Saha during one of his routines. Picture by Bijoy Sarma

Dhubri, Jan. 6: At 17, multiple ailments almost left him disabled. At the age of 28, he won the title of national yoga champion. Five years later, he finished sixth at the World Yoga Congress while competing against participants representing 32 countries.

But that is not the end of Khokan Saha?s extraordinary story of success against the odds.

Last Sunday, the yoga master unveiled his latest triumph: a documentary titled Khoj, which explores man?s intrinsic relationship with nature and how yoga can help bring about peace.

Saha?s film has a message for the youth of the Northeast, who, he says, are easily attracted to the gun. ?Yoga is the cure to militancy because a sound mind and body is essential for inner peace, while a restless mind drifts towards violence.?

The documentary was shot at several locations in Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh and in parts of Lower Assam. It features some astounding feats by Saha, including one where he pulls a car by his hair.

Saha?s tryst with yoga began in 1972. Advised rest by doctors after surgery, he was recuperating at his sister?s house in North Lakhimpur when he came in contact with bodybuilder Biren Saikia and developed a friendship. Saikia advised him to take up yoga to stay fit, but it turned into a passion.

In 1985, Saha was awarded a first class in yoga by the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose National Institute of Sports at Patiala, Punjab. He was appointed coach by the Federation of Yoga Training and Research Association the same year.

Saha has authored four books on yoga.

The terrorist attack in the US on September 11, 2001, moved Saha into making Khoj. ?If people accept my philosophy of life and sense of national integration and global peace, it will be a reward for the hard work that went into the documentary,? he says. He has completed the script of another film on yoga and shooting will commence soon.