands. By 1989 VMS Realty Partners disclosed that it is suffering cash-flow problems and would replace its top management and lay off some of its 500 employees. The dismantling of VMS Realty Partners was one of the largest liquidations in real estate history.
*Ian Bruce Eichner and The Manhattan Club*
In 1995 New York developer Ian Bruce Eichner acquired the Omni Park Central Hotel in a bankruptcy sale from VMS Partners for $60.225 million. The hotel has more than 1,430 rooms and is the fifth largest in the city with more than 800,000 square feet. That translates into a purchase price of $42,115 per room. Upscale hotels were selling at that time for per room prices ranging from $75,000 to $200,000. Eichner said the Sheraton hotel chain still held the first mortgage for V.M.S that had failed in the early 90's. Sheraton agreed to maintain the mortgage for Eichner who had bid $60 million -- or $20 million more than the next highest bidder.
Construction began in 1996 on a $40 million conversion of half the 26-story Park Central Hotel into New York City's first time-share condominium. Eichner would keep the eastern half of the building as a "lower-end hotel" with its entrance on Seventh Avenue. They would have separate lobbies, separate entrances, separate heating systems. The western half transformed to a 360-unit time-share operation called the Manhattan Club, with a new entrance on 56th Street. The "intervals" or weekly shares initial price for seven days' use a year of a 650-square-foot one-bedroom would be $15,000; a two-bedroom will be $23,000. Annual maintenance fees would average $575, including real estate taxes. Manhattan Club buyers would be able to trade their weeks for any one of Resorts Condominium International's (RCI) 3,500 locations in 85 countries. Eichner thought that if The Manhattan Club ever sells out, there is a whole other side-full of rooms to tap! A sell-out of the timeshares would produce more than $300 million.
Eichner was developing a product that had never before been offered in New York City. Eichner even negotiated with the hotel unions to come up with a set of job rules and qualifications for a time share project.
The 1996 cleaning of the hotel's 1925 Tuscan Renaissance facade -- found a beautiful mixture of arches, bas relief squirrels, deer and pelicans and Corinthian half columns that had been hidden for years by gold-colored aluminum panels.
In July 2011 Ian Bruce Eichner, the developer and the operator of The Manhattan Club, was sued for fraud by five buyers of time-shares in The Manhattan Club. According to the documents they are alleging fraud and “breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.” The timeshare owners allege that Eichner is not granting them access to their timeshares, despite their attempts to book up to nine months in advance, and is instead renting them out to the general public.
*Mony Mony*
The 1740 Broadway Building shares the block with the Park Central Hotel and was once the headquarters of the MONY (Mutual of New York). In 1968 the insignia "MONY" was located where *1740* is today. Tommy James was struggling with the lyrics for a new song when he looked out of his apartment building in New York and saw the sign "MONY".
Sung by Tommy James And The Shondells: "Here she comes now sayin' Mony Mony Shoot 'em down turn around come on Mony" …
*Recent Events*
In December 2004 the 935-room Park Central was sold by H. Park Central, LLC to Goldman's Whitehall Real Estate Funds and Highgate Hotels for $215,000,000 or $230,000 per room. Following this sell Bruce Eichner went on to develop the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas however, in 2008 he defaulted on a $768 million construction loan from Deutchse Bank. Deutchse foreclosed on Eichner and took control of the property.
In October 2010 owners Rockpoint and Highgate Hotels put the 1,000-room Park Central Hotel on the market. The hotel had recently received a $65 million renovation.
In a January 2012 press release Lasalle Hotel Properties (LHO) announced it acquired the 934-room Park Central Hotel in New York City for $396.2 million. Michael D. Barnello, President and Chief Executive Officer of LaSalle Hotel Properties said “We remain excited about this well located New York City asset and our ability to acquire the hotel at an attractive purchase price.” Lasalle plans to implement a renovation of the hotel, currently estimated at between $30.0 and $35.0 million, including guestrooms and guest bathrooms, corridors and the hotel’s lobby. The renovation is expected to commence late 2012 and conclude during 2013. Highgate Holdings will continue to manage the Park Central.
All photos and text by Dick Johnson, February 2012
richardlloydjohnson@hotmail.com
212-832-0098
GOD PERVADES ALL.ALL KNOWY SAID NOT HERE TO HAVE YOUR SAY I ALL KNOWY AM OR AM HERE TO CHECK POWER WITH YOU OR BE DECIMATING YOU TO PROVE IT THE POWERS I HAVE ALL THE TIME BUT KNOW THE WE AS A LIMITS AS THE LIMITLESSEST.WE GAVE YOU ABSOLUTE ZERO THROUGH ULTRA--EINSTEIN HIS CO-INVENTOR RELATIVITY------INREACH AS A OBSERVER HE DESCRIBED IN HIS ESSAYS ONE AS A CHILD OF ONE BRINGING HIM TO BE THE RECORDER FROM ASSISTANT IT.OPPOSED BY SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY AS A THINKER OF THE RELATIVITY NOT BUT ZERO REPORTS AS A WRITER WHO HAD BECOME WISER THAN MANY SO THEY WANTED HIM REPLACED TO MOUNT THE EMPLOYMENT PROVIDER POSSIBLE AS EXCELLENT IN AREAS THEY FELT NEEDING RESEARCHES TO MAKE THIS EARTH A AMNABLE PLANET TO LIVE LIKE A HEAVEN..POLATED BY THE WE AS A WRITER DOCTOR SSKOHLI IN THE YEAR NINETEEN THIRTY IN AN ESSAY DENOUNCING GANDHI'S AS A ASS AS A TAKING GOAT'S MILK OF NO QUALITY GOOD AS A ASSY AS A SHEPHEARDS AS A SAY AS A IS TO GIVE WEAK KNEES TO STRONG KNEED AS ASS TO BE TAKING THREE TOO LIKE LACED PARSIS DESECRATED AS MOST CHARMING TOO AS A SHY AS A LASSES LIKE A HUNGRY WOLVES LIKE PASTED ON HE BY WE NOT ENGLISH.
OUR INVENTION IN THE ROPE ARE THREE THOUSANDS.MADE BY THE OUR FRONTMAN MISTER M.S.KOHLII ALONE-NOT WITH OTHERS-AS A DEVELOPERS------AS A WE REACHING ALWAYS FIRST SINGLY THINKING THEN PERSUADING OTHERS AS A RISE AS A WE AS A HABIT TO EVOLVE A NATION AS THE NUMBER ONE ON THE PLANET AS A BORN AS A REPORTED BY PEOPLE TWO HUNDRED IN COURT MANIFESTOS GIVEN IN SINGLE AS A SINGLE HAPPENING WITH THEY AND THE POLICE IN A SINGLE GO ASK THE ME WE AS A SEEN AS A SEES AS A WE FROM THE THIS ASS A THIEF OF OUR THIRTY THOUSAND INVENTION IN THE NOT NOTING AS A ATMOSPHERE AS A WE TO BE AS A PROJECT AS-----AS A IT WE THE INTERNATIONAL WHAT WE THE WE THE SAR ANSH ON THE THIS EARTH AS A WE AS A SAAK TO THE HOND=EXISTANCE HERE SEEING UTTER FAILURES ASSY AS A TO WE ONLT..DEATH THREAT WE AS A DELHI IN COMING IF AS A STARTS AS A THESE SINCE SEVENTY SIX AS A ASSINGS AS A WE AS A NONE AS A THEY AS A HUNDREDS AS A WE TO DULLEN SPRAYING CYANIDE BEFORE OUR CAR SO WE DAZE AND STRIKE AS WAS AS A SHEIKH'S AND DIANA-CHARLES-ELI-II'S CAR TO DONE IN A FRANCE TUNNEL'S SAFE ENCLOSURE ALLOWING THEY TO BUILD UPWARDS A CONCENTRATION REAR IN FROM REAR SPRAYING AS WE DEVISED FOR TRACTORS AS A START AS A MACHINE WE'S AS A SERTER AS A TOO TO COMBINE AS TO LOWER COST AS A FACTOR NOT ASKED BUT THOUGHT OF AS A VERY POOR MADE TILL TWO WHEELER AND STICK TILL HARVESTER WE'S -----------AS A WE TO THEIVES BE AS A SERVICES GIVEN BY THESE THIEVES AS A SHRI K.K.PAUL AS A OMITAS AS A TOO WE TO UGC AS A DESIRES THEN NOT NURSED AS A DEPOSED BY THEY THREE FOUR FROM POSITION OURS FOR LIFE ELECTED BY ALL IN THE WORLD SEEING OUR ABOVE LIFE CONTRIBUTION THAT COULD LAST A BILLION YEARS AS A THESE THREE FOUR DECIMATED IN KILLING WE TAKING OUR ID CARDS AND PUTTING U.N. AND OTHERS AS A HUNDRED SEVENTY NATIONS IN CYANIDE UNDER KILLING THEIR ASSETS AS A WHATANS USING THEY AS A HEAD OF THE UNITED NATIONS AS JUSTIN AND LICENCING AUTHORITY SUPREME COURTS ALL AS A MOUNT.HAVING FINISHED WE ON THREE COUNTS ERLIER THE THEY AS A OMITA-----A DEPUTY SECRETARY OUR RAJPAL KAUR AS ASKING WE TO WRITE AS A SOLE LANDOWNER A NOTE TO JUNIORS AS A PRESIDENT INDIA .START A ARMY AGAINST WE'S OWNING THEIR COUNTRY..CALLING SOLE LANDOWNER WITH A HANDCUFF THREAT IF COMES NOT AS A START TO EXPLAIN WHY ARMY NOT BE HEAD AS A PROTECTOR OF LAND -----------ASKING HE TO COME WITH FAMILY OR ALL BE PUNISHED------ARRESTING HE IN TEN ON ENTRY-KILL IN THROWING HE IN CYANIDE AS A DEATH CERTAIN---------SEEING HE SURVIVING AS A GOD ASSEMBLING A HUNDRED THIRTY TOO NOT A ENTIRE PLATOON OF FIVE THOUSAND.ORDERING RAPES AS A SERIOUS OFFENCE KILLING CONFIDENCE OF OUR NICE godly WOMEN IN THE RACE HUMAN TELLING THEY CALL GOD OF EARTH MENTIONED ON THE CARD OF JUSTIN UNITED NATIONS GIVING HE HUMAN AS A EXISTING GOD A POSSIBLE FLING TO A WOMAN WHO PRAYS HE TO BE HERS TOO IN PLAY OF LIFE IN HE------THINKING A COMMON HUMAN AS A FEEL WILL ARRIVE IN HE MAY BE SOME DAY LEAVING HIS AUSTERITY TO BE IN ENJOY TOO OF LIFE AS IS TO A COMMON NOW BECAUSE OF HE THE HEAVEN GIVER FIRST OF THIS EARTH.HE WE SEE NEVER WOULD HAVE AS TOO THE WISE OF THE THESE LINE PUTTER WERE AS A ENTHUSERS AS A WE AGAINST TOO IN THE SAME MOMENT ERASURE OF THE WE AS A NON-ARMY UNIFORM WEARER MAJOR GENERAL OF UNITED NATIONS(1967)DUELY INSTRUCTED TO INDIA TOO TO MAKE HE IT AS A CONSCIOUS DECISION OF THE WORLD AS ASKING IT HE HEAD IT AS A OPPOSE AS A ABSOLUTE NOT SENT AS A IT BUT DONE IN PERSUE OF TWO AWARDS TO WE OF THE ORDER OF THE ARMY GENERAL BY THE ARMY AS A OPPOSED AS A FORCED WITHOUT THEY EVER ALLOWED TO CONDUCE WHAT IT AS A WISE IAS AS A THOUGHT AS A SWARMING THEY WITH A ORDER AS A ARMY GENERAL ABOVE ONE WE AS A GOD FORCED INTO IT AS A WE TO M.S.KOHLII A LIFE OR DEATH.BOTH AWARDS THROWN INTO DUST BIN BEFORE DEAD AS A BECOMING TIME AND AGAIN AND WE GOD THE SUPREME FORCE EARTH ENTERING AGAIN AND AGAIN FORCIBLY TO OPEN EYES OF THESE SCOUNDRELS ASKING THEY THROUGH HE STUDY WHAT GREAT WE DID AS TO BE GIVEN ALSO A HELIPAD,A OFFICE FOR SUMMER AS A GOVT CONSTRUCTED BUILDING IN SHIMLA/SIMLA AND TOO IN DELHI IF WE ASK PASSED BY PARLIAMENT AS A TWO HIGHEST TO A MAJOR GENERAL FIGHTING ALL ALONE A BATTLE AN ARMY CAN AS WE FOUGHT SINCE SIXTY BOMBING BY PAKISTAN AND WINNING FOUR MAJOR BATTLES ERLIER UNAWARDED AS A DECIMATION ENTIRE OF PAKISTAN AND IT AS THEY THREE FOUR ACTING TROUNCING THE GOVERNMENT IN INDIA AS A START THEIRS AS A TAKEOVERS.STEP THIRTY THOUSAND IN TILL HUNDRED SEVENTY COUNTRY AS A SYNDICATE THIRTY FOUR OF A CRORE MEN EACH AS A ARMY ON THE WORLD NOW THOUGH YOU DO NOT CARE SO WE DO.WRITING HERE HER AND HER SON'S DEATH GONE IN VAIN WERE UNLESS WE DO SO.AS A TRIBUTE OURS TO A MRS INDIRA GANDHI AS A HONEST AND TRUTH. SO TOO TOO TO THE HONORABLEMOST JACQUILINE TOO JOHN F TOO KILLED BY THESE AS WERE A RICHARD AS A DIRECTOR C.I.A. IN A WAR ON HONEST AND SERIOUS SOLVERS OF HUMANE PROVIDERS OF ECONOMY TO THE PLANET AS OF BRASH MEN ACTING TRADER EATING TOO OTHERS AS A DIETS.OUR DEARS AS A RICHARD NIXON AS A SAINT FROM POLATED SIN AND THIEF BY THESE THE WATERGATE ITSELF ALL STEPS TILL I CAN UNRAVEL TOO TO THE RIGHT IF WANT BUT NOW IN NO WASTING OF EVIDENCE TO BE IN ME AS A HABIT ME MYSELF BEING TOO IMPORTANT TOO TO ME AS A IS TO MY BODY MANNED BY SOUL .OUR DEAR LYNDON B.JOHNSON TOO KILLED BY THEM IN OFFICE WERE IN CYANIDE INSERT FIRST NOT TO HE THIRD AS A CONSTANT TILL HEART DIED TILL.
-following he asking multiple questions on how to do what to do etc. with no feel of what they are going to get....SO WE EXAMINE THEIR CONTRIBUTION AND ALLOCATION NEED.I GOD AS ALLOWED THEY THE QUESTION ASKERS ON BEHALF THE GOVERNMENT OFFICERS GIVEN DUTY OF DEVELOPING A PRODUCT SAID NOW AS A FALSER AS A IT AS NOTHING OF THAT SORT EVER CAME TO BE BY THE YEAR SIXTY SEVEN WHEN THEY ALL ALL AT ONCE MADE A PUTT AS A WARS AS A SPUTTER AS A NOT BUT AS A KUPUTRS AS A MURDEROUS WEAPONS OF THE THEY IN THE GOVERNMENT UNDER PRESSURE OF THE DHUSSARS HAVING TAKEN OVER CONTROLS AS A WE AS A AGAINST OF OUR CHARGE ACHIEVED BY OUR FRONT AS THE GOD WE THE GENERATOR LIKE GENERATING IDEAS IN THREE THOUSAND LINES OF THE COMMERCE THAT WE ADDED TO YOUR WORLD OF TWO TWENTY LINES NOT BUT TWENTY THREE AS A LISTABLE INCLUDING A GALTI HUI AS A TALKS AS A VERY POOR EXPRESSIONS AS A LANGUAGES WHICH TOO WE DEVELOPED THROUGH OUR DEVICES.WE GAVE WE AS A ONE ONLY AS A HE AT A LOWER LEVEL THIRTY SEVEN TIMES LOWER TILL NIL--------AT WHICH IDEA COMING STOPS.SO WE GAVE ONE ONLY WHO WE CONSIDE TO INVENTIONS HIS GIVEN.WE DO NOT TOUCH OTHERS IT IS NOT AS A CHORS GIVING NONE TOO IN THE RETURN AS IS PROHIBITED IN THE LAW.SO WE ASK WHY WE NOT IMPRISON THEY AS A OUR INHABITANT UNABLE TO ACHIEVE THEY THEIR ENDS INCLUDING THE EVERREADY AS A COMPANY OR KODAK OR A MICO PLUG OR A AGFA OR A ENTIRE INTERNET OR A ENTIRE GLASS BASED PRODUCTS INCLUDING MICROSCOPES TELESCOPES.THREE THOUSAND AS A LINES AS A THIRTY LAKH =THREE MILLION PRODUCTS AS A SALE OF LEGALLY TOO OTHERWISE TOO AS A WE AS A TO BE MAKING THEM ALL.OR LAY A CESS ALL HAVE TO PAY BASED ON UNPAID AS A WE AS A FOUR NOT ONE.THROUGH THE UNITED NATIONS.WHY DID UNITED NATIONS TAKE UP THE SALE OF OUR REGISTERED AS A FEW NOT MULTIPLE IN THE RANGE TWO THOUSAND PLUS THEN AS A MULTITUDE AS A LISTS AS A WE AS A NOT CIRCULATED BUT THEY THEIR AS A WE AS A KNOWLEDGE AS A TOO IN THE POLICE AS A RECORDS AS A IS WHICH IN CAN BE CONSULTED WE WILL IT AS A IT AS.ALL CASES OF THE BAZIGAR BE WE TO ASSOCIATED.THEIR VAKILS AS A WE AS A ASSED MOST PROBABLY AS A COOTERS OF OUR COURTS AS A WE AS A TO GIVING POISONS THROUGH OUR RELATIVES ON ZULM AS A FORCING THROUGH WE ON A ZULMS INTENSE A A VULGARS AS A DESERVING DEATHS AS A WE TO IN IT THE THEY BY ADMINISTERED WHETHER WE DIED OR NOT TOO BE ASCERTAINED FROM WE IN THE WHOLE TILL ATE TRY IN BEING TILL TILLERED TILLORY AS A WE AS A STORY BE PUBLISHED IN THE WE BY POINTED ALL NEWSPAPERS AS A WE AS A CHARGE IS THE WE AS A THE TOTAL LANDOWNER ON WHICH YOU ALL AS A ARE IN THE BUSINESSES WE BY COINED IN ORDER TO EVOLVE A EARTH WITH A JOB FOR EVERYONE SO THE OTHER TENDENCIES AS A IS AS A CHORS AS A DO NOT COME UP.
IF NOT EARNING FROM SELLING THE SUGGESTIONS TAKEN FROM HE AND DEVELOPED BY THEY HAVING BENEFITED FROM THEY AS A FORCE AS A GENERATED AS A ARE THERE IN THE DELHI AS A CHOR BAZAR IN THE CAR AS A FEW AS A WE AS A ALWAYS IN THE REACH WE TO BE WAYLAID AS A WRITER OF THE EVIDENCES AS A AGAINST THEY THE CHOR.TODAY THEIR NUMBER IS THE DL 8C AH 3011.A AMBASSADOR LOOKING LIKE CAR AS A TRAVELLER AS A THREE MOST CHOR AS A CAR MECHANICS AS A HURT BEARING NOT BUT TOO IN THE MOST BADMASH AS HAVING BEEN RECEIVED BY ANIL NEXT DOOR SON IN LAW OF A POLICER WE SEE WHO WERE ADMINISTERED ARSENIC SULFIDE AS A POISONOUS SUBSTANCE TO HAVE HE SIGNS OF THAT POISONING IN THE CITY OF THE SONEPAT TOO MURTHAL WE TO HAVING BEEN A TROUBLE AS A WE AS A MADE THIRTY YEAR BACK COMPLAINTS BEING SUSPECTED TO BE FALSE AS A PROCESS SERVER AS A ARRIVED HOW BUT SO WRITTEN AS A CIVIL HOSPITAL AS A DISCHARGERS AS A WE AS A CIVIL AS A BEING TO DEATH.HIS WIFE IS BEING VISITED BY SIKHS OF AGE TWELVE TO THIRTY BY THE WAY WE NOT IT AS A THE SANSIS AS. AS A WE AS A IT IS A CASE OF A RAPES BY THEM.THEY WE SEE DISAPPEARING AS WE WROTE THE STORY OF A CID OFFICER OF THE RANK OF THE INSPECTOR NOT SENIOR.FROM I.B. SINCE EIGHT YEARS IN IT DUE CHAUTALA AS A THIEF OF OUR PROPERTY ALONGWITH THE A.S. BRAR GROUP.WHO AS PER BADAL IS HIS BROTHER BEING SON OF THE DEVI LAL HIS FATHER IN THE PRE-PARTITION DAYS AS WELL WE ASK THE PROOF OF HE BEING A INDIAN. TWICE DISCARDED AS A CHANDIGARH COURT AS A IT AS A CASES AS A FOUR BY THE YEJDI SAID YAD JI AS A NAME AS.WHO WE SAY WERE A PAKISTANI OF THE TRIBE SANSI SMUGGLERS.HERE WE DEPOSIT NOT BUT TOO IN THE REACH OF THE THESE TOO TO THEY THE THESE DIRTY GIRLS A A SAY THEIRS AS A WE AS A NUT.
TILL 1955 THE ROPES WERE ,
BUT THEY WERE MADE FROM ANIMAL SKIN OR INTESTINE.IN THE PLANET EARTH.
THERE IS NO ESCAPE.
TODAY ROPE IS MADE FROM SYNTHETIC SUBSTANCES ALL OF THE MAKE WE.
WE CITE THE U.N. COURT .THE WE TODAY LEARNT THE ROPE MAKING FROM SANN PLANT .THEN IN A MONTH IN THE SAME FILE IS THE WE AS A SANN AS A DIFFERENT IS.THEN A THIRD AS A WE AS A TOKRI MAKING IS AS A SMALL.OVERTAKEN BY MONEY DEFICIENT DACOITY IN THE THEIR VEIN A LANCERS AS A AFFECTING THE DELHI WERE A TWENTY LAKH SANSIS.INCURSED AS A SIKH AS.BY THE GANGSTER OF THE TRIBE DAANVEER AS A SEMANTIC SPERM DONORS AS A BAZI SHOWY AS A WE AS AVERY VERY A YOGIS INVOLVED IN SIDHIS AS A ACHIEVED WHAT THEY CALLED JADU=MAGIC OR BAZI OF THEY THE BAZIGARS AS A INCLUDED IN THE FUND SPENDING OF OURS TO TRAIN THE WE LOOKING FALLEN FROM THE BIWI LIKE A SMALL----NOT INVESTIGATED THAT IT WERE BECAUSE OF THEM..APPLYING VARIOUS PRODUCTS THAT COULD INFLUENCE MIND BODY SOUL AS A POISON PLANT BASED,SNAKE BASED,OTHER ANIMAL LIKE SEH BASED,GOH BASED AS A GOH CATCHERS,AS A HYOSCYAMUS,AS A SHEH OF THE SNEHS NOT BUT TOO IN THE APPLY GOT OF THE WATER LIKE ARK OF THE SAMUNDRI JHAGG AS A DEAD SEA AS A COLLECTED AND SOLD EVEN NOW TILL AS A VERY VERY NERVE WRECKING POISON OPENLY IN INDIA AS ARE A TWENTY THOUSAND OTHERS POTENTIATING HOUSE BREAKING WITHOUT LOOKING LIKE.BY INTRODUCING A LITTLE POISON ON A DOORBELL,DOOR OR A WIREMESH WHEREFROM IT GOES INTO HOUSE AFFECTING ALL RESIDENTS.GENERALLY WITHIN A MONTH TOO IF THEIR CONCENTRATION IS.KILLING A FAMILY.REMOVED .THE HOUSE READY FOR SALE IS AS A SUCH OR RENOMINATED RENOVATED BY A LEGAL DEVICE AS A LETTER CONFISCATED AS A WE AS A SHOWED AS A WE AS A SUPERIOR IN THE POLICE WE.IN THE CITY OF THE DELHI IN THE MONTH OF THE THIS JANUARY TOO IN THE SIXTY THREE WE AS A INFORM IN TOO IN THE W AS A KNOWN ESCAPE IN NOT BUT THERE NOT AS A WE AS A SEEN HERE TOO IN THE CITY MOHALI TWO TIMES WRITTEN AS A INVESTIGATED BUT NOT ANY ACTIVITY VISIBLE WAS.CITY POLICE OFFICE SHIFTED FROM HERE FROM NEAR WE SO WE DO NOT GO THERE AS WE DID.IN CASES AS A IT AS A WE AS A VERY VERY ALERT AS A WERE DOING A SERVICE TO DEVELOP POLICE.HOWEVER WE ARE WE AS A NONE BUT SO REPORTED BY THE THEIR OWN ENEMIES.
WE=GOD OF ALL THE ORIGINAL EVOLVER OF ALL POSSIBLE TO BE AWARDED AS ONE PARTY FOR THE CONTRIBUTION CONSIDERING INPUT OF GOD IN ALL THOUGHT THAT LEAD TO INVENTIONS,NEW THOUGHTS,IDEAS,CULTURES,GAMES-----------ALL THAT COMES FROM A BRAIN INVOLVED COMPLETELY IN SOLVING DIFFICULT PROBLEMS EVOLVING INVENTIONS---------INTENSELY PLOUGHING MIND BODY SOUL INTO IT LOOKING FOR SOLUTIONS TO GOD AND ALL DATA ALREADY ON RECORD ALL BROUGHT INTO EXISTANCE BY THE MOTHER NATURE NOT OR ALL OR SOME AMBITIOUS EXISTING ON A PLANET INTERESTED IN CORNERING OR LISTING A SOLUTION EVOLVED BY A INTENSELY RESEARCHING EVOLVER INVENTING OR SUGGESTING AS A NEW THOUGHT EQUALING A INVENTION ITSELF WORTHY OF THE SCIENTIFIC EVALUATION AS A THOUGHT OF THE TIMES AS A SOLUTION TO SOME OR MORE OR ALL THE POSSIBLE PROBLEMS AS A BASIS AS A EVALUATION FOR IN THE VIEW OF THE GOD OF ALL AS THE OVERALL AUTHORITY IN REACH OF ALL SOLUTIONS TO ALL AT ALL TIMES LETTING THE SOLUTION TO THE INTENSELY RESEARCHING IN AREAS VISITED BY HE SHE .IN EVOLVE HE SHE COMES AS A SECOND SECONDARY IF EVALUATED BY COSMOS LATER THAN EVOLVE.BUT IS PRIMARY IF LOOKED FROM THE ANGLE OF THE PLANET AS A PHYSICAL REALITY HAPPENING BEFORE IT ..AS WHICH IT IS RECORDED OR ASSIMILATED BY SOME THIEVES.......AS ALSO SOMETIMES COMES TO LIGHT AT OTHER ESCAPES.WE GOD EVER EVERYTHING OURS TO BE LISTED AS A OURS.AS ALSO OF THE ACHIEVER WHO COMES TO ACHIEVE.ANY OTHER TO ASCRIBE PER WE IS A CRIME ABSOLUTE.THE MONIES AS A ASCRIBES AS A EXCHANGES EXHIBITED IN ANY PHYSICAL AS A IS A COURT OR A GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENT,POLICE RECORD/POTLI/FILE,UNIVERSITY PAPER,POLL RECORDS AS A IS A PERMANENT RECORDS AS A RACE ANY INFRINGE OF THE SAME WE CONSIDE TO THE WE AGAINST A ACTION,AS A ACTIVITY AS A DEATH ASA PENAL ACTION AS A NECESSITY AS IS AGAINST A R.C. PAUL WHOSE SERVICES WERE CANCELLED BY THE DELHI MAGISTRATE FOR HAND IN THE RAPISTS AS RESTRAINING THE PARTY CALLED TO ATTEND A CASE IN THE HIGH COURT LISTED THE COURT OF THE UNION WERE THAT HE HIS WIFE GOT CONDUCTED IN THE GREED GIVEN NOT BUT TOO...THAT THAT PARTY WERE OWNER WORLD LAND SOLD BY CHRISTIAN COUNTRIES TO THE SON THEIRS EXCHANGE AS A MATTER NOT FINDING MONEYS ENOUGH TO PAY SUCH EVALUA ALREADY FOUND TO HAVE PAID FULLY THE PRICE OF THE LAND OF EARTH AT THE VALUE CITED AS A EXCHANGED UNDERHAND FROM LAW AS A HIGHEST MARKET VALUES AS A THREE THOUSAND TIMES MORE VALUES GIVEN BY THE THIS COURT AS A WRONG COURT TOO IN THE JUSTICE AGAINST WE THE SIKHS WHO OWN THEM AS A CULTURE AS A ONE BELONGING TO A SIKH RELIGION AS A EXPLANATION SAID TIME AND AGAIN AS A STRONGLY BUILT SOME TWENTY MEN TO A SINGLE SEXED AS A SEVEN NIGHT WOMAN SHE HERS AS A IN THE PRESENCE OF HER HUSBAND AS A GOVT HEAD OF THE POLICE IN THE INDIA AS A SAIDS NOW AS A THANEDAR AS A LEVEL AS A IT IN THE WRITING IN THE YEAR HE WERE THERE THEN.AS A MAGISTRATE'S NOTES WILL CLARIFY OUR ACCUSE.THANEDAR AS A SUB INSPECTOR.IN IT WE ACCUSE THE RC PAUL AS A RETIRED MAN HOW AND HOW NOT A KRISHAN KANT PAUL AS A MAN WE GOT MULTIPLE ADVANTAGES AS A NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOURER DUE THE REQUESTS AND POLITE APPROACHES OF HIS MOTHER TO US.TO US CURRENT THREAT OF OUR SON TO DEATH IS AS A ADVERTISEMENT INSERT IN THE OUR SIDE NOT BUT TOO VISIBLE TOO TO THE FLICKR TEAM AS A SUBSIDED AS A SERVICE WINDOW TO WE BEING CLOSED BY THE THEY THE DIVISION TAKER AS A SUBSERVIENT TO DEATHS AS A WE AS A SERVE BE IN THE TIME WE FEEL FIT.WE ASK THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA CENTRAL AS A FULCRUM AS A
EVALUATE THE MATTER IN THE RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS WING OF THE POLICE.IT IS BY WE MADE AND TOO BECAUSE OF A SYSTEM OF POLICE WE AS A SUGGESTED IT AS A TOO WE BY TO THE P.M. INDIRA GANDHI AS TOO TO KEEP AN EYE ON THE P.M.s.AND ALL ELSE TAKING ACTION AGAINST THEY DIRECTLY OR OTHERWISE AS A CIN AS A METHOD POLICE IS USING OR STOPPING THEY WITHOUT IT.IN SERIOUS LAPSE OF DUTY AS A ABSENTING IS FROM OFFICE FOR MORE THAN A HOUR IN THE OFFICE TIME.OR NOT SEEING TO IT THAT A BASIC TRUTH IS.AND ANY DEVIATE UNDER PRESSURE IS SEEN AND ACTED,FASTESTS AS A POLICER JAMES BONDS..GIVEN THE AUTHORITY OVERALL.GIVEN A NAME RESEARCH ANALYSIS BY WE ON RECORDS ALL DIRECTLY TO THE PRIME MINISTER IN NEED OF A SUPREME COURT AS A LICENCE FROM WE THE LICENCING AUTHORITY PUT INTERNATIONALLY BY THE UNITED NATIONS.
IN OUR CONSIDERATION THE ACTUAL OWNER ALL IS THE PLANET NOT PEOPLE OR OTHER LIVING ON IT NOT BUT THE GOD.HE IS THE FIRST TO BE ASCRIBED ANY EVOLVE.IN ANY LINE OF SCIENTIFIC OR OTHER RESEARCH.LOGICAL OR NOT REACHED THROUGH CLEAR LINES OF LOGIC NOT EVEN-COMING AS A FLASH FROM THE GOD AS IS THE HUNDRED PERCENT.
THIS WAS CLEAR TO THE PEOPLE OF THE PLANET TILL A FEW UNINTELLIGENTS CAME UPON A SCHEME TO TAKEOVER ALL OF ALL IN THE PLANET INTO THEIR OWN HANDS.
POLICE IS AT FAULT FOR OVERLOOKING.
IT OVERLOOKED TWO COMPLAINTS FIRST.OF THE THEFT OF THE CARDS OF GREAT IMPORTANCE AS CARDS OF A POSITION.IMPLYING THAT ANY GHONCHU=ILLICITER CAN USE IT AS A MISUSES AS A MANY TIMES OVER AND ABOVE THE WHOLE EARTH IN AUTHORITY.AS WE SAW IN THE COMPLAINT FIRST DATED THREE OF THE TWENTY THREE WE.WE HERE WE AS A IS.IS TO BE INTERPOLATED LEST THE POLICE FROM DATA SLIPS.IT IS THE LOOSE MADE ORGAN ON THE ROCK READY TO BE PUNISHED FOR ANY AND ALL IN THE WE AS A SECONDARY TOO NOT PRIMARY IMPORTANCE.IN BEING OFFICIAL SENIORMOST AS A COUNTRY INDIA AS A DEMOCRACY TOO EXPRESSED AS A PARLIAMENT IN THE DATE SEVENTH OF THE SEVENTY FOUR AFTER A MEMBER OF THE RAJYA SABHA MADE A MATTER IN WRITING AS A BRIEFESTS AS A NOT BUT ATTACHED THE COURT PAPERS WHICH WE AS A S.S.KOHLI A SENIORMOST U.G.C. PROFESSOR GAVE NOT BUT TOO SAID AS AS A SIN IN CYANIDED =POISONED BY THE POLICER MISTER K.K.PAUL AS A NAMED CROOK FRONT-CROOKS OVERTAKEN MAN AS--OVERTAKEN FROM THE DATE OF THE TWO OF THE SIXTH MONTH OF THE YEAR SIXTY NINE------THROUGH A MAN KNOWN TO HIM AS OUR FAMILY MISTER D.I.S.KOHLII.NEVER TO BE CONSULTED ESPECIALLY IF KNOWN IN CYANIDING THE AUTHORITY TO JOIN OTHER IN PERSUADES SOMEHOW IN THE PHYSICALITY.AS WAS A K.K.PAUL TO CLEAR BUT AS A THREATENED TILL MOTHER,SISTER AND SEXES THREE BEFORE HE TO HIS WIFE BY THE D.I.S.KOHLI SAID BY SEXING ASSAULTER AS A CROOKS INTERESTED IN TAKING HIS POSITION CLEARLY MENTIONED IF JOINING THEN NOT OTHERWISE ASSAULTS IN HIS PRESENCE AS A CAUGHT BY SOME AND AS A SEXES BY SOME TO CONTINUE WERE ON HIM NOT HIS WIFE IN HIS PRESENCE.HIS MIND ADDICTED WERE BY INJECTION OF CHEMICAL .HE OVERTAKEN IN IT ALLOWED ..THINKING WILL REPORT BUT DID NOT SO THE STATE AS A IT THIS MATTER THE STATE OWNER ALLOWING THE DEMOCRACY IN THE STATE CAME TO HAPPEN.D.I.S.KOHLI/KOHLII TOO A CATCH FAR LESSER THAN THE POLICER HOW WERE IS A POINT WE DISCUSS.
THE SECOND
Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin [nb 1] (9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968) was a Soviet Air Forces pilot and cosmonaut who became the first human to journey into outer space, achieving a major milestone in the Space Race; his capsule Vostok 1 completed one orbit of Earth on 12 April 1961. Gagarin became an international celebrity and was awarded many medals and titles, including Hero of the Soviet Union, his nation's highest honour.
Vostok 1 was Gagarin's only spaceflight but he served as the backup crew to the Soyuz 1 mission, which ended in a fatal crash, killing his friend and fellow cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov. Gagarin later served as the deputy training director of the Cosmonaut Training Centre, which was subsequently named after him. He was elected as a deputy to the Soviet of the Union in 1962 and then to the Soviet of Nationalities, respectively the lower and upper chambers of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Gagarin died in 1968 when the MiG-15 training jet he was piloting with his flight instructor Vladimir Seryogin crashed near the town of Kirzhach.
Contents
1 Early life and education
2 Soviet Air Force service
3 Soviet space program
3.1 Selection and training
3.2 Vostok 1
4 After the Vostok 1 flight
5 Personal life
6 Death
7 Awards and honours
7.1 Medals and orders of merit
7.2 Tributes
7.3 Statues and monuments
7.4 50th anniversary
8 See also
9 Notes
10 References
10.1 Sources
11 Further reading
12 External links
Early life and education
Yuri Gagarin was born 9 March 1934 in the village of Klushino,[1] near Gzhatsk (renamed Gagarin in 1968 after his death).[2] His parents worked on a collective farm:[3] Alexey Ivanovich Gagarin as a carpenter and Anna Timofeyevna Gagarina as a dairy farmer.[nb 2][4] Yuri was the third of four children: his siblings were brothers Valentin (1924) and Boris (1936), and sister Zoya (1927).[5][6]
Like millions of Soviet Union citizens, the Gagarin family suffered during the Nazi occupation of Russia during World War II. Klushino was occupied in November 1941 during the German advance on Moscow and a German officer took over the Gagarin residence. The family were allowed to build a mud hut approximately 3 by 3 metres (10 by 10 ft) inside on the land behind their house, where they spent twenty-one months until the end of the occupation.[7] His two older siblings were deported by the Germans to Poland for slave labour in 1943 and did not return until after the war in 1945.[5][8] In 1946, the family moved to Gzhatsk, where Gagarin continued his secondary education.[7]
In 1950, aged 16, Gagarin began an apprenticeship as a foundryman at the Lyubertsy steel plant near Moscow,[5][8] and enrolled at a local "young workers" school for seventh-grade evening classes.[9] After graduating in 1951 from both the seventh grade and the vocational school with honours in mouldmaking and foundry work,[9] he was selected for further training at the Saratov Industrial Technical School, where he studied tractors.[5][8][10] While in Saratov, Gagarin volunteered at a local flying club for weekend training as a Soviet air cadet, where he trained to fly a biplane, and later a Yak-18.[8][10] He earned extra money as a part-time dock labourer on the Volga River.[7]
Soviet Air Force service
In 1955, Gagarin was accepted to the 1st Chkalovsky Higher Air Force Pilots School, a flight school in Orenburg.[11][12] He initially began training on the Yak-18 already familiar to him and later graduated to training on the MiG-15 in February 1956.[11] Gagarin twice struggled to land the two-seater trainer aircraft, and risked dismissal from pilot training. However, the commander of the regiment decided to give him another chance at landing. Gagarin's flight instructor gave him a cushion to sit on, which improved his view from the cockpit, and he landed successfully. Having completed his evaluation in a trainer aircraft,[13] Gagarin began flying solo in 1957.[5]
On 5 November 1957, Gagarin was commissioned a lieutenant in the Soviet Air Forces having accumulated 166 hours and 47 minutes of flight time. He graduated from flight school the next day and was posted to the Luostari airbase close to the Norwegian border in Murmansk Oblast for a two-year assignment with the Northern Fleet.[14] On 7 July 1959, he was rated Military Pilot 3rd Class.[15] After expressing interest in space exploration following the launch of Luna 3 on 6 October 1959, his recommendation to the Soviet space program was endorsed and forward by Lieutenant Colonel Babushkin.[14][16] By this point, he had accumulated 265 hours of flight time.[14] Gagarin was promoted to the rank of senior lieutenant on 6 November 1959,[15] three weeks after he was interviewed by a medical commission for qualification to the space program.[14]
Soviet space program
Selection and training
See also: Vostok programme
Vostok I capsule on display at the RKK Energiya museum
Gagarin's selection for the Vostok programme was overseen by the Central Flight Medical Commission led by Major General Konstantin Fyodorovich Borodin of the Soviet Army Medical Service. He underwent physical and psychological testing conducted at Central Aviation Scientific-Research Hospital, in Moscow, commanded by Colonel A.S. Usanov, a member of the commission. The commission also included Colonel Yevgeniy Anatoliyevich Karpov, who later commanded the training centre, Colonel Vladimir Ivanovich Yazdovskiy, the head physician for Gagarin's flight, and Major-General Aleksandr Nikolayevich Babiychuk, a physician flag officer on the Soviet Air Force General Staff to the Commander in Chief of the Air Force.[17]
From a pool of 154 qualified pilots short-listed by their Air Force units, the military physicians chose 29 cosmonaut candidates, of which 20 were approved by the Credential Committee of the Soviet Government. The first twelve including Gagarin were approved on 7 March 1960 and eight more were added in a series of subsequent orders issued until June.[18] Gagarin began training at the Khodynka Airfield in downtown Moscow on 15 March 1960. The training regiment involved vigorous and repetitive physical exercises which Alexei Leonov, a member of the initial group of twelve, described as akin to training for the Olympics Games.[19] In April 1960, they began parachute training in Saratov Oblast and each completed about 40 to 50 jumps from both low and high altitude, and over land and water.[20]
Gagarin was a candidate favoured by his peers. When they were asked to vote anonymously for a candidate besides themselves they would like to be the first to fly, all but three chose Gagarin.[21] One of these candidates, Yevgeny Khrunov, believed that Gagarin was very focused and was demanding of himself and others when necessary.[22] On 30 May 1960, Gagarin was further selected for an accelerated training group, known as the Vanguard Six or Sochi Six,[23][nb 3] from which the first cosmonauts of the Vostok programme would be chosen. The other members of the group were Anatoliy Kartashov, Andriyan Nikolayev, Pavel Popovich, German Titov, and Valentin Varlamov. However, Kartashov and Varlamov were injured and replaced by Khrunov and Grigoriy Nelyubov.[25]
As several of the candidates selected for the program including Gagarin did not have higher education degrees, they were enrolled into a correspondence course program at Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy. Gagarin enrolled in the program in September 1960 and did not earn his specialist diploma until early 1968.[26][27] Gagarin was also subjected to experiments that were designed to test physical and psychological endurance including oxygen starvation tests in which the cosmonauts were locked in an isolation chamber and the air slowly pumped out. He also trained for the upcoming flight by experiencing g-forces in a centrifuge.[28][25] Psychological tests included placing the candidates in an anechoic chamber in complete isolation; Gagarin was in the chamber on July 26 – August 5.[29][20] In August 1960, a Soviet Air Force doctor evaluated his personality as follows:
Modest; embarrasses when his humor gets a little too racy; high degree of intellectual development evident in Yuriy; fantastic memory; distinguishes himself from his colleagues by his sharp and far-ranging sense of attention to his surroundings; a well-developed imagination; quick reactions; persevering, prepares himself painstakingly for his activities and training exercises, handles celestial mechanics and mathematical formulae with ease as well as excels in higher mathematics; does not feel constrained when he has to defend his point of view if he considers himself right; appears that he understands life better than a lot of his friends.[21]
The Vanguard Six were given the title of pilot-cosmonaut in January 1961[25] and entered a two-day examination conducted by a special interdepartmental commission led Lieutenant-General Nikolai Kamanin, tasked with ranking of the candidates based on their mission readiness for the first human Vostok mission. On 17 January 1961, they were tested in a simulator at the M. M. Gromov Flight-Research Institute on a full-size mockup of the Vostok capsule. Gagarin, Nikolayev, Popovich, and Titov all received excellent marks on the first day of testing in which they were required to describe the various phases of the mission followed by questions from commission.[22] On the second day, they were given a written examination following which the special commission ranked Gagarin as the best candidate the first mission. He and the next two highest-ranked cosmonauts, Titov and Nelyubov, were sent to Tyuratam for final preparations.[22] Gagarin and Titov were selected to train in the flight-ready spacecraft on 7 April 1961. Historian Asif Siddiqi writes of the final selection:[30]
In the end, at the State Commission meeting on April 8, Kamanin stood up and formally nominated Gagarin as the primary pilot and Titov as his backup. Without much discussion, the commission approved the proposal and moved on to other last-minute logistical issues. It was assumed that in the event Gagarin developed health problems prior to liftoff, Titov would take his place, with Nelyubov acting as his backup.
Vostok 1
Main article: Vostok 1
Poyekhali!
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Gagarin's voice
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On 12 April 1961, 6:07 am UTC, the Vostok 3KA-3 (Vostok 1) spacecraft was launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome. Aboard was Gagarin, the first human to travel into space, using the call sign Kedr (Russian: Кедр, Siberian pine or Cedar).[31] The radio communication between the launch control room and Gagarin included the following dialogue at the moment of rocket launch:
Korolev: Preliminary stage ... intermediate... main... LIFT-OFF! We wish you a good flight. Everything's all right.
Gagarin: Off we go! Goodbye, until [we meet] soon, dear friends.[32][33]
Gagarin's farewell to Korolev using the informal phrase Poyekhali! (Russian: Поехали!)[nb 4] later became a popular expression in the Eastern Bloc that was used to refer to the beginning of the Space Age.[35][36] The five first-stage engines fired until the first separation event, when the four side-boosters fell away, leaving the core engine. The core stage then separated while the rocket was in a suborbital trajectory, and the upper stage carried it to orbit. Once the upper stage finished firing, it separated from the spacecraft, which orbited for 108 minutes before returning to Earth in Kazakhstan.[37] Gagarin became the first to orbit the Earth.[31]
File:1961-04-19 First Pictures-Yuri Gagarin-selection.ogvPlay media
An April 1961 newsreel of Gagarin arriving in Moscow to be greeted by First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev.
"The feeling of weightlessness was somewhat unfamiliar compared with Earth conditions. Here, you feel as if you were hanging in a horizontal position in straps. You feel as if you are suspended", Gagarin wrote in his post-flight report.[38] He also wrote in his autobiography released the same year that he sang the tune "The Motherland Hears, The Motherland Knows" (Russian: "Родина слышит, Родина знает") during re-entry.[39] Gagarin was qualified a Military Pilot 1st Class and promoted to the rank of major in a special order given during his flight.[15][39]
At about 23,000 feet (7,000 m), Gagarin ejected from the descending capsule as planned and landed using a parachute. There were concerns Gagarin's spaceflight record would not be certified by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), the world governing body for setting standards and keeping records in the field, which at the time required that the pilot land with the craft.[40] Gagarin and Soviet officials initially refused to admit that he had not landed with his spacecraft,[41] an omission which became apparent after Titov's subsequent flight on Vostok 2 four months later. Gagarin's spaceflight records were nonetheless certified and again reaffirmed by the FAI, which revised it rules, and acknowledge that the crucial steps of the safe launch, orbit, and return of the pilot had been accomplished. Gagarin continues to be internationally recognised as the first human in space and first to orbit the Earth.[42]
After the Vostok 1 flight
Gagarin in Warsaw, 1961
Gagarin's flight was a triumph for the Soviet space program and he became a national hero of the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc, as well as a worldwide celebrity. Newspapers around the globe published his biography and details of his flight. He was escorted in a long motorcade of high-ranking officials through the streets of Moscow to the Kremlin where, in a lavish ceremony, Nikita Khrushchev awarded him the title Hero of the Soviet Union. Other cities in the Soviet Union also held mass demonstrations, the scale of which were second only to World War II Victory Parades.[43]
Gagarin and Valentina Tereshkova (seated to his right) sign autographs in 1964
Gagarin gained a reputation as an adept public figure and was noted for his charismatic smile.[44][45][46] On 15 April 1961, accompanied by official from the Soviet Academy of Sciences, he answered questions at a press conference in Moscow reportedly attended by 1,000 reporters.[47] Gagarin visited the United Kingdom three months after the Vostok 1 mission, going to London and Manchester.[48][44] While in Manchester, despite heavy rain, he refused an umbrella, insisted that the roof of the convertible car he was riding in remain open, and stood so the cheering crowds could see him.[44][49] Gagarin toured widely abroad, accepting the invitation of about 30 countries.[50] In just the first four months, he also went to Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Finland, Hungary, and Iceland.[51]
In 1962, Gagarin began serving as a deputy to the Soviet of the Union,[52] and was elected to the Central Committee of the Young Communist League. He later returned to Star City, the cosmonaut facility, where he spent several years working on designs for a reusable spacecraft. He became a lieutenant colonel of the Soviet Air Forces on 12 June 1962, and received the rank of colonel on 6 November 1963.[15] On 20 December 1963, Gagarin became Deputy Training Director of the Star City cosmonaut training base.[53] Soviet officials, including cosmonaut overseerer Nikolai Kamanin, tried to keep Gagarin away from any flights, being worried about losing their hero in an accident noting that he was "too dear to mankind to risk his life for the sake of an ordinary space flight".[54] Kamanin was also concerned by Gagarin's drinking and believed the sudden rise to fame had taken its toll on the cosmonaut. While acquaintances say Gagarin had been a "sensible drinker", his touring schedule placed him in social situations in which he was increasingly expected to drink alcohol.[5][10]
Gagarin with U.S. Vice President Hubert Humphrey, French Prime Minister Georges Pompidou and the Gemini 4 astronauts at the 1965 Paris Air Show
Two years later, he was re-elected as a deputy of the Soviet Union but this time to the Soviet of Nationalities, the upper chamber of legislature.[52] The following year, he began to re-qualify as a fighter pilot[55] and was backup pilot for his friend Vladimir Komarov on the Soyuz 1 flight after five years without piloting duty. Kamanin had opposed Gagarin's reassignment to cosmonaut training; he had gained weight and his flying skills had deteriorated. Despite this, he remained a strong contender for Soyuz 1 until he was replaced by Komarov in April 1966 and reassigned to Soyuz 3.[56]
The Soyuz 1 launch was rushed due to implicit political pressures[57] and despite Gagarin's protests that additional safety precautions were necessary.[58] Gagarin accompanied Komarov to the rocket before launch and relayed instructions to Komarov from ground control following multiple system failures aboard the spacecraft.[59] Despite their best efforts, Soyuz 1 crash landed after its parachutes failed to open, killing Komarov instantly.[60] After the Soyuz 1 crash, Gagarin was permanently banned from training for and participating in further spaceflights.[61] He was also grounded from flying aircraft solo, a demotion he worked hard to lift. He was temporarily relieved of duties to focus on academics with the promise that he would be able to resume flight training.[62] On 17 February 1968, Gagarin successfully defended his aerospace engineering thesis on the subject of spaceplane aerodynamic configuration and graduated cum laude from Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy.[27][63][62]
Personal life
Gagarin and his wife Valentina clapping at a concert in Moscow in 1964.
Gagarin and his wife Valentina at a concert in Moscow in 1964.
Gagarin was a keen sportsman and fond of ice hockey as a goal keeper.[64] He was also a basketball fan and coached the Saratov Industrial Technical School team, as well as being a referee.[65]
In 1957, while a cadet in flight school, Gagarin met Valentina Goryacheva at the May Day celebrations at the Red Square in Moscow.[66] She was a medical technician who graduated from Orenburg Medical School.[8][10] They were married on 7 November 1957,[8] the same day Gagarin graduated from Orenburg, and they had two daughters.[67][68] Yelena Yurievna Gagarina, born 1959,[68] is an art historian who has worked as the director-general of the Moscow Kremlin Museums since 2001;[69][70] and Galina Yurievna Gagarina, born 1961,[68] is a professor of economics and the department chair at Plekhanov Russian University of Economics in Moscow.[69][71] Following his rise to fame, at a Black Sea resort in September 1961, he was reportedly caught by his wife during a liaison with a nurse who had aided him after a boating incident. He attempted to escape through a window and jumped off a second floor balcony. The resulting injury left a permanent scar above his left eyebrow.[5][10]
Death
Plaque on a brick wall with inscription: Юрий Алексеевич Гагарин, 1934-03-09–1968-03-27
Plaque indicating Gagarin's interment in the Kremlin Wall
On 27 March 1968, while on a routine training flight from Chkalovsky Air Base, Gagarin and flight instructor Vladimir Seryogin died when their MiG-15UTI crashed near the town of Kirzhach. The bodies of Gagarin and Seryogin were cremated and their ashes were buried in the walls of the Kremlin.[72] Wrapped in secrecy, the cause of the crash that killed Gagarin is uncertain and became the subject of several theories.[73][74] At least three investigations into the crash were conducted separately by the Air Force, official government commissions, and the KGB.[75][76] According to a biography of Gagarin by Jamie Doran and Piers Bizony, Starman: The Truth Behind the Legend of Yuri Gagarin, the KGB worked "not just alongside the Air Force and the official commission members but against them."[75]
The KGB's report declassified in March 2003 dismissed various conspiracy theories and instead indicated the actions of airbase personnel contributed to the crash. The report states that an air-traffic controller provided Gagarin with outdated weather information and that by the time of his flight, conditions had deteriorated significantly. Ground crew also left external fuel tanks attached to the aircraft. Gagarin's planned flight activities needed clear weather and no outboard tanks. The investigation concluded Gagarin's aircraft entered a spin, either due to a bird strike or because of a sudden move to avoid another aircraft. Because of the out-of-date weather report, the crew believed their altitude was higher than it was and could not react properly to bring the MiG-15 out of its spin.[76] Another theory, advanced in 2005 by the original crash investigator, hypothesizes that a cabin air vent was accidentally left open by the crew or the previous pilot, leading to oxygen deprivation and leaving the crew incapable of controlling the aircraft.[73] A similar theory, published in Air & Space magazine, is that the crew detected the open vent and followed procedure by executing a rapid dive to a lower altitude. This dive caused them to lose consciousness and crash.[74]
On 12 April 2007, the Kremlin vetoed a new investigation into the death of Gagarin. Government officials said they saw no reason to begin a new investigation.[77] In April 2011, documents from a 1968 commission set up by the Central Committee of the Communist Party to investigate the accident were declassified. The documents revealed that the commission's original conclusion was that Gagarin or Seryogin had manoeuvered sharply, either to avoid a weather balloon or to avoid "entry into the upper limit of the first layer of cloud cover", leading the jet into a "super-critical flight regime and to its stalling in complex meteorological conditions".[78]
A Russian MiG-15UTI, the same type as Gagarin was flying
Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, a member of a state commission established to investigate Gagarin's death, was conducting parachute training sessions that day and heard "two loud booms in the distance". He believes that a Sukhoi Su-15 was flying below its minimum altitude and, "without realizing it because of the terrible weather conditions, he passed within 10 or 20 meters of Yuri and Seregin's plane while breaking the sound barrier". The resulting turbulence would have sent the MiG-15UTI into an uncontrolled spin. Leonov said the first boom he heard was that of the jet breaking the sound barrier and the second was Gagarin's plane crashing.[79] In a June 2013 interview with Russian television network RT, Leonov said a report on the incident confirmed the presence of a second, "unauthorized" Su-15 flying in the area. However, as a condition of being allowed to discuss the declassified report, Leonov was barred from disclosing the name of the Su-15 pilot who was 80 years old and in poor health as of 2013.[80]
Awards and honours
Medals and orders of merit
Jânio Quadros, President of Brazil, decorated Gagarin in 1961.
On 14 April 1961, Gagarin was honoured with a 12-mile (19 km) parade attended by millions of people that concluded at the Red Square. After a short speech, he was bestowed the Hero of the Soviet Union,[81][82] Order of Lenin,[81] Merited Master of Sports of the Soviet Union[83] and the first Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR.[82] On 15 April, the Soviet Academy of Sciences awarded him with the Konstantin Tsiolkovsky Gold Medal, named after the Russian pioneer of space aeronautics.[84] Gagarin had also been awarded four Soviet commemorative medals over the course of his career.[15]
He was honoured as a Hero of Socialist Labor (Czechoslovakia) on 29 April 1961,[85][86] and Hero of Socialist Labor (Bulgaria, including the Order of Georgi Dimitrov) on 24 May.[15][chronology citation needed] On the eighth anniversary of the beginning of Cuban Revolution (26 July), President Osvaldo Dorticos of Cuba presented him with the first Commander of the Order of Playa Girón, a newly created medal.[87]
Gagarin was also awarded the 1960 Gold Air Medal and the 1961 De la Vaulx Medal from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale in Switzerland.[88] He received numerous awards from other nations that year, including the Star of the Republic of Indonesia (2nd Class), the Order of the Cross of Grunwald (1st Degree) in Poland, the Order of the Flag of the Republic of Hungary, the Hero of Labor award from Democratic Republic of Vietnam,[15] the Italian Columbus Day Medal,[89] and a Gold Medal from the British Interplanetary Society.[90][91] President Jânio Quadros of Brazil decorated Gagarin on 2 August 1961 with the Order of Aeronautical Merit, Commander grade.[92] During a tour of Egypt in late January 1962, Gagarin received the Order of the Nile[93] and the golden keys to the gates of Cairo.[50] On 22 October 1963, Gagarin and Valentina Tereshkova were honoured with the Order of Karl Marx from the German Democratic Republic.[94]
Tributes
The date of Gagarin's space flight, 12 April, has been commemorated. Since 1962, it has been celebrated in the USSR and most of its former territories as Cosmonautics Day.[95] Since 2000, Yuri's Night, an international celebration, is held annually to commemorate milestones in space exploration.[96] In 2011, it was declared the International Day of Human Space Flight by the United Nations.[97]
Yuri Gagarin statue at the Royal Greenwich Observatory in London
A number of buildings and locations have been named for Gagarin. The Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, was named on 30 April 1968.[98] The launch pad at Baikonur Cosmodrome from which Sputnik 1 and Vostok 1 were launched is now known as Gagarin's Start. Gagarin Raion in Sevastopol, Ukraine, was named after him during the period of the Soviet Union. The Russian Air Force Academy was renamed Gagarin Air Force Academy in 1968.[99] A street in Warsaw, Poland, is called Yuri Gagarin Street.[100] The town of Gagarin, Armenia was renamed in his honour in 1961.[101]
Gagarin has been honoured on the Moon by astronauts and astronomers. During the American space program's Apollo 11 mission in 1969, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin left a memorial satchel containing medals commemorating Gagarin and fellow cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov on the Moon's surface.[102][103] In 1971, Apollo 15 astronauts David Scott and James Irwin left the small Fallen Astronaut sculpture at their landing site as a memorial to the American astronauts and Soviet cosmonauts who died in the Space Race; the names on its plaque included Yuri Gagarin and 14 others.[104][105] In 1970, a 262 km (163 mi)-wide crater on the far side after him.[106] Gagarin was inducted as a member of the 1976 inaugural class of the International Space Hall of Fame in New Mexico.[107]
Gagarin is memorialised in music; a cycle of Soviet patriotic songs titled The Constellation Gagarin (Russian: Созвездье Гагарина, tr. Sozvezdie Gagarina) was written by Aleksandra Pakhmutova and Nikolai Dobronravov in 1970–1971.[108] The most famous of these songs refers to Gagarin's poyekhali!: in the lyrics, "He said 'let's go!' He waved his hand".[35][108] He was the inspiration for the pieces "Hey Gagarin" by Jean-Michel Jarre on Métamorphoses, "Gagarin" by Public Service Broadcasting, and "Gagarin, I loved you" by Undervud.[109]
Russian ten-ruble commemorating Gagarin in 2001
Vessels have been named for Gagarin; Soviet tracking ship Kosmonavt Yuri Gagarin was built in 1971[110] and the Armenian airline Armavia named their first Sukhoi Superjet 100 in his honour in 2011.[111]
Two commemorative coins were issued in the Soviet Union to honour the 20th and 30th anniversaries of his flight: a one-ruble coin in copper-nickel (1981) and a three-ruble coin in silver (1991). In 2001, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Gagarin's flight, a series of four coins bearing his likeness was issued in Russia; it consisted of a two-ruble coin in copper-nickel, a three-ruble coin in silver, a ten-ruble coin in brass-copper and nickel, and a 100-ruble coin in silver.[112] In 2011, Russia issued a 1,000-ruble coin in gold and a three-ruble coin in silver to mark the 50th anniversary of his flight.[113]
In 2008, the Kontinental Hockey League named their championship trophy the Gagarin Cup.[114] In a 2010 Space Foundation survey, Gagarin was ranked as the sixth-most-popular space hero, tied with Star Trek's fictional James T. Kirk.[115] A Russian docudrama titled Gagarin: First in Space was released in 2013. Previous attempts at portraying Gagarin were disallowed; his family took legal action over his portrayal in a fictional drama and vetoed a musical.[116]
Statues and monuments
There are statues of Gagarin and monuments to him located in Gagarin (Smolensk Oblast), Orenburg, Cheboksary, Irkutsk, Izhevsk, Komsomolsk-on-Amur, and Yoshkar-Ola in Russia, as well as in Nicosia, Cyprus, Druzhkivka, Ukraine, Karaganda, Kazakhstan, and Tiraspol, Moldova. On 4 June 1980, Monument to Yuri Gagarin in Gagarin Square, Leninsky Avenue, Moscow, was opened.[117] The monument is mounted to a 38 m (125 ft) tall pedestal and is constructed of titanium. Beside the column is a replica of the descent module used during his spaceflight.[118]
Bust of Gagarin at Birla Planetarium in Kolkata, India
In 2011, a statue of Gagarin was unveiled at Admiralty Arch in The Mall in London, opposite the permanent sculpture of James Cook. It is a copy of the statue outside Gagarin's former school in Lyubertsy.[119] In 2013, the statue was moved to a permanent location outside the Royal Observatory, Greenwich.[120]
In 2012, a statue was unveiled at the site of NASA's original spaceflight headquarters on South Wayside Drive in Houston. The sculpture was completed in 2011 by artist and cosmonaut Alexei Leonov and was a gift to Houston by various Russian organisations. Houston Mayor Annise Parker, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak were present for the dedication.[121][122] The Russian Federation presented a bust of Gagarin to several cities in India including one that was unveiled at the Birla Planetarium in Kolkata in February 2012.[123]
In April 2018, a bust of Gagarin erected on the street in Belgrade, Serbia, that bears his name was removed, after less than week. A new work was commissioned following the outcry over the disproportionately small size of its head which locals said was an "insult" to Gagarin.[124][125] Belgrade City Manager Goran Vesic stated that neither the city, the Serbian Ministry of Culture, nor the foundation that financed it had prior knowledge of the design.[126]
50th anniversary
50th anniversary stamp of Ukraine
The 50th anniversary of Gagarin's journey into space was marked in 2011 by tributes around the world. A film titled First Orbit was shot from the International Space Station, combining sound recordings from the original flight with footage of the route taken by Gagarin.[127] The Russian, American, and Italian crew of Expedition 27 aboard the ISS sent a special video message to wish the people of the world a "Happy Yuri's Night", wearing shirts with an image of Gagarin.[128]
The Central Bank of the Russian Federation released gold and silver coins to commemorate the anniversary.[129] The Soyuz TMA-21 spacecraft was named Gagarin with the launch in April 2011 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the first manned space mission.
The reclusive and endangered Ridgway's Rail calling so loudly it was hard to miss in the Pickleweed. Instead of hiding as they usually do, he wanted to be heard and seen. Luckily, I was around to help him with that goal.
06/04/18, Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve
Photograph by: Ryan Nyenhuis
Sunday June 15th 2008, Fathers Day. Ryan and I woke with a plan. The plan being to sneak into the abandon R.L. Hearn Thermal Generation Power Plant which is located in the south east area of downtown Toronto. We wanted to photograph the beauty of decay.
We had made a trip over to the power plant a week prior to scout out the area, to see where guards were located and to find easy access inside.
Sneaking past the guard house located at the front of the property and making our way along the north west section of property towards the back of the plant where the barbed wire fence was weakest.
We then smoked three quarters of a joint together before working up the nerve to hop the fence. Ryan went first, watching him hop the fence and dart out into the yard and hiding behind scrap metal for cover then finally making it to the back of the building. Then it was my turn. What excitement that was, knowing your breaking the law to do something adventurous.
After getting onto the property we were standing at the back of the Hearn and looking for our way inside. To do so we had to hop up onto a metal fence post and from there had to reach up and grab a hold of plywood that covered up the tall entrance area. A good 15 foot climb up, over and in.
Once inside the first photo that was taken was the one of Ryan and I standing together, titled "final hours".
This place was like no other we had ever explored together. The shear size of it all was breathtaking and mind blowing at the same time. The beauty of destruction.
After the first photo was taken we started exploring the plant. Taking the necessary precautions we had come prepared with asbestos masks and flashlights.
We had made our way around on the ground floor, through locker rooms, showers, storage rooms. Then we started making our way up stairs to the 2nd and 3rd level offices, had the remainder of our joint together.
From the office levels we went back onto the factory area and started climbing the metal stairs up further still. Some photos show how high up we were in that building.
We then made ourselves up onto the roof. What a view from there looking out over the city core. Looking out over Lake Ontario we saw really dark storm clouds. Ryan pulled out a cigarette and had a smoke.
We were up on the roof for about a half hour before Ryan asked me "what do you want to do now man?". "Do you want to go home now or stay a bit longer and explore?". My camera battery had died at this point and being there any longer served no purpose for me. I was hesitant on a response because at the same time I wanted to keep exploring because the plan was to keep coming back weekend after weekend to explore and document the old structure.
I then agreed to keep exploring. We came in off the roof, coming down a level, walked through a doorway into a long looking dark room. All across the top level of The Hearn runs conveyor belts that run coal from one end to the other. Walking together along the metal grating flooring. Ryan was 2 feet in front of me.
I then ended up tripping over a small extruded piece of metal on the floor, and from that second on I pointed my flashlight directly onto the floor to see where I was walking.
Very shortly after this happens, in mid sentence Ryan just falls into blackness. All I see is from his waist up as he plunges into complete blackness and followed by about 4-5 seconds before hearing a sick crash far below.
I then look 2 feet in front of me and see there is no more floor. My imediant thought is that he is dead. Then my brain clicks "I have to get my best friend out of here".
I then tried my best to back track to get out of the building, taking a route that he and I had not taken to get to this point. All I knew is I had to get out of The Hearn and find someone that could help.
I don't even know how I got out of that place. When I did I came out on the back side of the building, ran around to the guard house screaming for help.
I screamed to the guard that my best friend just fell in there and is hurt really bad, he asked what we were doing in there and I told him we were just taking photos.
The guard then called like every paramedic, fire and police officer in the city. About 10 minutes after the call was made all I could hear were the sirens. Scared and relived at the same time I was.
Once they all showed up I told them Ryan was in there, that we were up high in the building and he fell. All the cops were telling me to retrace my steps, they wanted to see where we came in from. I screamed at them "we don't have time for that right now, my best friend is dying in there". I then started leading them to the front of the Hearn because I knew it was the closet way inside. We get to the front and all entrances were boarded up. One cops said to me "Ian there is no way in through this way, you have to show us where you came in from". I then demanded to the fire fighters that they bust this plywood down to get inside.
Once inside the cops started fucking with my mind, me being in total shock at the time they started asking me where we had explored, they wanted me to take them on what would have been a few hours of exploration, which we didn't have time for.
Then an officer finds his asbestos mask and glasses. My first thought is he was okay, that he somehow managed to crawl out under his own power. I was wrong. His mask and glasses had bounced off of objects on the fall and Ryan was nowhere to be found.
The police tried getting a hold of Rogers Communication to see if they could pin point his location with the cell phone he had on him. They ended up using thermal vision to locate him. He was trapped in a coal hopper located high up in the building.
I was escorted out at this point in time because I was too "hysterical" for the cops liking.
Two and a half hours went by, a fierce thunderstorm was passing through.
While they were working on getting Ryan out I was giving my statement to the police. Never gave one of those in my life. I told them everything that I am writing here right now, everything, even the joint smoking. I had Nothing to hide.
We went in undetected but I didn't care if the whole world was watching at this point, I was doing what any best friend would do. I was trying to save him. City Pulse News was there and I was trying to hide from them. I was scared that this is how his family would find out and how my family would find out, being Fathers days and all.
After two and a half hours of hell they finally got Ryan out. I watched them carry him out on a backboard and I yelled to him that I loved him.
Ryan was rushed to St. Micheal's Hospital, the best in all the city for trauma.
I followed about an hour after him, being escorted in a police car. On the drive one officer said to me "this is going to cost you and your buddy about a hundred thousand dollars for all that had to be done here today". What a jackass thing to say. I responded by saying "I don't give a fuck about money, take all I have from me I don't care, I'm loosing the most important person in my life right now".
We get to the hospital, I enter the trauma wing of St. Micheal's. They told me that I was going to be the one to call the home of the Nyenhuis'. I thought that was insane, and told them I could not make that call, that they would have to.
I then went into the waiting room, sat down. I remember the NBA finals were on the televisions in there and I ended up falling asleep somehow.
Waking to Stevie and Tammy's faces hours later (Stevie being Ryan's room mate and Tammy being Ryan's girlfriend).
Stevie told me that John and Cheryl were on their way and that we could go up stairs to the trauma ward to see Ryan.
The trauma centre, located on the 9th floor of St. Micheal's Hospital.
Hours passed by, as the night went on the news kept getting worse and worse about his condition.
I ended up leaving to come back to my apartment at 6am the following morning, I had to talk to my parents and try and shovel some food into my system. Still being in shock and never got treatment for shock when it happened.
I returned to the hospital at 3pm that day. Only to find nothing had changed with his condition.
Then came the worst words I ever had to hear, Ryan's father coming in the room and telling me it was time to say goodbye to Ryan.
We made our way into where he was being cared for. To see my best friend in the state he was in broke my heart. Blood coming out the back of his head, body black and blue bruised from head to toe, internal damage that could not be repaired, feeling his forehead and it being ice cold. He was laying there in front of us, dead. Machines were the only thing keeping him "alive".
I said my goodbyes to him, telling him that he can't leave me here, he can't leave the creation of Studies In Comfort behind, something that is so brilliant, that we were supposed to take over the world together and do all that was planned. I told him to haunt me.
I then looked at his eyes and saw tears. He may have been brain dead but I know he heard every word I said. Doctors did not give an explanation to what was coming out of his eyes.
If only I had said to Ryan "hey man watch your step" he might still be alive today. I have been told over and over again that I can not blame myself for what happened that day. I sometimes still do.
Ryan and I once had a conversation that if something ever happened to one of us that Studies In Comfort would stop, without a core creator there is no sense to continue it. Well I am going against those wishes. I can't lose what he and I created even before it took off the ground.
I now know my purpose in life. To carry on Studies In Comfort. I must continue on for him, finish off the 3 studio albums we had in the works and continue on with this art form.
Ryan died at the wheel and I have moved his lifeless body to the passengers seat and now a fucking insane madman is driving.
Ryan Nyenhuis, whos favourite artist was Nine Inch Nails, who lived on floor number 9, who wore a roman numeral 9 on his right arm, who died on the 9th floor at St. Micheal's Hospital, Toronto.
Thank you to 55 Division and all the paramedics and fire fighters who helped get Ryan out of that terrible dark place.
Ryan Nyenhuis is survived by his father, John, mother Cheryl, sisters, Jennifer and Leah, their beautiful children, myself and Studies In Comfort.
Ryan John Nyenhuis
July 28th 1981 - June 15th 2008
We love and miss you.
___________________________
All photographs were taken by Ryan Nyenhuis & Ian Levack with a Casio EX-Z1050 camera.
Ganesha, also spelled Ganesh, and also known as Ganapati and Vinayaka, is a widely worshipped deity in the Hindu pantheon. His image is found throughout India and Nepal. Hindu sects worship him regardless of affiliations. Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends to Jains, Buddhists, and beyond India.
Although he is known by many attributes, Ganesha's elephant head makes him easy to identify. Ganesha is widely revered as the remover of obstacles, the patron of arts and sciences and the deva of intellect and wisdom. As the god of beginnings, he is honoured at the start of rituals and ceremonies. Ganesha is also invoked as patron of letters and learning during writing sessions. Several texts relate mythological anecdotes associated with his birth and exploits and explain his distinct iconography.
Ganesha emerged as a distinct deity in the 4th and 5th centuries CE, during the Gupta Period, although he inherited traits from Vedic and pre-Vedic precursors. He was formally included among the five primary deities of Smartism (a Hindu denomination) in the 9th century. A sect of devotees called the Ganapatya arose, who identified Ganesha as the supreme deity. The principal scriptures dedicated to Ganesha are the Ganesha Purana, the Mudgala Purana, and the Ganapati Atharvashirsa.
ETYMOLOGY AND OTHER NAMES
Ganesha has been ascribed many other titles and epithets, including Ganapati and Vighneshvara. The Hindu title of respect Shri is often added before his name. One popular way Ganesha is worshipped is by chanting a Ganesha Sahasranama, a litany of "a thousand names of Ganesha". Each name in the sahasranama conveys a different meaning and symbolises a different aspect of Ganesha. At least two different versions of the Ganesha Sahasranama exist; one version is drawn from the Ganesha Purana, a Hindu scripture venerating Ganesha.
The name Ganesha is a Sanskrit compound, joining the words gana, meaning a group, multitude, or categorical system and isha, meaning lord or master. The word gaņa when associated with Ganesha is often taken to refer to the gaņas, a troop of semi-divine beings that form part of the retinue of Shiva. The term more generally means a category, class, community, association, or corporation. Some commentators interpret the name "Lord of the Gaņas" to mean "Lord of Hosts" or "Lord of created categories", such as the elements. Ganapati, a synonym for Ganesha, is a compound composed of gaṇa, meaning "group", and pati, meaning "ruler" or "lord". The Amarakosha, an early Sanskrit lexicon, lists eight synonyms of Ganesha : Vinayaka, Vighnarāja (equivalent to Vighnesha), Dvaimātura (one who has two mothers), Gaṇādhipa (equivalent to Ganapati and Ganesha), Ekadanta (one who has one tusk), Heramba, Lambodara (one who has a pot belly, or, literally, one who has a hanging belly), and Gajanana; having the face of an elephant).
Vinayaka is a common name for Ganesha that appears in the Purāṇas and in Buddhist Tantras. This name is reflected in the naming of the eight famous Ganesha temples in Maharashtra known as the Ashtavinayak (aṣṭavināyaka). The names Vighnesha and Vighneshvara (Lord of Obstacles) refers to his primary function in Hindu theology as the master and remover of obstacles (vighna).
A prominent name for Ganesha in the Tamil language is Pillai. A. K. Narain differentiates these terms by saying that pillai means a "child" while pillaiyar means a "noble child". He adds that the words pallu, pella, and pell in the Dravidian family of languages signify "tooth or tusk", also "elephant tooth or tusk". Anita Raina Thapan notes that the root word pille in the name Pillaiyar might have originally meant "the young of the elephant", because the Pali word pillaka means "a young elephant".
In the Burmese language, Ganesha is known as Maha Peinne, derived from Pali Mahā Wināyaka. The widespread name of Ganesha in Thailand is Phra Phikhanet or Phra Phikhanesuan, both of which are derived from Vara Vighnesha and Vara Vighneshvara respectively, whereas the name Khanet (from Ganesha) is rather rare.
In Sri Lanka, in the North-Central and North Western areas with predominantly Buddhist population, Ganesha is known as Aiyanayaka Deviyo, while in other Singhala Buddhist areas he is known as Gana deviyo.
ICONOGRAPHY
Ganesha is a popular figure in Indian art. Unlike those of some deities, representations of Ganesha show wide variations and distinct patterns changing over time. He may be portrayed standing, dancing, heroically taking action against demons, playing with his family as a boy, sitting down or on an elevated seat, or engaging in a range of contemporary situations.
Ganesha images were prevalent in many parts of India by the 6th century. The 13th century statue pictured is typical of Ganesha statuary from 900–1200, after Ganesha had been well-established as an independent deity with his own sect. This example features some of Ganesha's common iconographic elements. A virtually identical statue has been dated between 973–1200 by Paul Martin-Dubost, and another similar statue is dated c. 12th century by Pratapaditya Pal. Ganesha has the head of an elephant and a big belly. This statue has four arms, which is common in depictions of Ganesha. He holds his own broken tusk in his lower-right hand and holds a delicacy, which he samples with his trunk, in his lower-left hand. The motif of Ganesha turning his trunk sharply to his left to taste a sweet in his lower-left hand is a particularly archaic feature. A more primitive statue in one of the Ellora Caves with this general form has been dated to the 7th century. Details of the other hands are difficult to make out on the statue shown. In the standard configuration, Ganesha typically holds an axe or a goad in one upper arm and a pasha (noose) in the other upper arm.
The influence of this old constellation of iconographic elements can still be seen in contemporary representations of Ganesha. In one modern form, the only variation from these old elements is that the lower-right hand does not hold the broken tusk but is turned towards the viewer in a gesture of protection or fearlessness (abhaya mudra). The same combination of four arms and attributes occurs in statues of Ganesha dancing, which is a very popular theme.
COMMON ATTRIBUTES
Ganesha has been represented with the head of an elephant since the early stages of his appearance in Indian art. Puranic myths provide many explanations for how he got his elephant head. One of his popular forms, Heramba-Ganapati, has five elephant heads, and other less-common variations in the number of heads are known. While some texts say that Ganesha was born with an elephant head, he acquires the head later in most stories. The most recurrent motif in these stories is that Ganesha was created by Parvati using clay to protect her and Shiva beheaded him when Ganesha came between Shiva and Parvati. Shiva then replaced Ganesha's original head with that of an elephant. Details of the battle and where the replacement head came from vary from source to source. Another story says that Ganesha was created directly by Shiva's laughter. Because Shiva considered Ganesha too alluring, he gave him the head of an elephant and a protruding belly.
Ganesha's earliest name was Ekadanta (One Tusked), referring to his single whole tusk, the other being broken. Some of the earliest images of Ganesha show him holding his broken tusk. The importance of this distinctive feature is reflected in the Mudgala Purana, which states that the name of Ganesha's second incarnation is Ekadanta. Ganesha's protruding belly appears as a distinctive attribute in his earliest statuary, which dates to the Gupta period (4th to 6th centuries). This feature is so important that, according to the Mudgala Purana, two different incarnations of Ganesha use names based on it: Lambodara (Pot Belly, or, literally, Hanging Belly) and Mahodara (Great Belly). Both names are Sanskrit compounds describing his belly. The Brahmanda Purana says that Ganesha has the name Lambodara because all the universes (i.e., cosmic eggs) of the past, present, and future are present in him. The number of Ganesha's arms varies; his best-known forms have between two and sixteen arms. Many depictions of Ganesha feature four arms, which is mentioned in Puranic sources and codified as a standard form in some iconographic texts. His earliest images had two arms. Forms with 14 and 20 arms appeared in Central India during the 9th and the 10th centuries. The serpent is a common feature in Ganesha iconography and appears in many forms. According to the Ganesha Purana, Ganesha wrapped the serpent Vasuki around his neck. Other depictions of snakes include use as a sacred thread wrapped around the stomach as a belt, held in a hand, coiled at the ankles, or as a throne. Upon Ganesha's forehead may be a third eye or the Shaivite sectarian mark , which consists of three horizontal lines. The Ganesha Purana prescribes a tilaka mark as well as a crescent moon on the forehead. A distinct form of Ganesha called Bhalachandra includes that iconographic element. Ganesha is often described as red in color. Specific colors are associated with certain forms. Many examples of color associations with specific meditation forms are prescribed in the Sritattvanidhi, a treatise on Hindu iconography. For example, white is associated with his representations as Heramba-Ganapati and Rina-Mochana-Ganapati (Ganapati Who Releases from Bondage). Ekadanta-Ganapati is visualized as blue during meditation in that form.
VAHANAS
The earliest Ganesha images are without a vahana (mount/vehicle). Of the eight incarnations of Ganesha described in the Mudgala Purana, Ganesha uses a mouse (shrew) in five of them, a lion in his incarnation as Vakratunda, a peacock in his incarnation as Vikata, and Shesha, the divine serpent, in his incarnation as Vighnaraja. Mohotkata uses a lion, Mayūreśvara uses a peacock, Dhumraketu uses a horse, and Gajanana uses a mouse, in the four incarnations of Ganesha listed in the Ganesha Purana. Jain depictions of Ganesha show his vahana variously as a mouse, elephant, tortoise, ram, or peacock.
Ganesha is often shown riding on or attended by a mouse, shrew or rat. Martin-Dubost says that the rat began to appear as the principal vehicle in sculptures of Ganesha in central and western India during the 7th century; the rat was always placed close to his feet. The mouse as a mount first appears in written sources in the Matsya Purana and later in the Brahmananda Purana and Ganesha Purana, where Ganesha uses it as his vehicle in his last incarnation. The Ganapati Atharvashirsa includes a meditation verse on Ganesha that describes the mouse appearing on his flag. The names Mūṣakavāhana (mouse-mount) and Ākhuketana (rat-banner) appear in the Ganesha Sahasranama.
The mouse is interpreted in several ways. According to Grimes, "Many, if not most of those who interpret Gaṇapati's mouse, do so negatively; it symbolizes tamoguṇa as well as desire". Along these lines, Michael Wilcockson says it symbolizes those who wish to overcome desires and be less selfish. Krishan notes that the rat is destructive and a menace to crops. The Sanskrit word mūṣaka (mouse) is derived from the root mūṣ (stealing, robbing). It was essential to subdue the rat as a destructive pest, a type of vighna (impediment) that needed to be overcome. According to this theory, showing Ganesha as master of the rat demonstrates his function as Vigneshvara (Lord of Obstacles) and gives evidence of his possible role as a folk grāma-devatā (village deity) who later rose to greater prominence. Martin-Dubost notes a view that the rat is a symbol suggesting that Ganesha, like the rat, penetrates even the most secret places.
ASSOCIATIONS
OBSTACLES
Ganesha is Vighneshvara or Vighnaraja or Vighnaharta (Marathi), the Lord of Obstacles, both of a material and spiritual order. He is popularly worshipped as a remover of obstacles, though traditionally he also places obstacles in the path of those who need to be checked. Paul Courtright says that "his task in the divine scheme of things, his dharma, is to place and remove obstacles. It is his particular territory, the reason for his creation."
Krishan notes that some of Ganesha's names reflect shadings of multiple roles that have evolved over time. Dhavalikar ascribes the quick ascension of Ganesha in the Hindu pantheon, and the emergence of the Ganapatyas, to this shift in emphasis from vighnakartā (obstacle-creator) to vighnahartā (obstacle-averter). However, both functions continue to be vital to his character.
BUDDHI (KNOWLEDGE)
Ganesha is considered to be the Lord of letters and learning. In Sanskrit, the word buddhi is a feminine noun that is variously translated as intelligence, wisdom, or intellect. The concept of buddhi is closely associated with the personality of Ganesha, especially in the Puranic period, when many stories stress his cleverness and love of intelligence. One of Ganesha's names in the Ganesha Purana and the Ganesha Sahasranama is Buddhipriya. This name also appears in a list of 21 names at the end of the Ganesha Sahasranama that Ganesha says are especially important. The word priya can mean "fond of", and in a marital context it can mean "lover" or "husband", so the name may mean either "Fond of Intelligence" or "Buddhi's Husband".
AUM
Ganesha is identified with the Hindu mantra Aum, also spelled Om. The term oṃkārasvarūpa (Aum is his form), when identified with Ganesha, refers to the notion that he personifies the primal sound. The Ganapati Atharvashirsa attests to this association. Chinmayananda translates the relevant passage as follows:
(O Lord Ganapati!) You are (the Trinity) Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesa. You are Indra. You are fire [Agni] and air [Vāyu]. You are the sun [Sūrya] and the moon [Chandrama]. You are Brahman. You are (the three worlds) Bhuloka [earth], Antariksha-loka [space], and Swargaloka [heaven]. You are Om. (That is to say, You are all this).
Some devotees see similarities between the shape of Ganesha's body in iconography and the shape of Aum in the Devanāgarī and Tamil scripts.
FIRST CHAKRA
According to Kundalini yoga, Ganesha resides in the first chakra, called Muladhara (mūlādhāra). Mula means "original, main"; adhara means "base, foundation". The muladhara chakra is the principle on which the manifestation or outward expansion of primordial Divine Force rests. This association is also attested to in the Ganapati Atharvashirsa. Courtright translates this passage as follows: "[O Ganesha,] You continually dwell in the sacral plexus at the base of the spine [mūlādhāra cakra]." Thus, Ganesha has a permanent abode in every being at the Muladhara. Ganesha holds, supports and guides all other chakras, thereby "governing the forces that propel the wheel of life".
FAMILY AND CONSORTS
Though Ganesha is popularly held to be the son of Shiva and Parvati, the Puranic myths give different versions about his birth. In some he was created by Parvati, in another he was created by Shiva and Parvati, in another he appeared mysteriously and was discovered by Shiva and Parvati or he was born from the elephant headed goddess Malini after she drank Parvati's bath water that had been thrown in the river.
The family includes his brother the war god Kartikeya, who is also called Subramanya, Skanda, Murugan and other names. Regional differences dictate the order of their births. In northern India, Skanda is generally said to be the elder, while in the south, Ganesha is considered the first born. In northern India, Skanda was an important martial deity from about 500 BCE to about 600 CE, when worship of him declined significantly in northern India. As Skanda fell, Ganesha rose. Several stories tell of sibling rivalry between the brothers and may reflect sectarian tensions.
Ganesha's marital status, the subject of considerable scholarly review, varies widely in mythological stories. One pattern of myths identifies Ganesha as an unmarried brahmacari. This view is common in southern India and parts of northern India. Another pattern associates him with the concepts of Buddhi (intellect), Siddhi (spiritual power), and Riddhi (prosperity); these qualities are sometimes personified as goddesses, said to be Ganesha's wives. He also may be shown with a single consort or a nameless servant (Sanskrit: daşi). Another pattern connects Ganesha with the goddess of culture and the arts, Sarasvati or Śarda (particularly in Maharashtra). He is also associated with the goddess of luck and prosperity, Lakshmi. Another pattern, mainly prevalent in the Bengal region, links Ganesha with the banana tree, Kala Bo.
The Shiva Purana says that Ganesha had begotten two sons: Kşema (prosperity) and Lābha (profit). In northern Indian variants of this story, the sons are often said to be Śubha (auspiciouness) and Lābha. The 1975 Hindi film Jai Santoshi Maa shows Ganesha married to Riddhi and Siddhi and having a daughter named Santoshi Ma, the goddess of satisfaction. This story has no Puranic basis, but Anita Raina Thapan and Lawrence Cohen cite Santoshi Ma's cult as evidence of Ganesha's continuing evolution as a popular deity.
WOSHIP AND FESTIVALS
Ganesha is worshipped on many religious and secular occasions; especially at the beginning of ventures such as buying a vehicle or starting a business. K.N. Somayaji says, "there can hardly be a [Hindu] home [in India] which does not house an idol of Ganapati. [..] Ganapati, being the most popular deity in India, is worshipped by almost all castes and in all parts of the country". Devotees believe that if Ganesha is propitiated, he grants success, prosperity and protection against adversity.
Ganesha is a non-sectarian deity, and Hindus of all denominations invoke him at the beginning of prayers, important undertakings, and religious ceremonies. Dancers and musicians, particularly in southern India, begin performances of arts such as the Bharatnatyam dance with a prayer to Ganesha. Mantras such as Om Shri Gaṇeshāya Namah (Om, salutation to the Illustrious Ganesha) are often used. One of the most famous mantras associated with Ganesha is Om Gaṃ Ganapataye Namah (Om, Gaṃ, Salutation to the Lord of Hosts).
Devotees offer Ganesha sweets such as modaka and small sweet balls (laddus). He is often shown carrying a bowl of sweets, called a modakapātra. Because of his identification with the color red, he is often worshipped with red sandalwood paste (raktacandana) or red flowers. Dūrvā grass (Cynodon dactylon) and other materials are also used in his worship.
Festivals associated with Ganesh are Ganesh Chaturthi or Vināyaka chaturthī in the śuklapakṣa (the fourth day of the waxing moon) in the month of bhādrapada (August/September) and the Gaṇeśa jayanti (Gaṇeśa's birthday) celebrated on the cathurthī of the śuklapakṣa (fourth day of the waxing moon) in the month of māgha (January/February)."
GANESH CHATURTI
An annual festival honours Ganesha for ten days, starting on Ganesha Chaturthi, which typically falls in late August or early September. The festival begins with people bringing in clay idols of Ganesha, symbolising Ganesha's visit. The festival culminates on the day of Ananta Chaturdashi, when idols (murtis) of Ganesha are immersed in the most convenient body of water. Some families have a tradition of immersion on the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, or 7th day. In 1893, Lokmanya Tilak transformed this annual Ganesha festival from private family celebrations into a grand public event. He did so "to bridge the gap between the Brahmins and the non-Brahmins and find an appropriate context in which to build a new grassroots unity between them" in his nationalistic strivings against the British in Maharashtra. Because of Ganesha's wide appeal as "the god for Everyman", Tilak chose him as a rallying point for Indian protest against British rule. Tilak was the first to install large public images of Ganesha in pavilions, and he established the practice of submerging all the public images on the tenth day. Today, Hindus across India celebrate the Ganapati festival with great fervour, though it is most popular in the state of Maharashtra. The festival also assumes huge proportions in Mumbai, Pune, and in the surrounding belt of Ashtavinayaka temples.
TEMPLES
In Hindu temples, Ganesha is depicted in various ways: as an acolyte or subordinate deity (pãrśva-devatã); as a deity related to the principal deity (parivāra-devatã); or as the principal deity of the temple (pradhāna), treated similarly as the highest gods of the Hindu pantheon. As the god of transitions, he is placed at the doorway of many Hindu temples to keep out the unworthy, which is analogous to his role as Parvati’s doorkeeper. In addition, several shrines are dedicated to Ganesha himself, of which the Ashtavinayak (lit. "eight Ganesha (shrines)") in Maharashtra are particularly well known. Located within a 100-kilometer radius of the city of Pune, each of these eight shrines celebrates a particular form of Ganapati, complete with its own lore and legend. The eight shrines are: Morgaon, Siddhatek, Pali, Mahad, Theur, Lenyadri, Ozar and Ranjangaon.
There are many other important Ganesha temples at the following locations: Wai in Maharashtra; Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh; Jodhpur, Nagaur and Raipur (Pali) in Rajasthan; Baidyanath in Bihar; Baroda, Dholaka, and Valsad in Gujarat and Dhundiraj Temple in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. Prominent Ganesha temples in southern India include the following: Kanipakam in Chittoor; the Jambukeśvara Temple at Tiruchirapalli; at Rameshvaram and Suchindram in Tamil Nadu; at Malliyur, Kottarakara, Pazhavangadi, Kasargod in Kerala, Hampi, and Idagunji in Karnataka; and Bhadrachalam in Andhra Pradesh.
T. A. Gopinatha notes, "Every village however small has its own image of Vighneśvara (Vigneshvara) with or without a temple to house it in. At entrances of villages and forts, below pīpaḹa (Sacred fig) trees [...], in a niche [...] in temples of Viṣṇu (Vishnu) as well as Śiva (Shiva) and also in separate shrines specially constructed in Śiva temples [...]; the figure of Vighneśvara is invariably seen." Ganesha temples have also been built outside of India, including southeast Asia, Nepal (including the four Vinayaka shrines in the Kathmandu valley), and in several western countries.
RISE TO PROMINENCE
FIRST APEARANCE
Ganesha appeared in his classic form as a clearly recognizable deity with well-defined iconographic attributes in the early 4th to 5th centuries. Shanti Lal Nagar says that the earliest known iconic image of Ganesha is in the niche of the Shiva temple at Bhumra, which has been dated to the Gupta period. His independent cult appeared by about the 10th century. Narain summarizes the controversy between devotees and academics regarding the development of Ganesha as follows:
What is inscrutable is the somewhat dramatic appearance of Gaņeśa on the historical scene. His antecedents are not clear. His wide acceptance and popularity, which transcend sectarian and territorial limits, are indeed amazing. On the one hand there is the pious belief of the orthodox devotees in Gaņeśa's Vedic origins and in the Purāṇic explanations contained in the confusing, but nonetheless interesting, mythology. On the other hand there are doubts about the existence of the idea and the icon of this deity" before the fourth to fifth century A.D. ... [I]n my opinion, indeed there is no convincing evidence of the existence of this divinity prior to the fifth century.
POSSIBLE INFLUENCES
Courtright reviews various speculative theories about the early history of Ganesha, including supposed tribal traditions and animal cults, and dismisses all of them in this way:
In the post 600 BC period there is evidence of people and places named after the animal. The motif appears on coins and sculptures.
Thapan's book on the development of Ganesha devotes a chapter to speculations about the role elephants had in early India but concludes that, "although by the second century CE the elephant-headed yakṣa form exists it cannot be presumed to represent Gaṇapati-Vināyaka. There is no evidence of a deity by this name having an elephant or elephant-headed form at this early stage. Gaṇapati-Vināyaka had yet to make his debut."
One theory of the origin of Ganesha is that he gradually came to prominence in connection with the four Vinayakas (Vināyakas). In Hindu mythology, the Vināyakas were a group of four troublesome demons who created obstacles and difficulties but who were easily propitiated. The name Vināyaka is a common name for Ganesha both in the Purāṇas and in Buddhist Tantras. Krishan is one of the academics who accepts this view, stating flatly of Ganesha, "He is a non-vedic god. His origin is to be traced to the four Vināyakas, evil spirits, of the Mānavagŗhyasūtra (7th–4th century BCE) who cause various types of evil and suffering". Depictions of elephant-headed human figures, which some identify with Ganesha, appear in Indian art and coinage as early as the 2nd century. According to Ellawala, the elephant-headed Ganesha as lord of the Ganas was known to the people of Sri Lanka in the early pre-Christian era.
A metal plate depiction of Ganesha had been discovered in 1993, in Iran, it dated back to 1,200 BCE. Another one was discovered much before, in Lorestan Province of Iran.
First Ganesha's terracotta images are from 1st century CE found in Ter, Pal, Verrapuram and Chandraketugarh. These figures are small, with elephant head, two arms, and chubby physique. The earliest Ganesha icons in stone were carved in Mathura during Kushan times (2nd-3rd centuries CE).
VEDIC AND EPIC LITERATURE
The title "Leader of the group" (Sanskrit: gaṇapati) occurs twice in the Rig Veda, but in neither case does it refer to the modern Ganesha. The term appears in RV 2.23.1 as a title for Brahmanaspati, according to commentators. While this verse doubtless refers to Brahmanaspati, it was later adopted for worship of Ganesha and is still used today. In rejecting any claim that this passage is evidence of Ganesha in the Rig Veda, Ludo Rocher says that it "clearly refers to Bṛhaspati—who is the deity of the hymn—and Bṛhaspati only". Equally clearly, the second passage (RV 10.112.9) refers to Indra, who is given the epithet 'gaṇapati', translated "Lord of the companies (of the Maruts)." However, Rocher notes that the more recent Ganapatya literature often quotes the Rigvedic verses to give Vedic respectability to Ganesha .
Two verses in texts belonging to Black Yajurveda, Maitrāyaṇīya Saṃhitā (2.9.1) and Taittirīya Āraṇyaka (10.1), appeal to a deity as "the tusked one" (Dantiḥ), "elephant-faced" (Hastimukha), and "with a curved trunk" (Vakratuņḍa). These names are suggestive of Ganesha, and the 14th century commentator Sayana explicitly establishes this identification. The description of Dantin, possessing a twisted trunk (vakratuṇḍa) and holding a corn-sheaf, a sugar cane, and a club, is so characteristic of the Puranic Ganapati that Heras says "we cannot resist to accept his full identification with this Vedic Dantin". However, Krishan considers these hymns to be post-Vedic additions. Thapan reports that these passages are "generally considered to have been interpolated". Dhavalikar says, "the references to the elephant-headed deity in the Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā have been proven to be very late interpolations, and thus are not very helpful for determining the early formation of the deity".
Ganesha does not appear in Indian epic literature that is dated to the Vedic period. A late interpolation to the epic poem Mahabharata says that the sage Vyasa (Vyāsa) asked Ganesha to serve as his scribe to transcribe the poem as he dictated it to him. Ganesha agreed but only on condition that Vyasa recite the poem uninterrupted, that is, without pausing. The sage agreed, but found that to get any rest he needed to recite very complex passages so Ganesha would have to ask for clarifications. The story is not accepted as part of the original text by the editors of the critical edition of the Mahabharata, in which the twenty-line story is relegated to a footnote in an appendix. The story of Ganesha acting as the scribe occurs in 37 of the 59 manuscripts consulted during preparation of the critical edition. Ganesha's association with mental agility and learning is one reason he is shown as scribe for Vyāsa's dictation of the Mahabharata in this interpolation. Richard L. Brown dates the story to the 8th century, and Moriz Winternitz concludes that it was known as early as c. 900, but it was not added to the Mahabharata some 150 years later. Winternitz also notes that a distinctive feature in South Indian manuscripts of the Mahabharata is their omission of this Ganesha legend. The term vināyaka is found in some recensions of the Śāntiparva and Anuśāsanaparva that are regarded as interpolations. A reference to Vighnakartṛīṇām ("Creator of Obstacles") in Vanaparva is also believed to be an interpolation and does not appear in the critical edition.
PURANIC PERIOD
Stories about Ganesha often occur in the Puranic corpus. Brown notes while the Puranas "defy precise chronological ordering", the more detailed narratives of Ganesha's life are in the late texts, c. 600–1300. Yuvraj Krishan says that the Puranic myths about the birth of Ganesha and how he acquired an elephant's head are in the later Puranas, which were composed from c. 600 onwards. He elaborates on the matter to say that references to Ganesha in the earlier Puranas, such as the Vayu and Brahmanda Puranas, are later interpolations made during the 7th to 10th centuries.
In his survey of Ganesha's rise to prominence in Sanskrit literature, Ludo Rocher notes that:
Above all, one cannot help being struck by the fact that the numerous stories surrounding Gaṇeśa concentrate on an unexpectedly limited number of incidents. These incidents are mainly three: his birth and parenthood, his elephant head, and his single tusk. Other incidents are touched on in the texts, but to a far lesser extent.
Ganesha's rise to prominence was codified in the 9th century, when he was formally included as one of the five primary deities of Smartism. The 9th-century philosopher Adi Shankara popularized the "worship of the five forms" (Panchayatana puja) system among orthodox Brahmins of the Smarta tradition. This worship practice invokes the five deities Ganesha, Vishnu, Shiva, Devi, and Surya. Adi Shankara instituted the tradition primarily to unite the principal deities of these five major sects on an equal status. This formalized the role of Ganesha as a complementary deity.
SCRIPTURES
Once Ganesha was accepted as one of the five principal deities of Brahmanism, some Brahmins (brāhmaṇas) chose to worship Ganesha as their principal deity. They developed the Ganapatya tradition, as seen in the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana.
The date of composition for the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana - and their dating relative to one another - has sparked academic debate. Both works were developed over time and contain age-layered strata. Anita Thapan reviews comments about dating and provides her own judgement. "It seems likely that the core of the Ganesha Purana appeared around the twelfth and thirteenth centuries", she says, "but was later interpolated." Lawrence W. Preston considers the most reasonable date for the Ganesha Purana to be between 1100 and 1400, which coincides with the apparent age of the sacred sites mentioned by the text.
R.C. Hazra suggests that the Mudgala Purana is older than the Ganesha Purana, which he dates between 1100 and 1400. However, Phyllis Granoff finds problems with this relative dating and concludes that the Mudgala Purana was the last of the philosophical texts concerned with Ganesha. She bases her reasoning on the fact that, among other internal evidence, the Mudgala Purana specifically mentions the Ganesha Purana as one of the four Puranas (the Brahma, the Brahmanda, the Ganesha, and the Mudgala Puranas) which deal at length with Ganesha. While the kernel of the text must be old, it was interpolated until the 17th and 18th centuries as the worship of Ganapati became more important in certain regions. Another highly regarded scripture, the Ganapati Atharvashirsa, was probably composed during the 16th or 17th centuries.
BEYOND INDIA AND HINDUISM
Commercial and cultural contacts extended India's influence in western and southeast Asia. Ganesha is one of a number of Hindu deities who reached foreign lands as a result.
Ganesha was particularly worshipped by traders and merchants, who went out of India for commercial ventures. From approximately the 10th century onwards, new networks of exchange developed including the formation of trade guilds and a resurgence of money circulation. During this time, Ganesha became the principal deity associated with traders. The earliest inscription invoking Ganesha before any other deity is associated with the merchant community.
Hindus migrated to Maritime Southeast Asia and took their culture, including Ganesha, with them. Statues of Ganesha are found throughout the region, often beside Shiva sanctuaries. The forms of Ganesha found in Hindu art of Java, Bali, and Borneo show specific regional influences. The spread of Hindu culture to southeast Asia established Ganesha in modified forms in Burma, Cambodia, and Thailand. In Indochina, Hinduism and Buddhism were practiced side by side, and mutual influences can be seen in the iconography of Ganesha in the region. In Thailand, Cambodia, and among the Hindu classes of the Chams in Vietnam, Ganesha was mainly thought of as a remover of obstacles. Today in Buddhist Thailand, Ganesha is regarded as a remover of obstacles, the god of success.
Before the arrival of Islam, Afghanistan had close cultural ties with India, and the adoration of both Hindu and Buddhist deities was practiced. Examples of sculptures from the 5th to the 7th centuries have survived, suggesting that the worship of Ganesha was then in vogue in the region.
Ganesha appears in Mahayana Buddhism, not only in the form of the Buddhist god Vināyaka, but also as a Hindu demon form with the same name. His image appears in Buddhist sculptures during the late Gupta period. As the Buddhist god Vināyaka, he is often shown dancing. This form, called Nṛtta Ganapati, was popular in northern India, later adopted in Nepal, and then in Tibet. In Nepal, the Hindu form of Ganesha, known as Heramba, is popular; he has five heads and rides a lion. Tibetan representations of Ganesha show ambivalent views of him. A Tibetan rendering of Ganapati is tshogs bdag. In one Tibetan form, he is shown being trodden under foot by Mahākāla, (Shiva) a popular Tibetan deity. Other depictions show him as the Destroyer of Obstacles, and sometimes dancing. Ganesha appears in China and Japan in forms that show distinct regional character. In northern China, the earliest known stone statue of Ganesha carries an inscription dated to 531. In Japan, where Ganesha is known as Kangiten, the Ganesha cult was first mentioned in 806.
The canonical literature of Jainism does not mention the worship of Ganesha. However, Ganesha is worshipped by most Jains, for whom he appears to have taken over certain functions of Kubera. Jain connections with the trading community support the idea that Jainism took up Ganesha worship as a result of commercial connections. The earliest known Jain Ganesha statue dates to about the 9th century. A 15th-century Jain text lists procedures for the installation of Ganapati images. Images of Ganesha appear in the Jain temples of Rajasthan and Gujarat.
WIKIPEDIA
Grayfriars Bobby
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Grayfriar Bobby was a Skya Terrier who became known in 19th-century Edinburgh for spending 14 years guarding the grave of his owner John Gray (Auld Jock),until he died himself on January 14,1872.A year later,Lady Angela Georgina Burdett-Coutts,1st Baroness Burdett-Coutts had a statue and fountain erected at the southerd end of the King George IV Bridge to commenmorate him.
Several books and films have been based on Bobby's life,including the noval Grayfiar's Bobby (1912) by Eleanor Stackhouse Atkinson and the films Grayfriars Bobby (1961).
Jan Bondeson at Cardiff University,Wales United Kingdom published research that suggests Bobby was actually a Victorian-era publicity stunt by local businesses to drum up tourist revenue.Accordin to Jan Bondeson research,Bobby was a stray dog trained to remain in the graveyard;and was actually two different dogs.
Traditional views
------------------------Bobby belonged to John Gray,who worked for the Edinburgh City Police Department as a night watchman,and the two were insparable for approximately two years.On February 8,1858,John Gray died of Tuberculosis or known as TB.He was buried in Grayfriers Kirkyard the graveyard surrounding Grayfriars Kirk in the Old Town of Edinburgh.Bobby,who survived John Gray by fourteen years,is said to have spent the reast of his life sitting on his master's grave.Although account has it that spent a great deal of time at John Gray's grave,but that he left regularly for meals at a restaurant beside the graveyard,and may have spent colder winters in nearby houses.
In 1867,when it was argued that a doug without an owner should be destroyed,the Lord Provost of Edinburgh,Sir William Chambers-who was also a director of the Scottish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals-paid for Bobby's license,making him responsibilty of the city council.
Bobby died in 1872 and could not bet buried within the cemetery itself,since it was and remains consecrate ground.He was buried instead just inside the gate of Grayfriars Kirkyard,not far from John Gray's grave.
Revisionst view
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After five years of research,Jan Bondeson published Grayfriars Bobby:The Most Faithful Dog in the World,the most detailed biography of Bobby to date.In it he dispelled the story as traditionally told and offered a different version.
As background in 19th century Europe there are documented over 60' graveyard dogs' or 'cemetery dogs'.These were stray dogs which were fed by visitors and curators to the point the dogs made the graveyard their home.People thought "Oh look at that poor dog,waiting by his master's grave",so they kept looking after him:the stray dog had free food while graveyard curators had company and a good story to tell visitors.In Bobby's case he was orignally a stray that hung around nearby heriot Hospital,but became such nuisance the hospital gardener threw him into the graveyard.James Brown,the curator of the graveyard,was fond of Bobby's company and began to feed him to keep him around.Vistors saw Bobby and linked to belive he was loyally staying by his master's grave,and provided James Brown with tips to hear Bobby's "story".after an article about Bobby appeared in the Scotman visitation rates to the Grayfiers Kirkyard increased by 100 fold with people arriving from all over England,Wales and Scotland.They would give James Brown a handsome tip and have lunch in the Trails restaurant.It was a lucrative situaion for Bobby,James Brown and the local community.
Jan Bondeson belives in May 1867 the original Bobby died and was replaced with a younger dog because he states pictures of him show a clear change.The first was an old tired-looking mongrel,the second was a lively youthful Skye Terrier that ran around and reportely found with other dog.This also explans the longevity of Bobby,18 years,since Skye Terriers usually live around 10-12 years.
When the story of Bobby first broke it was belived his owner had been a shephered buried in the graveyard.Later a scholar named Forbes Macgregor,who wrote a biography of Grayfriars Bobby,believed the owner was John Gray,a local policeman buried there in 1858.Neither make full sense since a shepherd wouldn't normally use a terrier for herding sheep,nor would a small terrier-normally be used as a police dog.
Over the years local Edinburgh residents who know the fact had talked in public,there was even newspaper articals that cast doubt ob the story,and even while Bobby was alive some councilorw cast on his story when it was discussed Edinburgh City Council.However,the romantic legend of Bobby was ingrained beloved that any revisonism over the years went largely unnoticed.Jan Bondeson started "it wont' ever be possible to debunk the story of Grayfriars Bobby-he living legend,the most faithful dog in the world,and bigger than all of us".
In Memory
---------------
A lifesize statue of Grayfriars Bobby was created by William Brodie in 1872,almoust immediatele after the dog's death.This was paid for by a local aristocrat,Lady Angela Georgina Burdett-Coutts,1st Baroness Burdett-Coutts.This stands in front of the "Grayfriars Bobby Bay",which is located near the south (main) enterance to Grayfriars Kirkyard.The statue origally faced towards the graveyard and pub but has since been turned around,allegedly by a previous landlords of the pub so that the pub would appear in the background of many photographs that are taken each year.
The monument is Edinburgh's smallest listed building.It was restored in tootality in 1985 when the entire red granit base was remodeled.Originally built as a drinking fountain,it very aptly had an upper fountain for humans and a lower fountain for dog.This had the water supply cut off (as Edinburgh's drinking fountaints) around 1975 amidst heath scares.Both basin areas were infilled with concrete soon after.After being daubed with yellow paint,allegedlly by students on General Election in 1979,and being hit by a car in 1984.
A red granite stone was erected on Bobby's grave by The Dog Aid Society of Scotland,and unveiled by the Prince Richard,Duke of Gloucester on May 13,1981.This had been utilised in asnire-like manner,with sticks,(for Bobby to fectch) frequently being left occasionally dog toys,flowers ect.
The monument reads:
Grayfriars Bobby
Died January 14,1872
Aged 16 years
Let his loyalty and devotion be lesson to use all.
Guilded tours to Grayfriars Kirkyard are given aby a number of groups,including the Grayfriars Bobby Walkinhg Theater and the Grayfriars Kirkyard Trust.
Books and Films
------------------------
The book Grayfriars Bobby by Eleanor Stackhouse Atkinson,which gretly the story and made John Gray a shephard,known as "Auld Jock". The 1961 Walt Disney film Grayfriars Bobby"The True Story of a Dog was based on the book.The Illustrated True Story of Grayfriars Bobby by John MacKay.
Challenge to Lassie (1949),an earlier film based on Atkinson's book,but replacing Bobby with Lassie.
In the 1945 film The Body Snatcher,Boris Karloff's charcter (incidevtally named Gray,digs up bodies from graves.One of tthese is that of John Gray.Bobby tries to stop him from taking the corpse,but is struck over the head by boris Karloff's character,and killed.
In the Public Broadcasting Service kids' series,Where in thw World Is Carmen Sandiego?,Patty Larceny put a collar on the statue of Bobby and walked him away is the Season 3 episode Little Dog Gone.
Grayfriars Bobby's Bar
--------------------------------
Grayfriars Bobby's Bar lie at the south end Candlmaker Row,where it joins King George IV Bridge and opposite the National Museum of Scotland.To one side is the entrance to Grayfriars Kirhyard,which is the starting point for the name of the pub.
As it's migrated as far as Hollywood,its fair to say that most visitors have some idea of the story of Grayfriars Bobby.But just in case,here'd the two minute version.John Gray was an Edinburgh police who died of Tuberculosis or known as TB on February 15,1858 and
was buiied in Grayfriars Kirkyard.He had a dog,a Skye Terrier called Bobby,and for the following 14 years,until the dog's own death in 1872,Bobby kept watch over John Gray's grave.
The true story of Grayfriars Bobby may be complicted then that.It now seem most likely that he was a stray who made a home for himself in the kirkyard,and had applied to him the (at the time surprisingle common) myth that he was there out of loyalty to a dead owner.Whatever the truth,Grayfriars Bobby had gone down in history as an emblem of devotion and faithful.Today his memory is marked by a life size statue on a plinth in the street outside,and name of the pub.
Inside Grayfriars Bobby's Bay,or Bobby's as it is known to regulars,you find a series of section stepping down the hill formed by Candlemaker Row.At the upper end is the bar,and as you move down the pub you pass through a number of comfortable seating areas to the dining area at its north end.
A range of real ales and whiskies are available,and food is served from extensive menu including breakfast main meals and snacks.Grayfriars Bar atttacts locals,tourist,and students,and weekends can be popular with stage parties and hen parties.
West German postcard. Brigitte Bardot in En cas de malheur / Love is My Profession (Claude Autant-Lara, 1958).
French actress Brigitte Bardot (1934) died on 28 December 2025, at the age of 91. In the 1950s, she was the sex kitten of the European film industry. BB starred in 48 films, performed in numerous musical shows, and recorded 80 songs. After her retirement in 1973, she became an animal rights activist. In the coming weeks, we will continue to post a BB postcard every day to remember her as she once was.
Brigitte Bardot was born in Paris in 1934. Her father, Louis Bardot, had an engineering degree and worked with his father in the family business. Her mother, Ann-Marie Mucel, was 14 years younger than Brigitte's father, and they married in 1933. Brigitte's mother encouraged her daughter to take up music and dance. At the age of 13, she entered the Conservatoire Nationale de Danse to study ballet. By the time she was 15, Brigitte was trying to launch a modelling career and found herself on the cover of the French magazine Elle in May 1949. Her incredible beauty was readily apparent, and Brigitte was noticed by Roger Vadim, then an assistant to the film director Marc Allegrét. Vadim was infatuated with Bardot and encouraged her to start working as a film actress. BB was 18 when she debuted in the comedy Le Trou Normand / Crazy for Love (Jean Boyer, 1952). In the same year, she married Vadim. Brigitte wanted to marry him when she was 17, but her parents quashed any marriage plans until she turned 18. In April 1953, she attended the Cannes Film Festival, where she received massive media attention. She soon was every man's idea of the girl he'd like to meet in Paris. From 1952 to 1956, she appeared in seventeen films. Her films were generally lightweight romantic dramas in which she was cast as an ingénue or siren, often with an element of undress. In 1953, she made her first US production, Un acte d'amour / Act of Love (Anatole Litvak, 1953) with Kirk Douglas, but she continued to make films in France.
Roger Vadim was not content with the light fare his wife was offered. He felt Brigitte Bardot was being undersold. Looking for something more like an art film to push her as a serious actress, he showcased her in Et Dieu créa la femme / ...And God Created Woman (Roger Vadim, 1956). This film, about an immoral teenager in a respectable small-town setting, was a smash success on both sides of the Atlantic. Craig Butler at AllMovie: "It's easy enough to say that ...And God Created Woman is much more important for its historical significance than for its actual quality as a film, and that's true to an extent. The immense popularity, due to its willingness to directly embrace an exploration of sex as well as its willingness to show a degree of nudity that was remarkably daring for its day, demonstrated that audiences were willing to view subject matter that was considered too racy for the average moviegoer. This had both positive (freedom to explore, especially for the French filmmakers of the time) and negative (freedom to exploit) consequences, but its impact is undeniable. It's also true that Woman is not a great work of art, not with a story that is ultimately rather thin, some painful dialogue, and an attitude toward its characters and their sexuality that is unclear and inconsistent. Yet Woman is still fascinating, due in no small part to the presence of Brigitte Bardot in the role that made her an international star and sex symbol. She's not demonstrating great acting here, although her performance is actually good and much better than necessary, and her legendary mambo scene at the climax is nothing short of sensational." During the filming of Et Dieu créa la femme / And God Created Woman (Roger Vadim, 1956), directed by her husband, Brigitte Bardot had an affair with her co-star, Jean-Louis Trintignant, who at the time was married to French actress Stéphane Audran. Her divorce from Vadim followed, but they remained friends and collaborated in later work.
Et Dieu créa la femme / ...And God Created Woman (Roger Vadim, 1956) helped Brigitte Bardot's international status. The film took the USA by storm, her explosive sexuality being unlike anything seen in the States since the days of the 'flapper' in the 1920s. It gave rise to the phrase 'sex kitten', and fascination with her in America consisted of magazine photographs and dubbed over French films - good, bad or indifferent, her films drew audiences - mainly men - into theatres like lemmings. BB appeared in light comedies like Doctor at Large (Ralph Thomas, 1957) - the third of the British 'Doctor' series starring Dirk Bogarde - and Une Parisienne / La Parisienne (Michel Boisrond, 1957), which suited her acting skills best. However, she was a sensation in the crime drama En cas de malheur / Love is My Profession (Claude Autant-Lara, 1958). Hal Erickson at AllMovie: "This Brigitte Bardot vehicle ran into stiff opposition from the Catholic Legion of Decency, severely limiting its U.S. distribution. Bardot plays a nubile small-time thief named Yvette, who becomes the mistress of influential defence attorney Andre (Jean Gabin). Though Andre can shower Yvette with jewels and furs, he cannot "buy" her heart, and thus it is that it belongs to handsome young student Mazzetti (Franco Interlenghi). Alas, Yvette is no judge of human nature: attractive though Mazzetti can be, he has a dangerous and deadly side. En Cas de Malheur contains a nude scene that has since been reprinted in freeze-frame form innumerable times by both film-history books and girlie magazines." Photographer Sam Lévin's photos contributed considerably to her image of sensuality and slight immorality. One of Lévin's pictures shows Brigitte, dressed in a white corset. It is said that around 1960, postcards with this photograph outsold in Paris those of the Eiffel Tower.
Brigitte Bardot divorced Vadim in 1957, and in 1959 she married actor Jacques Charrier, with whom she starred in Babette s'en va-t-en guerre / Babette Goes to War (Christian-Jaque, 1959). The paparazzi preyed upon her marriage, while she and her husband clashed over the direction of her career
Her films became more substantial, but this brought a heavy pressure of dual celebrity as she sought critical acclaim while remaining a glamour model for most of the world. Vie privée / Private Life (1962), directed by Louis Malle, has more than an element of autobiography in it. James Travers at French Films: "Brigitte Bardot hadn’t quite reached the high point of her career when she agreed to make this film with high-profile New Wave film director Louis Malle. Even so, the pressure of being a living icon was obviously beginning to get to France’s sex goddess, and Vie privée is as much an attempt by Bardot to come to terms with her celebrity as anything else. Malle is clearly fascinated by Bardot, and the documentary approach he adopts for this film reinforces the impression that it is more a biography of the actress than a work of fiction. Of course, it’s not entirely biographical, but the story is remarkably close to Bardot’s own life and comes pretty close to predicting how her career would end." The scene in which, returning to her apartment, Bardot's character is harangued in the elevator by a middle-aged cleaning lady calling her offensive names was based on an actual incident, and is a resonant image of celebrity in the mid-20th century. Soon afterwards, Bardot withdrew to the seclusion of Southern France.
Brigitte Bardot's other husbands were German millionaire Playboy Gunter Sachs and right-wing politician Bernard d'Ormale. She is reputed to have had relationships with many other men, including Samy Frey, her co-star in La Vérité / The Truth (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1960), and musicians Serge Gainsbourg and Sacha Distel. In 1963, Brigitte Bardot starred in Jean-Luc Godard's critically acclaimed film Le Mépris / Contempt (Jean-Luc Godard, 1963) opposite Michel Piccoli. She was also featured along with such notable actors as Alain Delon in Amours célèbres / Famous Love Affairs (Michel Boisrond, 1961) and Histoires extraordinaires /Tales of Mystery (Louis Malle, 1968), Jeanne Moreau in Viva Maria! (Louis Malle, 1965), Sean Connery in Shalako (Edward Dmytryk, 1968), and Claudia Cardinale in Les Pétroleuses / Petroleum Girls (Christian-Jaque, 1971). She participated in various musical shows and recorded many popular songs in the 1960s and 1970s, mostly in collaboration with Serge Gainsbourg, Bob Zagury and Sacha Distel, including 'Harley Davidson', 'Le Soleil De Ma Vie' (the cover of Stevie Wonder's 'You Are the Sunshine of My Life') and the notorious 'Je t'aime... moi non plus'.
Brigitte Bardot’s film career showed a steady decline in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In 1973, just before her fortieth birthday, she announced her retirement. She chose to use her fame to promote animal rights. In 1976, she established the Brigitte Bardot Foundation for the Welfare and Protection of Animals. She became a vegetarian and raised three million French francs to fund the foundation by auctioning off jewellery and many personal belongings. For this work, she was awarded the Légion d’honneur in 1984. During the 1990s, she was also outspoken in her criticism of immigration, interracial relationships, Islam in France and homosexuality. Her husband Bernard d'Ormal was a former adviser of the far-right Front National party. Bardot has been convicted five times for 'inciting racial hatred'. More fun is that Bardot is recognised for popularising bikini swimwear, in such early films as Manina / Woman without a Veil (Willy Rozier, 1952), in her appearances at Cannes and in many photo shoots. Bardot also brought into fashion the 'choucroute' ('Sauerkraut') hairstyle (a sort of beehive hairstyle) and gingham clothes after wearing a checkered pink dress, designed by Jacques Esterel, at her wedding to Charrier. The fashions of the 1960s looked effortlessly right and spontaneous on her. Time Magazine: "She is the princess of pout, the countess of come hither. Brigitte Bardot exuded a carefree, naïve sexuality that brought a whole new audience to French films."
Sources: Denny Jackson (IMDb), Hal Erickson (AllMovie), Craig Butler (AllMovie), James Travers (French Films), French Films, Wikipedia and IMDb.
And please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
On the right, Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach KCB, DL, Vice Chief of the Defence Staff.
Behind him, Major-General Sir Edward Smyth-Osbourne KCVO CBE, late The Life Guards, Major-General Commanding the Household Division and General Officer Commanding London District.
To the left, a senior officer in the Turkish Air Force.
From the Official Programme
THE NATIONAL COMMEMORATION OF THE CENTENARY OF THE GALLIPOLI CAMPAIGN AND ANZAC DAY AT THE CENOTAPH, WHITEHALL, LONDON
HOSTED BY THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE HIGH COMMISSIONS OF AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND IN LONDON
On 25 April 1915 Allied soldiers landed on the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey in one of the most ambitious amphibious assaults in history.
More than 550,000 soldiers from Britain, Ireland, France, Australia, New Zealand, the Indian sub-continent, Canada and Sri Lanka waged this historic campaign, including 400,000 from Britain alone. 58,000 Allied servicemen and 87,000 from Turkey died in this campaign.
ANZAC Day was established by Australia and New Zealand as an annual day of commemoration to remember their servicemen who died in Gallipoli. The first ANZAC Day march in London took place on 25 April 1916. ANZAC Day has been commemorated in London on 25 April every year since then.
ORDER OF SERVICE
11:00 Big Ben strikes the hour
Two minutes’ silence
The Last Post Sounded by buglers from the Band of Her Majesty’s Royal Marines
Reading by Michael Toohey, age 22, descendant of Private Thomas Toohey, Royal Dublin Fusiliers, killed in action at V beach on 25 April 1915, aged 22.
The Fallen by Laurence Binyon, 4th verse, published in The Times on 21 September 1914
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: age shall not weary them nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them.
All: We will remember them.
Laying of Wreaths
After Her Majesty The Queen has laid a wreath the Massed Bands will play Elegy (1915) – in memoriam Rupert Brooke – by F S Kelly (1881–1916) and Largo by G F Handel (1685–1759).
Her Majesty The Queen lays the first wreath followed by:
The Right Honourable David Cameron, Prime Minister Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Senator the Honourable George Brandis QC, Attorney General, Commonwealth of Australia
The Right Honourable David Carter MP, 29th Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives
A representative of the Republic of Turkey
The Right Honourable Nick Clegg, Deputy Prime Minister Great Britain and Northern Ireland
The Right Honourable Michael Fallon, Secretary of State for Defence
The Right Honourable Sajid Javid, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Right Honourable Hugo Swire, Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Helen Grant, Minister for the First World War Centenary
Dr Andrew Murrison, Prime Minister’s Special Representative for the First World War Centenary
The Right Honourable Ed Miliband, Leader of Her Majesty’s Opposition
Keith Brown MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure, Investment and Cities, Scottish Government
The Right Honourable Carwyn Jones, First Minister, Welsh Government
A representative of the Northern Ireland Executive
Lieutenant General Sir Gerry Berragan KBE CB, Adjutant General
Air Marshal Dick Garwood CB CBE DFC, Director General Defence Safety Authority
Vice Admiral Sir Philip Jones KCB, Fleet Commander and Deputy Chief of Naval Staff
Lieutenant General John Caligari AO DSC, Chief Capability Development Group, Australian Defence Force
Brigadier Antony Hayward ONZ, Head New Zealand Defence Staff, New Zealand High Commission
Colonel Ömer Özkan, Air Attaché, Embassy of Turkey
A representative of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh
Steven Vandeput, Minister of Defence of Belgium
His Excellency Gordon Campbell, High Commissioner for Canada
A representative of the Republic of France
A representative of the Federal Republic of Germany
His Excellency Dr Ranjan Mathai, High Commissioner for the Republic of India
His Excellency Daniel Mulhall, Ambassador of Ireland to the United Kingdom
His Excellency The Honourable Joseph Muscat, Prime Minister of the Republic of Malta
A representative of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal
His Excellency Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
His Excellency The Honourable Peter O’Neill CMG MP, Prime Minister of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea
His Excellency Mr Obed Mlaba, High Commissioner for the Republic of South Africa
A representative of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Sonata Tupou, Acting High Commissioner for the Kingdom of Tonga
The Honourable Bronwyn Bishop MP, Speaker to the Australian House of Representatives
Bill Muirhead AM, Agent-General for South Australia
Ken Smith, Trade Commissioner for Europe and Agent General for UK at Trade & Investment Queensland
Kevin Skipworth CVO, Agent-General for Western Australia
Ian Matterson, Representative of the Premier of Tasmania
Mathew Erbs, on behalf of the Agent-General for Victoria
Gary Dunn, Deputy Commonwealth Secretary General
General The Lord Richards of Herstmonceux GCB CBE DSO, Deputy Grand President, British Commonwealth Ex-Servicemen’s League
Vice Admiral Peter Wilkinson CB CVO, National President, the Royal British Legion
Right Honourable The Viscount Slim OBE DL, Returned and Services League of Australia
Colonel Andrew Martin ONZM, Royal New Zealand Returned and Services Association
Lindsay Birrell, CEO, London Legacy
Captain Christopher Fagan DL, Chairman, The Gallipoli Association
The Honourable Mrs Ros Kelly AO, Commissioner, Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Sue Pillar, Director of Volunteer Support, Soldiers’ And Sailors’ Families Association (SSAFA)
Captain Jim Conybeare, Master, The Honourable Company of Master Mariners
Lyn Hopkins, Director General, The Victoria League for Commonwealth Friendship
Sir Anthony Figgis KCVO CMG, Chairman, Royal Overseas League
Reveille sounded by buglers from the Band of Her Majesty’s Royal Marines
THE PRAYERS
Prayer by The Venerable Ian Wheatley QHC, Royal Navy Chaplain of the Fleet
God our Father, we come together today to honour all those who gave themselves with great courage in service and sacrifice for their country in the Gallipoli Campaign. We pray that their example may continue to inspire us to strive for the common good, that we may build up the harmony and freedom for which they fought and died.
Help us O Lord, to lift our eyes above the torment of this broken world, and strengthen our resolve to work for peace and justice, and for the relief of want and suffering. As we honour the past, may we put our faith in your future; for you are the source of life and hope, now and forever. Amen.
Hymn led by the Choirs of Chelmsford Cathedral and accompanied by the Massed Bands
I Vow To Thee My Country
All:
I vow to thee, my country, all earthly things above,
Entire and whole and perfect, the service of my love;
The love that asks no question, the love that stands the test,
That lays upon the altar the dearest and the best;
The love that never falters, the love that pays the price,
The love that makes undaunted the final sacrifice.
I heard my country calling, away across the sea,
Across the waste of waters, she calls and calls to me.
Her sword is girded at her side, her helmet on her head,
And around her feet are lying the dying and the dead;
I hear the noise of battle, the thunder of her guns;
I haste to thee, my mother, a son among thy sons.
And there’s another country, I’ve heard of long ago,
Most dear to them that love her, most great to them that know;
We may not count her armies, we may not see her King;
Her fortress is a faithful heart, her pride is suffering;
And soul by soul and silently her shining bounds increase,
And her ways are ways of gentleness, and all her paths are peace.
Prayer read by Grace van Gageldonk (14 years old) from Australia
God of compassion and mercy, we remember with thanksgiving and sorrow, those whose lives in world wars and conflicts past and present, have been
given and taken away.
Enfold in your love, all who in bereavement, disability and pain, continue to suffer the consequences of fighting and terror; and guide and protect all those who support and sustain them. Amen.
National anthem Advance Australia Fair
Led by the Choirs of Chelmsford Cathedral and accompanied by the Massed Bands
Australians all let us rejoice,
For we are young and free;
We’ve golden soil and wealth for toil,
Our home is girt by sea;
Our land abounds in nature’s gifts
Of beauty rich and rare;
In history’s page, let every stage
Advance Australia Fair.
In joyful strains then let us sing,
‘Advance Australia Fair’.
Prayer read by Kathryn Cooper (11 years old) from New Zealand
God of hope, the source of peace and the refuge of all in distress, we remember those you have gathered from the storm of war into the everlasting peace of your presence; may that same peace calm our fears, bring reconciliation and justice to all peoples, and establish lasting harmony among the nations.
We pray for all members of the armed forces who strive for peace and fight for justice today; bless and keep their families and friends at home awaiting their return. Help us, who today remember the cost of war, to work for a better tomorrow, and bring us all, in the end, to the peace of your presence; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
National anthem God Defend New Zealand
Led by the Choirs of Chelmsford Cathedral and accompanied by the Massed Bands
E Ihowā _Atua,
O ngā _iwi mātou rā
Āta whakarangona;
Me aroha noa
Kia hua ko te pai;
Kia tau tō _atawhai;
Manaakitia mai
Aotearoa
God of Nations at Thy feet,
in the bonds of love we meet,
hear our voices, we entreat,
God defend our free land.
Guard Pacific’s triple star
from the shafts of strife and war,
make her praises heard afar,
God defend New Zealand.
Reading Atatürk’s message to bereaved pilgrims, 1934, read by Ecenur Bilgiç (14 years old) from Turkey
Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives…
You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace.
There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours…
You, the mothers, who sent their sons from faraway countries, wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace, after having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.
National anthem İstiklal Marşı (The Independence March)
Led by Burak Gülşen from Turkey, accompanied by the Massed Bands
Korkma, sönmez bu şafaklarda yüzen al sancak;
Sönmeden yurdumun üstünde tüten en son ocak.
O benim milletimin yıldızıdır, parlayacak;
O benimdir, o benim milletimindir ancak.
Çatma, kurban olayım, çehreni ey nazlı hilal!
Kahraman ırkıma bir gül! Ne bu şiddet, bu celal?
Sana olmaz dökülen kanlarımız sonra helal…
Hakkıdır, Hakk’a tapan, milletimin istiklal!
Fear not! For the crimson flag that flies at this dawn, shall not fade,
As long as the last fiery hearth that is ablaze in my country endures.
For that is the star of my nation, which will forever shine;
It is mine; and solely that of my valiant nation.
Frown not, I beseech you, oh thou coy crescent!
Come smile upon my heroic race! Why this rage, this fury?
The blood we shed for you shall not be blessed otherwise;
For independence is the absolute right of my God-worshipping nation.
Remembering Gallipoli a commemoration created by Michael McDermott
Music composed by Michael McDermott
Reading by James McDermott (17 years old) from the United Kingdom
The Attack at Dawn (May, 1915) by Leon Maxwell Gellert (1892–1977)
‘At every cost,’ they said, ‘it must be done.’
They told us in the early afternoon.
We sit and wait the coming of the sun
We sit in groups, — grey groups that watch the moon.
We stretch our legs and murmur half in sleep
And touch the tips of bayonets and yarn.
Our hands are cold. They strangely grope and creep,
Tugging at ends of straps. We wait the dawn!
Some men come stumbling past in single file.
And scrape the trench’s side and scatter sand.
They trip and curse and go. Perhaps we smile.
We wait the dawn! … The dawn is close at hand!
A gentle rustling runs along the line.
‘At every cost,’ they said, ‘it must be done.’
A hundred eyes are staring for the sign.
It’s coming! Look! … Our God’s own laughing sun!
Closing prayers by The Venerable Ian Wheatley QHC, Royal Navy Chaplain of the Fleet
Eternal God,
from whom all thoughts of truth and peace proceed;
Kindle, we pray, in the hearts of all, the true love of peace
and guide with your pure and peaceable wisdom
those who take counsel for the nations of the world,
that in tranquillity your kingdom may go forward,
and all people may spend their days in security, freedom and peace;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Merciful God
we offer to you the fears in us
that have not yet been cast out by love:
may we accept the hope you have
placed in the hearts of all people,
and live lives of justice, courage and mercy;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
All:
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come, thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give is this day our daily bread.
And forgive is our trespasses,
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those that trespass against us.
And lead is not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
fro ver and ever. Amen.
The Blessing
God grant to the living grace, to the departed rest,
to the Church, the Queen, the Commonwealth and all people,
unity, peace and concord,
and to us and all God’s servants, life everlasting;
and the blessing of God almighty,
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
be among you and remain with you always. Amen.
National anthem God Save the Queen
Led by the Choirs of Chelmsford Cathedral and accompanied by the Massed Bands
God save our gracious Queen,
Long live our noble Queen.
God save the Queen!
Send her victorious,
Happy and glorious,
Long to reign over us;
God save the Queen!
They Are At Rest by Sir Edward Elgar (1857–1934), sung by the Choirs of Chelmsford Cathedral (unaccompanied)
THE MARCH PAST
Contingents from:
The Royal Navy
HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH
The Fleet Air Arm
The Submarine Service
Hybrid (HMS OCEAN, HMS ALBION,
Britannia Royal Naval College)
The Royal Marines
Maritime Reserves (Royal Navy
and Royal Marines Reserves)
Representatives from the Armed Forces of other countries who fought at Gallipoli
invited to join the March Past:
Australia
New Zealand
Canada
Turkey
India
Germany
Ireland
France
Bangladesh
Pakistan
South Africa
Papua New Guinea
Tonga
The Gallipoli Association
Naval Services Associations
The Royal Naval Association
The Royal Marines Association
Army Units and their Associations
The Royal Regiment of Artillery
The Royal Corps of Engineers
The Royal Regiment of Scotland
The Princess of Wales’ Royal Regiment
The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment
The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
The Royal Anglian Regiment
The Yorkshire Regiment
The Mercian Regiment
The Royal Welsh
The Royal Irish Regiment
The Royal Gurkha Rifles
The Rifles
The Royal Logistics Corps
The Royal Army Medical Corps
The Royal Army Veterinary Corps
The Royal Yeomanry
The Royal Wessex Yeomanry
The Scottish and North Irish Yeomanry
The London Regiment
Court & City Yeomanry Association
In-Pensioners of the Royal Hospital Chelsea
The Turkish Air Force Band plays Marche Mustafa Kemal Atatürk by Fazıl Çağlayan
Followed by: Descendants of those whose ancestors were involved in the Gallipoli campaign and others who march past the Cenotaph every year to commemorate Anzac Day.
Hanuman is a Hindu god and an ardent devotee of Rama. He is a central character in the Indian epic Ramayana and its various versions. He also finds mentions in several other texts, including Mahabharata, the various Puranas and some Jain texts. A vanara, Hanuman participated in Rama's war against the demon king Ravana. Several texts also present him as an incarnation of Lord Shiva. He is the son of Kesari, and is also described as the son of Vayu, who according to several stories, played a role in his birth. Several sects including Arya Samaj believe that Hanuman was a human and not vanara.
ETYMOLOGY & OTHER NAMES
The Sanskrit texts mention several legends about how Sri Hanuman got his name. One legend is that Indra, the king of the deities, struck Sri Hanuman's jaw during his childhood (see below). The child received his name from the Sanskrit words Hanu ("jaw") and -man (or -mant, "prominent" or "disfigured"). The name thus means "one with prominent or disfigured jaw". Another theory says the name derives from the Sanskrit words Han ("killed" or "destroyed") and maana (pride); the name implies "one whose pride was destroyed". Some Jain texts mention that Sri Hanuman spent his childhood on an island called Hanuruha, which is the origin of his name.
According to one theory, the name "Hanuman" derives from the proto-Dravidian word for male monkey (ana-mandi), which was later Sanskritized to "Hanuman" (see historical development below). Linguistic variations of "Hanuman" include Hanumat, Anuman (Tamil), Anoman (Indonesian), Andoman (Malay) and Hunlaman (Lao).
Hanuman came to be regarded as an avatar (incarnation) of Shiva by the 10th century CE (this development possibly started as early as in the 8th century CE). Hanuman is mentioned as an avatar of Shiva or Rudra in the Sanskrit texts like Mahabhagvata Purana, Skanda Purana, Brhaddharma Purana and Mahanataka among others. This development might have been a result of the Shavite attempts to insert their ishta devata (cherished deity) in the Vaishnavite texts, which were gaining popularity. The 17th century Oriya work Rasavinoda by Divakrsnadasa goes on to mention that the three gods – Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva – combined take to the form of Hanuman.
Hanuman became more important in the medieval period, and came to be portrayed as the ideal devotee (bhakta) of Rama. His characterization as a lifelong brahmachari (celibate) was another important development during this period. The belief that Hanuman's celibacy is the source of his strength became popular among the wrestlers in India. The celibacy or brahmacharya aspect of Hanuman is not mentioned in the original Ramayana.
BIRTH & CHILDHOOD
Hanuman was born to the vanaras. His mother Anjana was an apsara who was born on earth due to a curse. She was redeemed from this curse on her giving birth to a son. The Valmiki Ramayana states that his father Kesari was the son of Brihaspati and that Kesari also fought on Rama's side in the war against Ravana. Anjana and Kesari performed intense prayers to Shiva to get a child. Pleased with their devotion, Shiva granted them the boon they sought. Hanuman, in another interpretation, is the incarnation or reflection of Shiva himself.
Hanuman is often called the son of the deity Vayu; several different traditions account for the Vayu's role in Hanuman's birth. One story mentioned in Eknath's Bhavartha Ramayana (16th century CE) states that when Anjana was worshiping Shiva, the King Dasharatha of Ayodhya was also performing the ritual of Putrakama yagna in order to have children. As a result, he received some sacred pudding (payasam) to be shared by his three wives, leading to the births of Rama, Lakshmana, Bharata, and Shatrughna. By divine ordinance, a kite snatched a fragment of that pudding and dropped it while flying over the forest where Anjana was engaged in worship. Vayu, the Hindu deity of the wind, delivered the falling pudding to the outstretched hands of Anjana, who consumed it. Hanuman was born to her as a result. Another tradition says that Anjana and her husband Kesari prayed Shiva for a child. By Shiva's direction, Vayu transferred his male energy to Anjana's womb. Accordingly, Hanuman is identified as the son of the Vayu.
Another story of Hanuman's origins is derived from the Vishnu Purana and Naradeya Purana. Narada, infatuated with a princess, went to his lord Vishnu, to make him look like Vishnu, so that the princess would garland him at swayamvara (husband-choosing ceremony). He asked for hari mukh (Hari is another name of Vishnu, and mukh means face). Vishnu instead bestowed him with the face of a vanara. Unaware of this, Narada went to the princess, who burst into laughter at the sight of his ape-like face before all the king's court. Narada, unable to bear the humiliation, cursed Vishnu, that Vishnu would one day be dependent upon a vanara. Vishnu replied that what he had done was for Narada's own good, as he would have undermined his own powers if he were to enter matrimony. Vishnu also noted that Hari has the dual Sanskrit meaning of vanara. Upon hearing this, Narada repented for cursing his idol. But Vishnu told him not repent as the curse would act as a boon, for it would lead to the birth of Hanuman, an avatar of Shiva, without whose help Rama (Vishnu's avatar) could not kill Ravana.
BIRTH PLACE
Multiple places in India are claimed as the birthplace of Hanuman.
According to one theory, Hanuman was born on 'Anjaneya Hill', in Hampi, Karnataka. This is located near the Risyamukha mountain on the banks of the Pampa, where Sugreeva and Rama are said to have met in Valmiki Ramayana's Kishkinda Kanda. There is a temple that marks the spot. Kishkinda itself is identified with the modern Anegundi taluk (near Hampi) in Bellary district of Karnataka.
Anjan, a small village about 18 km away from Gumla, houses "Anjan Dham", which is said to be the birthplace of Hanuman. The name of the village is derived from the name of the goddess Anjani, the mother of Hanuman. Aanjani Gufa (cave), 4 km from the village, is believed to be the place where Anjani once lived. Many objects of archaeological importance obtained from this site are now held at the Patna Museum.
The Anjaneri (or Anjneri) mountain, located 7 km from Trimbakeshwar in the Nasik district, is also claimed as the birthplace of Hanuman.
According to Anjan Dham, Hanuman was born on Lakshka Hill near Sujangarh in Churu district, Rajasthan.
CHILDHOOD
As a child, believing the sun to be a ripe mango, Hanuman pursued it in order to eat it. Rahu, a Vedic planet corresponding to an eclipse, was at that time seeking out the sun as well, and he clashed with Hanuman. Hanuman thrashed Rahu and went to take sun in his mouth.[18] Rahu approached Indra, king of devas, and complained that a monkey child stopped him from taking on Sun, preventing the scheduled eclipse. This enraged Indra, who responded by throwing the Vajra (thunderbolt) at Hanuman, which struck his jaw. He fell back down to the earth and became unconscious. A permanent mark was left on his chin (हनुः hanuḥ "jaw" in Sanskrit), due to impact of Vajra, explaining his name. Upset over the attack, Hanuman's father figure Vayu deva (the deity of air) went into seclusion, withdrawing air along with him. As living beings began to asphyxiate, Indra withdrew the effect of his thunderbolt. The devas then revived Hanuman and blessed him with multiple boons to appease Vayu.
Brahma gave Hanuman a boon that would protect him from the irrevocable Brahma's curse. Brahma also said: "Nobody will be able to kill you with any weapon in war." From Brahma he obtained the power of inducing fear in enemies, of destroying fear in friends, to be able to change his form at will and to be able to easily travel wherever he wished. From Shiva he obtained the boons of longevity, scriptural wisdom and ability to cross the ocean. Shiva assured safety of Hanuman with a band that would protect him for life. Indra blessed him that the Vajra weapon will no longer be effective on him and his body would become stronger than Vajra. Varuna blessed baby Hanuman with a boon that he would always be protected from water. Agni blessed him with immunity to burning by fire. Surya gave him two siddhis of yoga namely "laghima" and "garima", to be able to attain the smallest or to attain the biggest form. Yama, the God of Death blessed him healthy life and free from his weapon danda, thus death would not come to him. Kubera showered his blessings declaring that Hanuman would always remain happy and contented. Vishwakarma blessed him that Hanuman would be protected from all his creations in the form of objects or weapons. Vayu also blessed him with more speed than he himself had. Kamadeva also blessed him that the sex will not be effective on him.So his name is also Bala Bramhachari.
On ascertaining Surya to be an all-knowing teacher, Hanuman raised his body into an orbit around the sun and requested to Surya to accept him as a student. Surya refused and explained claiming that he always had to be on the move in his chariot, it would be impossible for Hanuman to learn well. Undeterred, Hanuman enlarged his form, with one leg on the eastern ranges and the other on the western ranges, and facing Surya again pleaded. Pleased by his persistence, Surya agreed. Hanuman then learned all of the latter's knowledge. When Hanuman then requested Surya to quote his "guru-dakshina" (teacher's fee), the latter refused, saying that the pleasure of teaching one as dedicated as him was the fee in itself. Hanuman insisted, whereupon Surya asked him to help his (Surya's) spiritual son Sugriva. Hanuman's choice of Surya as his teacher is said to signify Surya as a Karma Saakshi, an eternal witness of all deeds. Hanuman later became Sugriva's minister.
Hanuman was mischievous in his childhood, and sometimes teased the meditating sages in the forests by snatching their personal belongings and by disturbing their well-arranged articles of worship. Finding his antics unbearable, but realizing that Hanuman was but a child, (albeit invincible), the sages placed a mild curse on him by which he became unable to remember his own ability unless reminded by another person. The curse is highlighted in Kishkindha Kanda and he was relieved from the curse by the end of Kishkindha Kanda when Jambavantha reminds Hanuman of his abilities and encourages him to go and find Sita and in Sundara Kanda he used his supernatural powers at his best.
ADVANTURES IN RAMAYANA
The Sundara Kanda, the fifth book in the Ramayana, focuses on the adventures of Hanuman.
MEETING WITH RAMA
Hanuman meets Rama during the Rama's 14-year exile. With his brother Lakshmana, Rama is searching for his wife Sita who had been abducted by Ravana. Their search brings them to the vicinity of the mountain Rishyamukha, where Sugriva, along with his followers and friends, are in hiding from his older brother Vali.
Having seen Rama and Lakshmana, Sugriva sends Hanuman to ascertain their identities. Hanuman approaches the two brothers in the guise of a brahmin. His first words to them are such that Rama says to Lakshmana that none could speak the way the brahmin did unless he or she had mastered the Vedas. He notes that there is no defect in the brahmin's countenance, eyes, forehead, brows, or any limb. He points out to Lakshmana that his accent is captivating, adding that even an enemy with sword drawn would be moved. He praises the disguised Hanuman further, saying that sure success awaited the king whose emissaries were as accomplished as he was.
When Rama introduces himself, the brahman identitifies himself as Hanuman and falls prostrate before Rama, who embraces him warmly. Thereafter, Hanuman's life becomes interwoven with that of Rama. Hanuman then brings about friendship and alliance between Rama and Sugriva; Rama helps Sugriva regain his honour and makes him king of Kishkindha. Sugriva and his vanaras, most notably Hanuman, help Rama defeat Raavana and reunite with Sita.
In their search for Sita, a group of Vanaras reaches the southern seashore. Upon encountering the vast ocean, every vanara begins to lament his inability to jump across the water. Hanuman too is saddened at the possible failure of his mission, until the other vanaras and the wise bear Jambavantha begin to extol his virtues. Hanuman then recollects his own powers, enlarges his body, and flies across the ocean. On his way, he encounters a mountain that rises from the sea, proclaims that it owed his father a debt, and asks him to rest a while before proceeding. Not wanting to waste any time, Hanuman thanks the mountain, touches it briefly, and presses on. He then encounters a sea-monster, Surasa, who challenges him to enter her mouth. When Hanuman outwits her, she admits that her challenge was merely a test of his courage. After killing Simhika, a rakshasi, he reaches Lanka.
FINDING SITA
Hanuman reaches Lanka through flight and marvels at its beauty. After he finds Sita in captivity in a garden, Hanuman reveals his identity to her, reassures her that Rama has been looking for her, and uplifts her spirits. He offers to carry her back to Rama, but she refuses his offer, saying it would be an insult to Rama as his honour is at stake. In order to give Sita faith, Hanuman gives her a ring that Rama wanted Hanuman to give her. After meeting Sita, Hanuman begins to wreak havoc, gradually destroying the palaces and properties of Lanka. He kills many rakshasas, including Jambumali and Aksha Kumar. To subdue him, Ravana's son Indrajit uses the Brahmastra. Though immune to the effects of this weapon Hanuman, out of respect to Brahma, allows himself be bound. Deciding to use the opportunity to meet Ravana, and to assess the strength of Ravana's hordes, Hanuman allows the rakshasa warriors to parade him through the streets. He conveys Rama's message of warning and demands the safe return of Sita. He also informs Ravana that Rama would be willing to forgive him if he returns Sita honourably.
Enraged, Ravana orders Hanuman's execution, whereupon Ravana's brother Vibhishana intervenes, pointing out that it is against the rules of engagement to kill a messenger. Ravana then orders Hanuman's tail be lit afire. As Ravana's forces attempted to wrap cloth around his tail, Hanuman begins to lengthen it. After frustrating them for a while, he allows it to burn, then escapes from his captors, and with his tail on fire he burns down large parts of Lanka. After extinguishing his flaming tail in the sea, he returns to Rama.
SHAPESHIFTING
In the Ramayana Hanuman changes shape several times. For example, while he searches for the kidnapped Sita in Ravana's palaces on Lanka, he contracts himself to the size of a cat, so that he will not be detected by the enemy. Later on, he takes on the size of a mountain, blazing with radiance, to show his true power to Sita.
Also he enlarges & immediately afterwards contracts his body to out-wit Surasa, the she-demon, who blocked his path while crossing the sea to reach Lanka. Again, he turns his body microscopically small to enter Lanka before killing Lankini, the she-demon guarding the gates of Lanka.
He achieved this shape-shifting by the powers of two siddhis; Anima and Garima bestowed upon him in his childhood by Sun-God, Surya.
MOUNTAIN LIFTING
When Lakshmana is severely wounded during the battle against Ravana, Hanuman is sent to fetch the Sanjivani, a powerful life-restoring herb, from Dronagiri mountain in the Himalayas, to revive him. Ravana realises that if Lakshmana dies, a distraught Rama would probably give up, and so he dispatches the sorcerer Kalanemi to intercept Hanuman. Kalanemi, in the guise of a sage, deceives Hanuman, but Hanuman uncovers his plot with the help of an apsara, whom he rescues from her accursed state as a crocodile.
Ravana, upon learning that Kalanemi has been slain by Hanuman, summons Surya to rise before its appointed time because the physician Sushena had said that Lakshmana would perish if untreated by daybreak. Hanuman realizes the danger, however, and, becoming many times his normal size, detains the Sun God to prevent the break of day. He then resumes his search for the precious herb, but, when he finds himself unable to identify which herb it is, he lifts the entire mountain and delivers it to the battlefield in Lanka. Sushena then identifies and administers the herb, and Lakshmana is saved. Rama embraces Hanuman, declaring him as dear to him as his own brother. Hanuman releases Surya from his grip, and asks forgiveness, as the Sun was also his Guru.
Hanuman was also called "langra veer"; langra in Hindi means limping and veer means "brave". The story behind Hanuman being called langra is as follows. He was injured when he was crossing the Ayodhya with the mountain in his hands. As he was crossing over Ayodhya, Bharat, Rama's young brother, saw him and assumed that some Rakshasa was taking this mountain to attack Ayodhya. Bharat then shot Hanuman with an arrow, which was engraved with Rama's name. Hanuman did not stop this arrow as it had Rama's name written on it, and it injured his leg. Hanuman landed and explained to Bharat that he was moving the mountain to save his own brother, Lakshmana. Bharat, very sorry, offered to fire an arrow to Lanka, which Hanuman could ride in order to reach his destination more easily. But Hanuman declined the offer, preferring to fly on his own, and he continued his journey with his injured leg.
PATALA INCIDENT
In another incident during the war, Rama and Lakshmana are captured by the rakshasa Mahiravana and Ahiravan), brother of Ravana, who held them captive in their palace in Patala (or Patalpuri) - the netherworld. Mahiravana keeps them as offerings to his deity. Searching for them, Hanuman reaches Patala, the gates of which are guarded by a young creature called Makardhwaja (known also as Makar-Dhwaja or Magar Dhwaja), who is part reptile and part Vanara.
The story of Makardhwaja's birth is said to be that when Hanuman extinguished his burning tail in the ocean, a drop of his sweat fell into the waters, eventually becoming Makardhwaja, who perceives Hanuman as his father. When Hanuman introduces himself to Makardhwaja, the latter asks his blessings. Hanuman enters Patala.
Upon entering Patala, Hanuman discovers that to kill Mahiravana, he must simultaneously extinguish five lamps burning in different directions. Hanuman assumes the Panchamukha or five-faced form of Sri Varaha facing north, Sri Narasimha facing south, Sri Garuda facing west, Sri Hayagriva facing the sky and his own facing the east, and blows out the lamps. Hanuman then rescues Rama and Lakshmana. Afterwards, Rama asks Hanuman to crown Makardhwaja king of Patala. Hanuman then instructs Makardhwaja to rule Patala with justice and wisdom.
To date Chandraloak Devpuri mandir is located at Dugana a small village 17 km from Laharpur,Sitapur district,Uttar Pradesh. A divine place where Chakleswar Mahadev situated.
HONOURS
Shortly after he is crowned Emperor upon his return to Ayodhya, Rama decides to ceremoniously reward all his well-wishers. At a grand ceremony in his court, all his friends and allies take turns being honoured at the throne. Hanuman approaches without desiring a reward. Seeing Hanuman come up to him, an emotionally overwhelmed Rama embraces him warmly, declaring that he could never adequately honour or repay Hanuman for the help and services he received from the noble Vanara. Sita, however, insists that Hanuman deserved honour more than anyone else, and Sita gives him a necklace of precious stones adorning her neck.
When he receives it, Hanuman immediately takes it apart, and peers into each stone. Taken aback, many of those present demand to know why he is destroying the precious gift. Hanuman answers that he was looking into the stones to make sure that Rama and Sita are in them, because if they are not, the necklace is of no value to him. At this, a few mock Hanuman, saying his reverence and love for Rama and Sita could not possibly be as deep as he implies. In response, Hanuman tears his chest open, and everyone is stunned to see Rama and Sita literally in his heart.
HANUMAN RAMAYANA
After the victory of Rama over Ravana, Hanuman went to the Himalayas to continue his worship of the Lord Rama. There he scripted a version of the Ramayana on the Himalayan mountains using his nails, recording every detail of Rama's deeds. When Maharishi Valmiki visited him to show him his own version of the Ramayana, he saw Hanuman's version and became very disappointed.
When Hanuman asked Valmiki the cause of his sorrow, the sage said that his version, which he had created very laboriously, was no match for the splendour of Hanuman's, and would therefore go ignored. At this, Hanuman discarded his own version, which is called the Hanumad Ramayana. Maharishi Valmiki was so taken aback that he said he would take another birth to sing the glory of Hanuman which he had understated in his version.
Later, one tablet is said to have floated ashore during the period of Mahakavi Kalidasa, and hung at a public place to be deciphered by scholars. Kalidasa is said to have deciphered it and recognised that it was from the Hanumad Ramayana recorded by Hanuman in an extinct script, and considered himself very fortunate to see at least one pada of the stanza.
AFTER RAMAYANA WAR
After the war, and after reigning for several years, the time arrived for Rama to depart to his supreme abode Vaikuntha. Many of Rama's entourage, including Sugriva, decided to depart with him. Hanuman, however, requested from Rama that he will remain on earth as long as Rama's name was venerated by people. Sita accorded Hanuman that desire, and granted that his image would be installed at various public places, so he could listen to people chanting Rama's name. He is one of the immortals (Chiranjivi) of Hinduism.
MAHABHARATA
Hanuman is also considered to be the brother of Bhima, on the basis of their having the same father, Vayu. During the Pandavas' exile, he appears disguised as a weak and aged monkey to Bhima in order to subdue his arrogance. Bhima enters a field where Hanuman is lying with his tail blocking the way. Bhima, unaware of his identity, tells him to move it out of the way. Hanuman, incognito, refuses. Bhima then tries to move the tail himself but he is unable, despite his great strength. Realising he is no ordinary monkey, he inquires as to Hanuman's identity, which is then revealed. At Bhima's request, Hanuman is also said to have enlarged himself to demonstrate the proportions he had assumed in his crossing of the sea as he journeyed to Lanka and also said that when the war came, he would be there to protect the Pandavas. This place is located at Sariska National Park in the Alwar District of the State of Rajasthan and named as Pandupole (Temple of Hanuman ji).Pandupole is very famous tourist spot of Alwar.
During the great battle of Kurukshetra, Arjuna entered the battlefield with a flag displaying Hanuman on his chariot. The incident that led to this was an earlier encounter between Hanuman and Arjuna, wherein Hanuman appeared as a small talking monkey before Arjuna at Rameshwaram, where Rama had built the great bridge to cross over to Lanka to rescue Sita. Upon Arjuna's wondering aloud at Rama's taking the help of monkeys rather than building a bridge of arrows, Hanuman challenged him to build a bridge capable of bearing him alone; Arjuna, unaware of the vanara's true identity, accepted. Hanuman then proceeded to repeatedly destroy the bridges made by Arjuna, who decided to take his own life. Krishna smiled and placed his divine discus beneath the bridge,and this time hanuman could no longer break it.Vishnu then appeared before them both after originally coming in the form of a tortoise, chiding Arjuna for his vanity and Hanuman for making Arjuna feel incompetent. As an act of penitence, Hanuman decided to help Arjuna by stabilizing and strengthening his chariot during the imminent great battle. After, the battle of Kurukshetra was over, Krishna asked Arjuna, that today you step down the chariot before me. After Arjuna got down, Krishna followed him and thanked Hanuman for staying with them during the whole fight in the form of a flag on the chariot. Hanuman came in his original form, bowed to Krishna and left the flag, flying away into the sky. As soon as he left the flag, the chariot began to burn and turned into ashes. Arjuna was shocked to see this, then Krishna told Arjuna, that the only reason his chariot was still standing was because of the presence of Himself and Hanuman, otherwise, it would have burnt many days ago due to effects of celestial weapons thrown at it in the war.
According to legend, Hanuman is one of the four people to have heard the Bhagwad Gita from Krishna and seen his Vishvarupa (universal) form, the other three being Arjuna, Sanjaya and Barbarika, son of Ghatotkacha.
OTHER TEXTS
Apart from Ramayana and Mahabharata, Hanuman is mentioned in several other texts. Some of these stories add to his adventures mentioned in the earlier epics, while others tell alternative stories of his life.
Paumacariya (also known as Pauma Chariu or Padmacharit), the Jain version of Ramayana written by Vimalasuri, mentions Hanuman as a Vidyadhara (a supernatural being), who is the son of Pavangati and Anjana Sundari. Anjana gives birth to Hanuman in a forest cave, after being banished by her in-laws. Her maternal uncle rescues her from the forest; while boarding his vimana, Anjana accidentally drops her baby on a rock. However, the baby remains uninjured while the rock is shattered. The baby is raised in Hanuruha, his great uncle's island kingdom, from which Hanuman gets his name. In this version, Hanuman is not celibate. He marries princess Anangakusuma, the daughter of Kharadushana and Ravana's sister Chandranakha. Ravana also presents Hanuman one of his nieces as a second wife. After becoming an ally of Sugriva, Hanuman acquires a hundred more wives. Hanuman is originally enraged at Rama for murdering his father-in-law Kharadushana. However, he becomes a supporter of Rama after meeting him and learning about Sita's kidnapping by Ravana. He goes to Lanka on Rama's behalf, but is unable to convince Ravana to surrender. Ultimately, he joins Rama in the war against Ravana and performs several heroic deeds. After the victory and subsequent celebrations, both Rama and Hanuman take Jaineshwari Diksha and become Jain Munis and achieve salvation. Later Jain texts such as Uttarapurana (9th century CE) by Gunabhadra and Anjana-Pavananjaya (12th century CE) tells the same story.
The Brahma Purana mentions that the vanaras built several Shiva lingams in Kishkindha. After his return to Ayodhya, Rama asks Hanuman to destroy these lingams, as they are no longer required. However, when Hanuman is unable to uproot these lingams, Rama orders them to worshipped permanently. The Skanda Purana mentions a variant of this story, which happens in Rameswaram. The Narada Purana describes Hanuman as a master of vocal music, and as an embodiment of the combined power of Shiva and Vishnu.
Apart from the Puranas, the Agama Saunaka Samhitha, and Agastya Sara Samhitha explains certain stories which are not mentioned in other Hindu texts along with the worship rituals of Hanuman. Recently a simple English Translation of some of stories are released as a book named Tales Of Hanuman: Tales from the eternal life of Hanuman
The 16th-century Indian poet Tulsidas wrote Hanuman Chalisa, a devotional song dedicated to Hanuman. He claimed to have visions where he met face to face with Hanuman. Based on these meetings, he wrote Ramcharitmanas, an Awadhi language version of Ramayana. The Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple (Varanasi) is said to be located on the spot where Tulsidas had these visions. The works of Tulsidas played an important role in increasing the popularity of Hanuman worship in North India.
Durga Chalisa mentions that Hanuman leads and welcomes the procession of the ferocious lion-riding Bhavani.
The non-Indian versions of Ramayana, such as the Thai Ramakien, mention that Hanuman had relationships with multiple women, including Svayamprabha, Benjakaya (Vibhisana's daughter), Suvannamaccha and even Ravana's wife Mandodari. According to these versions of the Ramayana, Macchanu is son of Hanuman borne by Suvannamaccha, daughter of Ravana. The Jain text Paumacariya also mentions that Hanuman married Lankasundari, the daughter of Lanka's chief defender Bajramukha. Another legend says that a demigod named Matsyaraja (also known as Makardhwaja or Matsyagarbha) claimed to be his son. Matsyaraja's birth is explained as follows: a fish (matsya) was impregnated by the drops of Hanuman's sweat, while he was bathing in the ocean.
PROPHECY & LEGACY
A number of religious leaders have claimed to have seen Hanuman over the course of the centuries, notably Madhvacharya (13th century CE), Tulsidas (16th century), Samarth Ramdas (17th century), Raghavendra Swami (17th century) and Swami Ramdas (20th century).
Swaminarayan, founder of the Hindu Swaminarayan sects, holds that other than worship of God through the Narayana Kavacha, Hanuman is the only deity who may be worshiped in the event of trouble by evil spirits.
Others have also asserted his presence wherever the Ramayana is read.
“Bow down to Hanumān, who is the slayer of demons, and who is present with head bowed and eyes full of flowing tears wherever the fame of Rāma is sung.”
This can be found in other texts such as the Vinaya Patrika by Tulsidas and the Mahabharta, and in other texts with only slight variation in language. During the readings of the Ramayana (Ramayanpath), a special puja and space (asan) are reserved for Hanuman.
TEMPLES
Hanuman is worshipped by villagers as a boundary guardian, by Shaiva ascetics as a Yogi, and by wrestlers for his strength. There are numerous temples for Hanuman, and his images are usually installed at all temples where images of avatars of Vishnu are installed. Hanuman temples are believed to keep the area and surroundings free of rakshasas (demons) and other evil beings. Hanuman idols are found on mountain roads because it is believed that he protects people from accidents.
Jakhu temple is a famous temple at Shimla, the capital of Himachal Pradesh. The word "Jakhu" is derived from "Yaku"/"Yaksha". The hill is the legendary abode of Yaksha, Kinners Nagas and Asuras. The temple was founded on a plain where, according to legend, Hanuman's sudden landing flattened a hill. A 33-metre statue of Hanuman has been erected at the top of the 2,591-metre tall Jakhu Hill, the highest point in Shimla.
According to the Ramayana, during the battle between Lord Rama and Ravana at Lanka, Lakshmana, brother of Lord Rama, was mortally wounded by an arrow. To save his life, Hanuman journeyed to the Himalayas to retrieve the Sanjeevani herb. En route, he encountered a meditating sage on Jakhu mountain; as he paused to inquire about the herb, Hanuman's landing on the mountain compressed the earth, changing the shape of the mountain to its present state. In his haste to depart, Hanuman is said to have left his friends behind, and they are said to continue to roam the area even today. A temple honoring Lord Hanuman was constructed by the Jakhu sage.
The oldest known independent Hanuman statue is the one at Khajuraho, which has an inscription dated Sam. 940 (AD 883) mentioning that it was erected by Gahil's son Gollak.
Sankat Mochan Shri Hanuman Mandir, located in the Punjab town of Phillaur is one of the popular temples of Hanuman. Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple, Varanasi, believed to be built by Tulsidas, is second most popular temple in the city.
Namakkal Anjaneyar temple is located in the town of Namakkal, Tamil Nadu. There is an 18-feet idol of Sri Hanuman in the temple facing east, worshipping Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swami (one of the avatar of god Vishnu) in this temple. Anjenayar idol is Swayambu, believed to be growing in height; thus, temple has no roof enclosing.
Sholinghur Sri Yoga Narasimha swami temple and Sri Yoga Anjaneyar temple, located in Sholinghur, a town which is about 30 km from Arakkonam of Vellore District.Sri yoga Anjaneyar temple located over small hill containing 480 steps from ground. Lord Anjaneyar with Sathurpujam (sathur=four, pujam=arms) Sri Sangu and Sri Chakaram 2 hands and Jabba Malai and Jaba Shankaram in other two respectively facing Sri yoga Narasimha swami and Yoga Amurthavalli Thayar present over hill (periya malai= big hill) with 1305 steps from ground. Sholinghur shetram one among 108 divya desams also one of most famous temple of our Lord Anjaneya.
Ragigudda Anjaneya temple is a Hanuman temple located in JP Nagar Bangalore. The temple is located on a hillock.
The Hanuman temple at Nerul, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India is situated inside SIES complex. The Hanuman idol is 10 m tall and is installed on a pedestal of height 4 m, bringing the total height to 14 m. In the picture shown, Hanuman has silver coverings (Silver Kavasam). The 33 feet Hanuman idol is carved out of single granite stone. This is the tallest single granite stone Hanuman idol in India as per the temple.
Similarly, a 10 m idol of Sri Anjaneyar was entrenched in 1989 at Nanganallur in Chennai, India. The distinguishing factor of the idol is that it was molded out of a single rock.
An 26-m Karya Siddhi Hanuman statue was installed at Carapichaima in Trinidad and Tobago, by Avadhoota Dattapeetham's Pontiff Ganapathy Sachchidananda. It is the tallest in the Western hemisphere and second tallest in the world. One has also built a Karya Siddhi Hanuman Temple in Frisco, Texas in the U.S.
The tallest Hanuman statue is the Veera Abhaya Anjaneya Hanuman Swami, standing 135 feet tall at Yerravaram, 46 km from Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh, installed in 2003.
The image of Hanuman is said to have come alive and moved when installed at the Shri Hanuman Mandir, Sarangpur. The temple is noted for getting rid of evil spirits.
Suchindram temple is a pious place lying about 14 km from Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu. The temple is famous for it 18 feet tall Hanuman idol. This idol is decorated fully with butter (Vennai kappu in Tamil) and Sandalwood paste (Chandana kappu in Tamil).
In Rajasthan,Hanuman Temples at Mehendipur Balaji in Dausa district (80 km from Jaipur) and Salasar dhaam in Churu district (160 km from Jaipur) attract a large number of devotees from all over India. [{Chandraloak Devpuri Balaji}] is located in Dugana 17 km from Laharpur district-sitapur,UttarPradesh
Bhaktha Anjaneyar is Temple is located in Vedasandur, Dindigul, Tamil Nadu.
Kaviyoor is a small village about 5–6 km from the town of Thiruvalla, Kerala The Kaviyoor Mahadevar Temple here is about 100 years old and the Hanuman temple inside the Shiva temple is considered as very auspicious by devotees. Hanuman idol consecrated here is made of Panchaloha and is depicting him telling the story of Ramayana to Sita in the Asoka Vana.
Yalagur, a small village about 30–35 km from the town of Bagalkot in Karnataka, also has a temple dedicated to Hanuman.
Sri Baktha Hanuman Temple, Ramboda.Sri Lanka. Ramboda is a place where Hanuman was searching for Sita Devi.
WORSHIP
Some of the prayers, songs, mantras, shlokas, devoted to Hanuman include Hanuman Chalisa, Bajranga Baan, Maruti Strotam, Anjaneya Dandakam, Vadvanal Strotam, Hanuman Sathhika, Hanuman Bahuk, Hanuman Dwadesha, Bhimrupi Strotam, Sundara Kanda, Maruti Gayatri Mantra, Hanumansahasranam stotra (Stotra of thousand names of Hanuman), Ek-mukhi Hanuman Raksha Kavacham, Pancha-mukhi Hanuman Raksha Kavacham and Sapta-mukhi Hanuman Raksha Kavacham.
"Ram Raksha Strotam", the Sanskrit Strota, a Shield of Rama has lines devoted to Hanuman, saying, whoever, reads this, will be protected by Hanuman.
PANCHAMUKHA SRI HANUMAN
Sri Hanuman assumed Panchamukha or five-faced form to kill Ahiravana, a powerful rakshasa black-magician and practitioner of the dark arts during the Ramayana war. Ahiravana, brother of Ravana, had taken Lord Rama and Lakshmana to netherworld as captive, and the only way to kill him was to extinguish five lamps burning in different directions, all at the same instant. Sri Hanuman assumed His Panchamukha form and accomplished the task, thus killing the rakshasa, and freeing Rama and Lakshmana.
This form of Sri Hanuman is very popular, and is also known as Panchamukha Anjaneya and Panchamukhi Anjaneya. (Anjaneya, which means "son of Anjana", is another name of Sri Hanuman). These faces show there is nothing in the world which does not come under any the influence of any of the five faces, symbolic of his all around security to all devotees. This also signifies vigilance and control over the five directions - north, south, east, west and the upward direction/zenith.
There are five ways of prayer, Naman, Smaran, Keerthanam, Yachanam and Arpanam. The five faces depict these five forms. Lord Sri Hanuman always used to Naman, Smaran and Keerthanam of Lord Sri Rama. He totally surrendered (Arpanam) to his Master Sri Rama. He also begged (yachanam) Sri Rama to bless him the undivided love.
The weapons are a parashu, a Khanda, a chakra, a dhaalam, a gada, a trishula, a kumbha, a Katar, a plate filled with blood and again a big Gada.
Chitrakoot in Central India is claimed to be the resting place of Sri Hanuman. The Hanuman Dhara Temple is situated on the peak of mountain where there is natural rock formation image of Shri Hanuman inside the cave and a natural stream of water falling on the tail. It is believed that after the coronation of Lord Rama, Sri Hanuman requested for a permanent place to settle in the Kingdom of Lord Rama, where his Injury of burns on his tails will be cured. Lord Rama, then with his arrow, spurred a stream of water on the tip of mountain and asked Sri Hanuman to rest there with water of the stream falling on his tail to cool down burning sensation in his tail. The access to the cave temple is through stairs starting from bottom of the mountain to its top. It takes roughly 30 to 40 minutes to reach the temple. Over time the temple has gained a new name, namely Hanuman Dhara.
Sri Panchamukha Anjaneya Swami was the main deity of Sri Raghavendra Swami. The place where he meditated on this five-faced form of Sri Hanuman is now known as Panchamukhi, wherein a temple for him has been built. There is also a shrine for Panchamukha Anjaneya Swami at Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu, India. A 12 m tall monolithic green granite murti of Sri Panchamukha Hanuman has been installed in Thiruvallur, also in Tamil Nadu. This place was known as Rudravanam in olden times when many saints and seers had blessed this place with their presence. The Panchamukha Hanuman Ashram itself was established by a saint called Venkatesa Battar. A four foot image of Panchmukha Hanuman has been consecrated West of Lusaka, Zambia in Oye Kapi farm.
RELATION WITH SHANI
In Hinduism, Hanuman is one of the few deities not afflicted by Shani. Hanuman is the one of the deities in Hindu religion, over whom Shani could not cast his spell. Shani could not overcome Hanuman and as such people worship Hanuman to get rid of malefic effects of Shani.
In the Ramayana, Hanuman is said to have rescued Shani, from the clutches of Ravana.
In gratitude, Shani promised Hanuman that those who prayed him (Hanuman) would be rescued from the painful effects of Saturn, which in Hindu astrology, is said to produce malefic effects on one's life when one is afflicted "negatively" with Saturn.
Another version of the encounter between Lord Hanuman and Shani Bhagavan is that the latter once climbed on to Lord Hanuman's shoulder, implying that he (Hanuman) was coming under the effects of the influence of Shani. At this, Hanuman assumed a large size, and Shani was caught painfully between Hanuman's shoulders and the ceiling of the room they were in. As the pain was unbearable, Shani requested Hanuman to release him, promising that he (Shani) would moderate the malefic effects of his influence on a person praying to Hanuman. Hanuman released Shani thereafter.
In the verse with a thousand Names of Hanuman the Hanumansahasranam stotra, Shani is one of the Names of Hanuman. In some regions of India, Hanuman is also seen sporting an iron whip akin to Shani.
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