Former Mr Universe Manohar Aich dead

Former Mr Universe and celebrated bodybuilder Manohar Aich died at his home here following old age related healt complications, family sources said. He was 104.

A widower, Aich is survived by his two sons and two daughters.

Fully fit till sometime back, Aich breathed his last at his Baguiati home in northeastern Kolkata at 2.30 p.m. on Sunday.

"He died around 2.30 pm. He was 104 years old," his son told IANS.

Aich won the Mr Universe title in 1952, and was given the name "Pocket Hercules" due to his four feet, 11 inch frame.

In 1950, at the age of 36, Aich won the Mr Hercules contest.

In 1951 he had finished second in the Mr Universe contest and he stayed back in London to have another go in the Pro-Short division of the Mr Universe contest, eventually winning it a year later.

Born in Comilla district, now in Bangladesh, Aich joined the Royal Indian Air Force in 1942 -- when India was still a British colony - and took up bodybuilding, encouraged by British officer Reub Martin.

And Aich kept his daily exercising routine till sometime back.

"If you exercise daily you won't fall ill. When you are young, you train to build but when you are old you train to maintain," he said in an interview to a fitness portal years back.

In 1991, he contested Lok Sabha elections as a Bharatiya Janata Party candidate and finished third, collecting over 1.63 lakh votes.

--IANS

dd/ssp/sam/vt