Bellur (Kolar district):

Bellur Krishnamachar Sundaraja Iyengar may never have become a famed global yoga guru, had he been attentive in his English class. Iyengar, who failed his English exam in class 10, didn’t go on to college; he took up yoga.

On Wednesday, the tiny village of Bellur in Kolar district of Karnataka, with a population of around 1,000, paid homage to the man who was born here 96 years ago. As news of BKS Iyengar’s death spread in the morning, the village folk assembled in front of the grama panchayat building in tribute.

The Brahmin boy from this dusty village had to move to Bangalore at the age of six for a formal education, as the nearest school was 20km away. This had always rankled Iyengar, who would tell his scores of disciples that all children should have a proper education.

VS Nagesh, principal of Ramamani Sundaraja Iyengar Composite Junior College, told TOI that had BKS passed his SSC examination, he would have gone on to college and maybe opted for a government job. “In that case, yoga would not have reached the rest of the world,” said Nagesh.

BKS had always dreamt of developing Bellur as a global yoga centre, and was working out the modalities, helped by his elder daughter and lone son, who have also taken up yoga.

A frequent visitor to Bellur, he was here last April for the 150th ceremony of his late father and took part in the Anna Santharpane. He spent a couple of weeks at the village, said Govindarajalu, administrator of the trust running his institutions. Former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda met Iyengar here in May and learnt a few yoga lessons from the master.

His youngest daughter, BJS Savitha Raghu, who lives in Bangalore, said it was her father’s dream to provide a good education and healthcare facilities to children. This led to a primary school in Bellur, started in 1967 in memory of his parents. A high school was started in 2005 for his wife Ramamani, and today, the Bellur Krishnamachar Seshamma Smaraka Nidhi Trust runs the Ramamani Sundaraja Iyengar College.

The Trust has also set up a charitable hospital, taken up renovation of temples and other developmental activities.

BKS leaves behind six children and thousands of disciples across the globe. Family insiders say the deaths of two of his sons-in-law in the span of a year may have affected his health.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Bangalore / TNN / August 21st, 2014