86-year-old Gowda displays his agility on Yoga Day

JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda was a cynosure of all eyes on Thursday, when he allowed shutterbugs snap away at him while he performed yoga to mark the fourth International Yoga Day.While Gowda allowed photographers and videographers capture him striking various yoga postures from his bedroom quarters at his Padmanabhanagar residence, his son and Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy however gave the Yoga Day event a skip and chose to hold the ‘Janata Darshan’.

Recently, Gowda had announced that he would publicly perform yoga, a statement which came on the day that Prime Minister Narendra Modi threw a fitness challenge at Kumaraswamy. In a manner of snubbing Modi, Gowda had said that he would perform yoga, instead of “making speeches”. He however could live up to his word, as the organisers who had invited him for the Yoga Day event, failed to send him an invite. This forced Gowda to invite the media to his house instead.

Clad in white kurta and pyjama, the 86-year-old Gowda performed ‘aasanas’ such as Sarvangaasaana, Halaasana and Veerasana, all the while being instructed by his yoga instructor Karthik.

Stating that he has been physically active all of his adult life, Gowda said, “I started off as a contractor at the age of 23. At that time, all I owned was a cycle. I used to start my work at 5 am and would cycle 70 to 80 km everyday. What better an exercise can one ask for? I have always been physically active and a moderate eater. This is the secret of my good health.”