 |
| Bikram Choudhury |
I keep people alive. That is why they come to me,” declared yoga guru Bikram Choudhury on a recent trip to the city. Dressed in white trousers, striped T-shirt, white leather jacket, cap and flashy watch, Choudhury is far from the ochre-clad yogi you might expect. But Choudhury said that the old yogi image is passe. “Nobody believes in him anymore. In America they call such yoga circus.”
If his image is unconventional, so are his techniques. “I never did the traditional yoga. My guru Bishnu Ghosh was also a consultant physiotherapist, so I was always given a strong background in scientific, progressive yoga. And I put in years of research myself to take Bikram Yoga to the level that it has reached today. I know how the organs work, I cure terminal diseases too using yoga and give people a longer, healthy life,” he claimed.
 |
| MADHUBALA |
 |
| MEENA KUMARI |
Bikram Yoga or Hot Yoga involves practising yoga in a room that is heated to between 40°C and 55°C for increased effect. “I learnt the effect of hot yoga very early. Even when I was a student, I preferred keeping the windows closed while working out. I liked to sweat it out,” said the three-time all India champion in yoga who has worked with NASA and has a number of celebrity clients.
The hobnobbing with the stars began in 1965, when he went to Mumbai for a short vacation and “couldn’t leave the place for five years”. “Madhubala, Dilip Kumar, Dharmendra, Nargis, they all became my students. Meena Kumari was my best student in those days. She had a lot of problems — alcohol abuse, emotional problems. But I learnt a lot about life from her. She used to tell me, ‘Bikram don’t go, or I’ll die’”.
But in 1970, Choudhury did finally move to Japan and from there to the US. “I first went to Honolulu, from there to San Francisco, Los Angeles and finally to Beverly Hills,” he recounted.
Over the years he has built up a formidable fan following in the West, including George Harrison, Richard Nixon and Michael Jackson. He is famous for allegedly refusing private lessons to Madonna. He insists that at his class, celebrities must rub shoulders with commoners.
 |
| MICHAEL JACKSON |
 |
| MADONNA |
About Michael Jackson, he said, “He would have died 10 years ago if it had not been for me. He had the deepest respect for me. But towards the end he became completely withdrawn. I went to meet him with his brothers, but he refused to see us.”
Over the years, Choudhury’s lifestyle has attracted as much attention as his work. In the mornings, he dresses in white, in the evenings in black. He is rarely seen without a cap or hat of some kind. Other prized accessories are fast cars and Rolexes. “I don’t know how many cars I have, but my favourite is one that used to belong to the Beatles. It has emotional value,” he revealed. And he takes obvious pride in talking about his Beverly Hills mansion. “But I don’t practice for money. People try to become rich, but wealth simply follows me.” The father of two is married to Rajashree, also a yoga expert, who works as his business aide.
Choudhury refused to disclose his age. “I am as old as I look,” he grinned. And the pace of his work is unlikely to slacken anytime soon. “I don’t sleep — sometimes for an hour or two, sometimes not at all. My guru wanted me to expand his work, cure people. I forgot to ask him for how long.”
But neither his guru nor his wife and not even his work can claim pride of place in Bikram’s heart. “I love myself the most,” he confessed with a smile.
At least he is honest.
