By OUR STAFF REPORTER
Haridwar/Dehradun, 3 May: The Yogaahar programme, dedicated to yoga, organic farming, and health consciousness, has successfully completed four years. To mark this milestone, the “Online Festival 2025” was organised, with over 100 Yogaahar members from various states of India participating.
Pawan Kumar from Haridwar shared that the experiences shared by the farmers associated with Yogaahar in the past four years have brought remarkable changes in their lifestyles and practices. He stated that this is Yogaahar’s greatest achievement.
Munilal Yadav from Tikamgarh, Madhya Pradesh, highlighted the journey of Yogaahar over the past four years, mentioning that the programme has continued since the pandemic, promoting yoga, organic farming, and a healthy lifestyle. More than 1,400 yoga teachers and key speakers have joined this platform so far.
This year’s theme was: “Creation, Consciousness, and Prosperity through Organic Seeds”.
During the event, speakers shared valuable insights on seed conservation. Dr Vinod Kumar Bhatt spoke on the topic, “Traditional Seeds: Conservation, Promotion, and Possibilities”, explaining that the Ministry of Cooperation will assist farmers through seed cooperatives to promote and distribute traditional seeds. He emphasised that preserving indigenous seeds is crucial for agriculture, nutrition, and culture.
A special mention was made of the book “Traditional Seed Heroes”, which has the tagline: “Save Indigenous Seeds, Grow Indigenous Seeds”. Author Dinesh Chandra Semwal explained that the book presents the seed conservation journeys of 17 farmers through engaging stories. He also mentioned that the editorial board of this book includes farmers, homemakers, scientists (Dr Vinod Kumar Bhatt, Pawan Kumar, Heeralal Kushwaha, Dr Roshan Lal Raut, Dr DD Sharma, Ramesh Chandra Mehra, and Ranjana Kinhekar), who voluntarily contributed and made efforts to engage with the individuals whose studies and experiences are included in the book. He also noted that the farmers mentioned in the book are part of the Yogaahar family and shared their experiences during online sessions.
Additionally, Dr Kusum Bhardwaj’s book “From Sensitivity to Resolution: Heroes of Indian Medicine” was introduced, featuring biographies of inspiring practitioners in homeopathy, Ayurveda, yoga, natural medicine, and Rasahar.
Sujit Chakraborty from Pune, Maharashtra, introduced an educational game called “Organic Seed Ladder”, designed to foster interest and understanding of organic farming among children and farmers. He mentioned that this game, along with organic farming training charts, will also be useful for agricultural science students.
The programme began with a video presentation by Ranjana Kinhekar from Maharashtra, showcasing major highlights of Yogaahar over the years.
Eminent contributors such as Padma Shri awardee Harman Sharma, Dr DD Sharma, Shubhadra Kunwar (Himachal Pradesh), Padma Shri awardee Chintala Venkat Reddy (Telangana), Shweta Badhani (Uttarkashi), Julie Agarwal (Assam), CM Rai, and Prakash Raghuvanshi (Uttar Pradesh), Ravi Aditya (Bihar), and Bhuvneshwar Rai (Jharkhand), along with all other participants, shared their thoughts and extended their best wishes on the occasion.
The event was hosted by Munilal Yadav, and the vote of thanks was proposed by Sharad Verma.
