Iyengar Yoga in Pune January 1977

Created by

Gilly Carruthers

(ne – England)

Wakefield

West Yorkshire

India 1977

Yoga, an ancient but perfect science, deals with the evolution of humanity. This evolution includes all aspects of one's being, from bodily health to self-realization. Yoga means union -- the union of body with consciousness and consciousness with the soul. Yoga cultivates the ways of maintaining a balanced attitude in day-to-day life and endows skill in the performance of one's actions.

Pune in 2012 – Hotel Ajit is still at the same address!

The cost of a visit to India in 1977

• Travel and Full-Board accomodation £340.00 for 21 days Full-Board in Poona at HOTEL AJIT, 776/3, Deccan Gymkana, Poona, 411004 – Telephone 56476)

• Delhi/Agra(Taj Mahal) etc. Tour - £60

• Yoga course £90 at

Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute

1107-B/1, Shivaji Nagar

(Hari Krishna Mandir Road

POONA 411016

• Spending money £300-00 in Travellers cheques and £25-00 in Sterling

33 people went on this visit which was organised by

Jeanne Maslen of Manchester and District Iyengar Yoga Institute.

Here are the people From Leeds From Manchester From Jersey

Lillian Biggs Denise Barber Marion Francis

Margaret Hopwood Tricia Booth Olive Neville

Rita MacKenzie Jocelyn Cohen

Marjorie Raynor Ann Dewhurst

Margaret Fletcher

Margaret Holland

Hilda Hooker

Ann Jackson

Peter Jackson

Carol Maslen

Jeanne Maslen

Maureen Roche

Margaret Shorrock

From Wakefield From Sunderland From Stafford

Gillian England Gill Essen Cis Hudson

From London Marjorie Harrison

Inge Davies Marie Stanton

Barbara Hicks Arlette Wicks

Joy Hicks

Molly Kelly

Henry kelly

Ena Kruger

From Bombay (Temperature:85F) to

Hotel Ajit,776/3 Deccan Gymkana, Poona

411004, arriving at 19:45 after the delays and

roadside repairs of loose wheel nuts and a

burst radiator.

Deccan Gymkana – the view from the hotel room

and waking each morning to the sound of tennis

balls and cricket balls.

A view from the balcony in my room.

Poona Bus Station.

‘Poona’ derived from the Sanskrit ‘Punyapur’ which

means ‘clean and perfect’ was the birthplace of the

Maratha Empire. It is 170 km. From Bombay.

Saturday January 8th

1977 – the first day at the

Yoga Institute.It took Rita

and I two goes to get there

as the rickshaw men took

us to the wrong place

where orange clad

Europeans moving in

circles chanting to the beat

of a drum.

There is great significance to the design of the RIYMI.

The 3 floors represent the body, mind and soul. Its

height is 71 feet and has 8 columns which represent

the eight limbs of ashtanga yoga i.e. yama, niyama,

asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana and

samadhi.

Ramamani

Iyengar

Memorial

Yoga

Institute

1107 –B/1 Shivaji Nagar

(Hari Krishna Mandir Road)

Poona

411016

India

My room-mate

Rita MacKenzie.

Her husband – a

doctor – gave us all

the injections that

we needed for a visit

to India.

•Smallpox

•Tetanus

•Polio

•T.A.B. Cholera

•Gamma Globulin

injection against

heptitis

My first visit to the Yoga Institute to meet BKS Iyengar and drink

tea. Seated on the left are Margaret Hopwood, Marjorie Raynor

and Lilian Biggs – on the right Jeanne Maslen.

Preparing for class which started at around 8a.m.

every day.

Pranayama class at night.

Iyengar doing his own practice.

Iyengar – this is how it should be done!

January 23rd 1977 The 3rd Anniversary of the Institute.

Iyengar going around Hanuman, the monkey god of

breath and meditation. Geeta prays and the guests

provide the responses.

Dressed in our finery for the

Institute’s Anniversary.

08:30 Meeting begins

•questions from students

•Light breakfast

•Discussion on Yoga by

Gurujee

•12:00 Lunch and replaying of

tapes of a B.B.C. Interview

•16:00 Tea

•17:00 Opening of R.I.M.Y.I.

Library

•17:15 Veena recital by Smt

Lakshmi Biligiri

•18:30 yoga film of Gurujee

Gurujee’s talk and sayings •Yoga builds up the intellect and

freedom and joins them together.

It humbles the intellect in

controlling the physical body.

•Yoga and gymnastics

Gymnastics is thoughtless

movement, not knowing what is

or what is coming. It does not

demand intellectual knowledge.

There is motion only.

Marjorie, Jeanne, Iyengar, Denise,?, Arlette,

Margaret and Margaret.

Ina in discussion with Iyengar after an asana

session.

Hanumanasana – the splits – with the aid of ropes.

Peter, Lillian,Marjorie, Margaret, Arlette and Maria.

A visit to the bungalow of Professor Shishani

in Pune.

Professor Shishani’s garden.

February 1977

Delhi

and

Agra Tour

30-01-1977 The ‘Taj Express’

05:30 Got up

06:00 Breakfast

06:30 Coach to train station

07:30 train for the 204Km journey from Delhi.

Reclining seats, footstools, carpets and engraved

mirrors of the Taj Mahal.

Fatepur Sikri which is 40km SW from Agra.

Fatepur Sikri is a

deserted sandstone city

because there is no

water in the vicinity. It

was built by Akbar after

a seer had told him he

would have a son, so

he built he city as

thanks and praise.

31-01-1977 The Red Fort where that night we

saw a historical Son et Lumiere.

Delhi Airport

Tuesday 2nd February 1977

09:30 Flight AI 707 to

Heathrow – 1650 miles

A nostalgic look at petrol prices at ASDA in 1977!

That was the price PER GALLON!

THE END Created by Gilly Carruthers(Ne - England Born 1950)