Hot Yoga
The continuity of the grey and black; smoky aura of the iron foundry was broken by the contrasting orange flames of the furnace in its center. The heat of the flames and molten metal, as it poured into moulds seemed to him so analogous to the fire within himself, moulding him into a lifeless piece of cast iron. Ramesh felt as if a part of his being was poured into the moulds as he saw droplets of sweat from his brown body mix with the grey liquid metal. In moments of self-pity he cursed the poverty and hunger that seemed to have forced him into this hot labour; where day by day his body melted in this fire to the lure of meagre wages that summed to some four thousand rupees a month. This was just enough to fill the four bellies in his family but not sufficient for him to send his children to school.
With such an income it was difficult to dream big, but dreaming as such has no costs, so luckily Ramesh could afford to dream. Across the street, just opposite the foundry was the ‘Hot Yoga’ studio. A chic studio with a flashy banner displaying well sculpted men and women and an exorbitant entry fee. Whenever Ramesh saw the ‘Hot Yoga’ studio across the road with its banner, he dreamt of joining it. He wished for a body like that of a movie star and secretly saved a hundred rupees for it each month. The ‘Hot Yoga’ course had an entry fee of ten thousand rupees and Ramesh estimated that he would need to save for at least nine years to fulfil his dream.
This dream; like new-found love, boosted his enthusiasm and got the better of him at work. All the while at work he kept thinking of ways in which he could save more and sign up for the course at the earliest possible. This made him forget the sweat, soot, and heat that the furnace brought. He started spending extra hours at work and the fire and molten metal became his best friends, as he spent more than half of his day with them. The sweat poured from his skin that seemed to glow in the light of the flames, as he shaped the metal into perfect castings. Day by day his hard work was showing up in his body that became lighter, radiant and shapelier. However, Ramesh was oblivious of this. He kept saving and working hard. He cut down his extra expenses, grew money-smart and looked for a job that could pay him better. For six years he was unable to find a better job, and continued to work at the foundry, when one day the foundry manager, who was happy with his work, told him that he could be sent to the ore refinery as a supervisor and he could be paid better.
Ramesh readily agreed, as any improvement of circumstances was welcome. He moved to the area near the refinery with his wife and two children. He saw some hope, a new avenue opening; with this rise in job from a worker to a supervisor. He was happy and enthusiastically worked hard at the new job. He was learning new things, about how the cast iron that was sent to the foundry initially came from the mines in the form of ores which underwent an extensive refining before it was sent to the foundry to be moulded into various shapes. His mental horizons broadened with this new learning. But he discovered that his personal expenses were going up. As a worker he wore some old t-shirts to work; as all workers eventually changed into the foundry work clothing there. However, as a supervisor he needed to be dressed up properly. He grew more conscious of what he wore to work now, and also what his wife and children wore when his colleagues visited his place. He spent quite some money on the family’s clothing and they even bought some new furniture. The raised status also invited more friends and gatherings and thus money and health were exposed to ‘extra food’. Despite all these expenses, Ramesh made sure he saved at least hundred rupees a month for his ‘Hot Yoga’ course. But his shapely body was slowly getting out of shape due to loss of physical work and the ‘extra party foods’.
Years passed by and finally he discovered that he had saved enough to join the course! He took the money and went over to the old work place and looked at the yoga studio. His eyes sparkled for a while, and then he became conscious of his clothing, he was wearing a shirt and trousers, but people went to a yoga studio in t-shirts and track pants. So he bought a pair of track pants and a t-shirt and came home. He needed to wait five more months before he could join, as he had spent some of the savings on buying yoga attire.
Five months later Ramesh was all set to join the course. He went over to the studio, made the payment with his hard-earned savings and looked around the studio in amazement, it was a dream come true! He was shown the room where the instructor awaited him with other fellows who had joined the course. The instructor was a lean and fit guy in black track pants, and a red t-shirt who briefed the class about hot yoga basics. He explained that the course would involve doing exercises in the ‘sweat-lodge’; a specially designed room where the temperature was regulated to be around 41 degrees Celsius. This he said would ensure detoxification of the body through profuse sweating and the heat would enable the body to become more flexible and easy to mould into desired shape.
As Ramesh heard this, he felt taken aback. This was exactly what he had been doing for years in the face of the foundry’s furnace! Sweating and shaping himself and 41 degrees was nothing for him. He had handled live fire with his own hands. ‘Where was the difference then in this class and his work at the foundry?’ He questioned himself silently, and recounted how that work which was much similar to this exercise was something he got paid for, and here he had to pay to do the same thing! He suddenly felt a lot of respect for his foundry work, something that he never felt in all these years. In fact he had even felt it to be some sort of curse. The entry to this studio had made this possible for him to have respect for his work, that work which had brought bread for him and his family and kept them alive. He felt tears of gratitude roll from his eyes. He looked at his hands and felt like kissing them.
His long wait for getting admission to this course, the hard earned savings, all his hard work to get here, everything flashed before his eyes as he listened to the instructor. Though the distance from the foundry to the yoga studio was just across the road, it took him nine years to cross over. Even though the principle of working in the foundry and working out in the studio were same, he realised how the former was involuntary due to his own mental compulsions and the latter was voluntary.
He underwent the month long course and felt grateful for it to make him broaden his vision of life and arouse within him a respect for all works of life. He then went back to his foundry work after meeting the manager, who was glad to have him back. Life had come full circle for Ramesh and he concluded that yoga happens when the involuntary becomes voluntary!
With such an income it was difficult to dream big, but dreaming as such has no costs, so luckily Ramesh could afford to dream. Across the street, just opposite the foundry was the ‘Hot Yoga’ studio. A chic studio with a flashy banner displaying well sculpted men and women and an exorbitant entry fee. Whenever Ramesh saw the ‘Hot Yoga’ studio across the road with its banner, he dreamt of joining it. He wished for a body like that of a movie star and secretly saved a hundred rupees for it each month. The ‘Hot Yoga’ course had an entry fee of ten thousand rupees and Ramesh estimated that he would need to save for at least nine years to fulfil his dream.
This dream; like new-found love, boosted his enthusiasm and got the better of him at work. All the while at work he kept thinking of ways in which he could save more and sign up for the course at the earliest possible. This made him forget the sweat, soot, and heat that the furnace brought. He started spending extra hours at work and the fire and molten metal became his best friends, as he spent more than half of his day with them. The sweat poured from his skin that seemed to glow in the light of the flames, as he shaped the metal into perfect castings. Day by day his hard work was showing up in his body that became lighter, radiant and shapelier. However, Ramesh was oblivious of this. He kept saving and working hard. He cut down his extra expenses, grew money-smart and looked for a job that could pay him better. For six years he was unable to find a better job, and continued to work at the foundry, when one day the foundry manager, who was happy with his work, told him that he could be sent to the ore refinery as a supervisor and he could be paid better.
Ramesh readily agreed, as any improvement of circumstances was welcome. He moved to the area near the refinery with his wife and two children. He saw some hope, a new avenue opening; with this rise in job from a worker to a supervisor. He was happy and enthusiastically worked hard at the new job. He was learning new things, about how the cast iron that was sent to the foundry initially came from the mines in the form of ores which underwent an extensive refining before it was sent to the foundry to be moulded into various shapes. His mental horizons broadened with this new learning. But he discovered that his personal expenses were going up. As a worker he wore some old t-shirts to work; as all workers eventually changed into the foundry work clothing there. However, as a supervisor he needed to be dressed up properly. He grew more conscious of what he wore to work now, and also what his wife and children wore when his colleagues visited his place. He spent quite some money on the family’s clothing and they even bought some new furniture. The raised status also invited more friends and gatherings and thus money and health were exposed to ‘extra food’. Despite all these expenses, Ramesh made sure he saved at least hundred rupees a month for his ‘Hot Yoga’ course. But his shapely body was slowly getting out of shape due to loss of physical work and the ‘extra party foods’.
Years passed by and finally he discovered that he had saved enough to join the course! He took the money and went over to the old work place and looked at the yoga studio. His eyes sparkled for a while, and then he became conscious of his clothing, he was wearing a shirt and trousers, but people went to a yoga studio in t-shirts and track pants. So he bought a pair of track pants and a t-shirt and came home. He needed to wait five more months before he could join, as he had spent some of the savings on buying yoga attire.
Five months later Ramesh was all set to join the course. He went over to the studio, made the payment with his hard-earned savings and looked around the studio in amazement, it was a dream come true! He was shown the room where the instructor awaited him with other fellows who had joined the course. The instructor was a lean and fit guy in black track pants, and a red t-shirt who briefed the class about hot yoga basics. He explained that the course would involve doing exercises in the ‘sweat-lodge’; a specially designed room where the temperature was regulated to be around 41 degrees Celsius. This he said would ensure detoxification of the body through profuse sweating and the heat would enable the body to become more flexible and easy to mould into desired shape.
As Ramesh heard this, he felt taken aback. This was exactly what he had been doing for years in the face of the foundry’s furnace! Sweating and shaping himself and 41 degrees was nothing for him. He had handled live fire with his own hands. ‘Where was the difference then in this class and his work at the foundry?’ He questioned himself silently, and recounted how that work which was much similar to this exercise was something he got paid for, and here he had to pay to do the same thing! He suddenly felt a lot of respect for his foundry work, something that he never felt in all these years. In fact he had even felt it to be some sort of curse. The entry to this studio had made this possible for him to have respect for his work, that work which had brought bread for him and his family and kept them alive. He felt tears of gratitude roll from his eyes. He looked at his hands and felt like kissing them.
His long wait for getting admission to this course, the hard earned savings, all his hard work to get here, everything flashed before his eyes as he listened to the instructor. Though the distance from the foundry to the yoga studio was just across the road, it took him nine years to cross over. Even though the principle of working in the foundry and working out in the studio were same, he realised how the former was involuntary due to his own mental compulsions and the latter was voluntary.
He underwent the month long course and felt grateful for it to make him broaden his vision of life and arouse within him a respect for all works of life. He then went back to his foundry work after meeting the manager, who was glad to have him back. Life had come full circle for Ramesh and he concluded that yoga happens when the involuntary becomes voluntary!
Comments
Post a Comment