The popularity of yoga has extended to outdoor venues as well

Bishalgarh (West Tripura), June 27: Tripura’s lethargic employees have taken to yoga with a vengeance.

So much so that subdivisional officer of Bishalgarh, Brijesh Pande, has ordered his office staff to attend yoga classes six days a week after office hours.

“Last Tuesday, I had issued a circular directing the employees to practise yoga after duty hours. Their jaded looks and lack of will to work prompted me to take the decision,” the young IAS officer said.

Pande himself meditates regularly and has been practising yoga since childhood.

“It is highly refreshing,” he added, hoping to lead by example.

Offices in the state are usually deserted after 5pm. But with his initiative, these days yoga enthusiasts stay back after work to join the feel-good regime.

At 5.15pm, more than 40 employees, including women, take to freehand exercises before the yoga session under the guidance of instructor Niranjan Bhattacharya in the spacious conference hall adjoining the SDO office. The training session ends at 5.30pm.

“Pande has asked them to undergo training in yoga and freehand exercises under my guidance from June 25 to July 7 except on Sundays. He has requested me to conduct the training classes as an expert,” Bhattacharya said.

He is a known yoga specialist and runs a gym near the SDO office.

“I am thankful to former SDO Subrata Debbarma who helped with funds to set up the gym. I owe a lot to him and am only repaying the debt by conducting the training session free of cost,” Bhattacharya said.

“Even women employees in the forties have evinced keen interest in yoga classes. I hope they will benefit from it if they continue to practise yoga at home after the training is over.”

The results are there for all to see. Sunanda Bhadra, 41, an upper division clerk and mother of two, looks radiant after exercising for half an hour.

“I have undergone training for only two days but it is really refreshing as I feel much better after the exercise session. I will continue the exercises after the formal training is over,” she gushed.

Her colleagues, including several elderly women, echoed her.