At BKS Iyengar's home, there are mourners but no mourning

Hundreds of yoga practitioners gathered at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in Pune to pay their respects to yogacharya B K S Iyengar, who passed into the ages on Wednesday. Rediff.com contributor Devidas Deshpande reports.

The atmosphere at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in Pune is as serene as on any other day, except there is a tinge of melancholy.

For the legend behind the institute, B K S Iyengar, passed away in the wee hours of Wednesday.

The yogacharya, who was active till the end, had a large following of disciples within and outside the country.

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Family members of the yoga guru and hundreds of practitioners, including foreigners, gathered at the yoga institute in Pune's Model Colony to pay their respects to the world renowned yoga guru, who practised his unique brand of asanas called Iyengar yoga.  

In a true display of yogic dispassion, none of his followers wailed or cried except for one or two relatives who were seen crying aloud.

An eminent exponent of yoga as enunciated in the ancient Patanjali Sutra, Iyengar was credited with spreading the practice of yoga to about 60 countries which he visited carrying message from the east to the west.

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Iyengar’s mortal remains were kept on the ground floor of the institute for those gathered to pay their last respects.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan was expected to attend the funeral slated for Wednesday afternoon. 

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Always full of life and energy that betrayed his advanced age, Iyengar evinced keen interest in art, dance and theatre as also in cricket.

All branches of the Iyengar Yoga Institute in Pune were closed today following the news of his passing away.

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Born in 1918 at Bellur in Karnataka, he came to Pune in Maharashtra in 1937 and after spreading knowledge of yoga, set up his own 'Yogavidya' institute in 1975 which later expanded to various branches across the country and abroad. 

The senior-most internationally acclaimed yoga guru had taught 'yogasanas' to many prominent personalities along with commoners.

He also authored 14 books on yoga techniques, a style that became known as Iyengar yoga. His books on yoga were translated into 17 languages.