The attractive and articulate Vidya started on her journey to fitness in California, where she lived for many years after marriage. Having attained credits in instructional aerobics from the USA, it was but natural for her to get into teaching aerobics when she and her husband shifted to Pune eight years ago. During her stint as an instructor at a local health spa, Vidya found herself wanting to try out yoga. She enrolled at the Ramamani Iyengar Yoga Institute in Model Colony. "Right from the start, I noticed how deep one could go into yoga to discover oneself," adds the yoga exponent whose youthful looks belie her 40 plus years.

Soon, aerobics took a back-seat and yoga became Vidya's all-encompassing passion. She also delved into related fields like reiki, reflex action treatment, acupressure and aromatherapy. ``Alongwith learning, I eventually evolved my own style of teaching that incorporated healing. Here's where my background in anatomy and physiology that I learnt as an aerobics instructor helped a great deal.''

Thus, what started two years ago as a session for some friends living nearby, mushroomed into full-fledged classes. Today, Vidya takes weekly classes for small groups - not exceeding 15 students - at three different localities. More creditably, though she charges a token fee from the students for what she describes as ``compensation for my efforts and time'', all of it invariably finds its way to charity. ``I do not consider this as a means to earn a livelihood," she explains..

According to Vidya, the number of people opting for yoga has increased manifold in the last few years primarily due to the awareness of its immensely beneficial effects. This is especially true of the section of society that has been living life in the fast lane for too long and are badly in need of de-stressing.``Even doctors recommend yoga for many patients. I have more women than men as students and I guess that's because men have more reservations about alternate therapies and also perhaps female instructors,'' she smiles, adding, "The only disheartening thing is that almost everyone takes it up for curative purposes-as a last resort when medicines fail. I would like to see it being adopted by people more for preventive reasons or simply because it makes them feel good.''

Vidya herself admits to undergoing a process of perpetual growth and development in terms of maturity of the mind. ``I remember previously I simply had to have the last word in any argument. Now, I let the other person have his say and do not feel the need to argue even though I may not agree. It's okay. This control and self-restraint is what yoga is all about,'' she observes.

The high she gets from teaching a serious and responsive group is evident during her interactive sessions. " The rewards are all intangible. Like there was this group of conservative housewives who had never worn anything but a saree for most of their lives. But when they joined my class, with a little bit of goading, they quite easily shed their sarees and got into trendy tights and T-shirts. Now, that's what I call inspiration!'' But then transformation seems to be her specialty. Not just of attires, but also of life and attitudes.

For better or for verse
The inarticulate have never had it so good. There are always a few things you always wanted to say but didn't know how to. Well, the solution's all there on the shelf these days. You simply say it with cards. It can be anything Sorry, Thanks, Get Well, Best of Luck, Happy Birthday, Happy Anniversary, Please Write, Please Don't Write, Bon Voyage, Miss You, Welcome Back, Get Lost, Congratulations, Condolence, Engagement and a hundred other occasions (there are even some happy, no-occasion ones) that only the card makers seem to know about. Gone are the days when you needed a poet's mindset to pen in a few memorable and touching lines to someone. All you need now is a little dent in your pocket money (according to those in the card business, the majority of card buyers are between 17 and 24) and voila! you have it made.

Whether this trend is a boon or bane may be a topic for avid debate. There is a general consensus about most of these `special days'. Many feel they are largely a western concept with little or no relevance to the Indian context. Nevertheless, such is the apparent pull of all that is West and white, that the Indian youth has fallen for the bait- hook, line and sinker. What else can explain the phenomena of even cards for something as little known as Doctor's Day (that came and went on July 1) moving from the shelves, with some folks actually buying them to send to their doctors? That set me thinking. Now, what kind of cards can one possibly come up with for Doctor's Day? More importantly, what kind of verses? Roses are red, violets are blue, thank you for being there, when I had flu? Piles of love?Or then:

I may not have said it before But I really want you to know this
There's no one better than you In taking out an appendicitis
And there was that momentous day
When you took one look at me and stated for a fact
That a couple of years from now
I'll be back for a cataract
BP, diabetes, fracture, jaundice,
And the last operation that I just cannot forget
Where so skillfully you took the hole out of my heart
And put one in my pocket
Yours patiently
I decided I simply had to have a logical conclusion for this amazing bout of creativity. And what power is there in cards! Hardly had I despatched the above to six of the doctors I knew, that there was a reply from two of them. The first wanted to know when is/was this day I was talking about while the other thanked me profusely and has further referred me to the city's leading psychiatrist.

But, I for my part, have been bitten by the cards' bug for special occasions. Looking up the calender, its disappointing to discover that there are just a couple of such days in the coming months- Boss's Day, Forgiveness Day and Friendship Day. But then for sheer creativity, the sky's the limit. And the secret to the card game is simply to Indianise. So here goes. The planner on the wall is full. The days have been marked in red -Lawyer's Day, Hairdresser's Day, CA's Day, Dhobi's Day, Carpenter's Day, Cook's Day, Dabba-Batliwala's Day, Housing Society's Security Guard's Day, Liftman's Day, Bhajiwala Day, Favourite Batatawadawala's Day... Watch this space.