On the occasion of first anniversary celebration of Fit India Movement initiated by him last year, Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi interacted online with seven celebrities from different fields connected with fitness yesterday. Among the celebrity participants were India’s ace cricketer Virat Kohli, young woman footballer Afshan Ashiq , Veteran actor and fitness enthusiast Milind Soman, Paralympic Gold medallist Devendra Jhajharia, nutritionist Rujuta Divekar and spiritual gurus Swami Shivadhyanam Saraswati & Mukul Kanitkar.
The live online event began with PM Narendra Modi introducing Devendra Jhajharia first and asking him as to how in spite of being handicapped , he was attracted towards sports ? And the champion stated how his mother encouraged him to go and play with others since his childhood, even after losing one hand. He also explained how hard it was for him to prepare himself for competitions with determination and regular exercises.
Milind Soman inspired all the viewers with his fitness mantra, stating how he himself was inspired by his mother. “I was inspired by my mother’s fitness and watching her interest in exercises, taught her the right technique of push ups. And she still practices all the exercises at the age of 80.” PM gave him a surprise during this interaction, when he said that he had seen the video of his mother doing all these exercises. Talking about his daily fitness programme, Milind mentioned about his own passion for fitness. “ I don’t believe in going to gyms for my exercise. Even a 8 X 10 ft space is enough for me.”
Cricket icon Virat Kohli was made comfortable by PM when he first asked him whether he still enjoyed eating Chhole Bhature ? And with a broad smile on his face the dashing cricketer admitted that with the lifestyle changes, he now focusses on nutrition based food. When asked as to how he remains so focussed and active on the filed, he mentioned about the extensive work out done for this game. “ I am very regular with my work outs. Even if there is no match, I don’t miss my work out,” he added.
Young Afshan Ashiq originally from J & K and now playing football for a Mumbai Club spoke about her fitness regime and said that she begins her warm up sessions at 5.30 am in the morning. When asked how difficult it is for sportspersons to practice at high altitude, she did admit the challenges, but said that once you prepare at such places, it becomes easier to perform at places like Mumbai.
Rujuta Divekar spoke about the importance of right food for good health and fitness while Swami Shivadhyanam Saraswati and Mukul Kanitkar spoke about the importance of meditation and Yoga to meet challenges of the lifestyle changes. They also gave examples to show how these practices benefited in maintaining overall fitness.
The highlight of the event was the manner in which our Hon. Prime Minister conducted this talk show , posing the most relevant questions to these seven participants to extract the best from them to benefit the viewers.