Yogathon takes Kolkata by storm

KOLKATA: Overcast skies and steady drizzle made for a lazy weekend but the city shrugged off its lethargy and brought out the exercise mats from the closet to slip into the yoga mode on Sunday morning. Keeping pace with the rest of the world, thousands from all walks of life – students, executives, army jawans, NCC cadets, coast guards, politicians and housewives – turned Kolkata into an hyper-active participant in the International Yoga Day.
The city woke early and by 7am, Maidan was teeming with youngsters – mostly NCC cadets — ready to show their asana skills. It was a gruelling half-hour session for around 10,300 cadets at Maidan. Despite the wet grass, the dhanurasanas, ushtrasanas and bhujangasanas were performed diligently. “It was exciting to do it together and see so many other people taking to yoga,” gushed Sumit Kumar Mondal, an NCC cadet who spent the night with friends in a Kidderpore school to join the session on time. More than 70,000 cadets took part in yoga sessions across 16 locations throughout the state.
Down south, at Deshapriya Park, more than 1,200 Art of Living members mingled with others to turn the field into a giant yoga arena. They stretched, arched and got into various physical contortions with aplomb. The park has rarely seen such a huge congregation for a physical activity, said Ashwita Pai, an Art of Living teacher. “It wouldn’t have been possible had it not been the yoga day. Kolkatans, it seems, have realized the importance of keeping fit,” she said.
At Indian Museum, yoga merged with fun and games. A group of around 70 children were given yoga lessons. It was followed by a trip around the museum. Army and Navy personnel, coast guards and hospital staff rubbed shoulders with seasoned yoga practitioners at the Mystic Yoga centre in Salt Lake. The session turned out to be a discovery and exploration of sorts for the participants, according to Sudhir Maheshwari, a yoga trainer. “Several coast guards and even the Army have approached us for training,” he added.
But it was not just youngsters, armymen or NCC cadets, even corporate executives and business leaders took time off their busy schedules to make the day count. A special session was organized by the CII Eastern Region at the Suresh Neotia Centre of Excellence for Leadership at Salt Lake where trainers from ISHA Foundation guided the participants. Live demonstrations and video clippings were used to show how a few minutes of yoga exercises a day could make a world of difference. “About 150 participants joined the yoga session. The aim was to integrate body and mind and enable one to be at peace with oneself, reduce stress, experience happiness and enhance productivity in all spheres of life,” said Rear Admiral (Retired) A K Verma, chairman of the CII Eastern Region.
Officers, junior commissioned officers and around 2,000 soldiers participated in a session at the Eastern Command in Kolkata. Another session was also held by the Indian Air Force at its Advanced Headquarters, Eastern Air Command, in Fort William. The Navy also organized an event at INS Netaji Subhas in Kolkata.
Eastern, South Eastern and Metro Railways also organized yoga camps on Sunday. The main thrust for them was to ease job-related stress through asanas. At the three railway headquarters in Kolkata, asanas were taught by experts from organizations such as The Art of Living and Prajapita Brahma Kumaris.