Press Trust of India Posted online: Monday, March 20, 2006 at 1532 hours IST
Patna, March 20: With yoga guru Swami Ramdev in Bihar, fitness fever seems to have gripped top politicians with several of them attending his camp as trainees.
Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, speaker Udai Narayan Chaudhary and Urban Development Minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey, who attended the yoga camp on the opening day on Sunday, sang paeans to the baba's simple ways of teaching the traditional art of keeping fit.
"It was simply fabulous. Lessons in yoga given by Ramdev are very useful for release of stress in daily life and keeping oneself healthy," said Chaudhary, who was seen sweating while performing different ‘asanas’ and ‘pranayam’ during the session.
Modi, along with his wife Jessy, was present throughout the evening session at the camp on Sunday practising yoga.
Urban Development Minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey, who is playing host to Ramdev at his official bungalow, said, "It is for the first time I have attended Ramdev's camp... It was a learning experience."
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, a regular practitioner of yoga and son of a 'vaidya' (ayurvedic practioner), who could not inaugurate the camp due to model code being in force because of panchayat election and by-poll for Patna West Assembly seat, drove to the swami on Sunday evening and discussed yoga and its usefulness with him for over an hour.
RJD chief whip Ram Chandra Purve said, "I used to practise yoga watching Ramdev's programme on TV. But there is nothing like live training."
