10 hours ago
- General
- New Indian Express
Yoga transforms rural Gadag
GADAG: Leaving home is a rite of passage. And it is not easy to return. This is the story of youngsters everywhere. Lohit Kasar (38), an engineer and yoga trainer from Gadag, is on a mission — his message is simple: stay rooted, stay calm; jobs are where you are.
Lohit's key tool kit is yoga. He conducts free yoga and meditation classes and spreads awareness on the pitfalls of migration mostly in rural parts of Gadag. Lohit has been encouraging youths to take up agriculture in a big way and the asanas are an aid to stay focused.
Lohit went to Bengaluru like other engineering graduates, but was attracted towards yoga after he came in contact with some of the staff of the Art of Living organisation. He joined the Youth Leadership and Training programme and started teaching yoga for free in his spare time. Now Lohit has given free yoga training programmes in nearly 200 villages of Gadag district and given free Sudarshan Kriya, Meditation, Pranayam and yogasana sessions in Bengaluru, Belagavi, Chikmagalur, Haveri and other places.
Lohit has been interested in yoga while studying 6th standard and joined classes in his school days at Gadag. While he was studying engineering, he saw many youths from North Karnataka who come from rural areas to work for less salaries even though they have agriculture land and employment opportunities in their native places. After engineering, Lohit started his own consulting solution firm. He wanted to visit villages and create awareness about migration and teach yoga. He approached various gram panchayats and took permissions and organised a series of yoga classes and awareness sessions.
The migration awareness programmes along with yoga sessions have opened up new paths for several youths who used to work in Bengaluru and other cities.
Mallikarjun Shigli, one of the youths who attended Lohit's sessions, has started sandalwood cultivation in his village. Gangadhar Hiremath, another youth, started selling cow dung dhoophas and other products.
