MDNIY, a stupid world

By Sandeep Datta

I recently came across a strange world of yoga. I cannot blame anyone but myself for entering into it by my mistake.

It so happened that I was eagerly looking of a change of organisation for quite some time, especially since being married. I chance upon a job opportunity in Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga (MDNIY), an autonomous organisation under Department of AYUSH, Ministry of Health as Media Consult.

During interview, MDNIY's Director mentioned on three occasions that my role would be of an Executive Director or 'Vice Director' in this organisation. I smiled on all these occasions, thinking it is just a gratefulness of a man who believed I was of that much worth.

I joined this organisaton with quite excitement to witness a world away from stressful news world after a break of over 7 years. I was given a cabin and verbally assured that I was the in-charge of this section called Communication and Documentation section. I was told that I would be working with a lady colleague. My main job would be to take out the pending News Letter and Yoga journal for the institute, as it is required by Ministry to know about the happenings of the institute.

On the very first day I went across the institute with some sense of pride and joy of becoming a part of such fascinating place. The biggest attraction of it being the musuem. But it surprised me to notice everyone here was irritated and disapppointed to the hilt. There were others to whom any serios suggestion about the growth of this institute sounded like another poor and silly joke. They used to laugh away anything I would suggest could possibly take place and add to its much needed popularity.

It took me not much time to realise why everyone was either so scared or had develop a habit of laughing away everything. But what I came across was startling.

They all laughed at one person, the man who mattered the most in this institute---Dr. Ishwar V. Basavaraddi, the Director of MDNIY. At first I was quite surprised to see such a qualified and dedicated sounding person is laughed at by all. But I realised my ignorance gradually.

Dr. I. V. Basavarradi might have be some authority in practicing yoga asanas, but he is actually a person full of stupiditiies. That too of highest order. His very first pot-bellied appearance disapproves him to be the Director of National Institute of Yoga.

He conducts his authority as a schoolteacher in the institute. He views the120-odd students to all professionals working under his authority as shirkers or kamchors or persons who have come to him to learn basics of life and professional expertise.

The fact is he is full strange habits. Not wearing any sweater in the wintry mornings of December and instead wearing that in scorching heat of June is a strange feature, he is laughed at the most. But people in this organisation have been made to live with their finger on their lips. Everyone knows, but nobody speaks.

Humiliation and sense of growing inconfidence is something all from contractual to permanent staff has to live with.

The Director's role in running rather silently hiding the actual working style and happenings are worth investigation here.

The contractual staff is being exploited to the hilt of holding their salaries for three to four months, marking absent or issuing memos to the senior staff for being even five or ten minute late in office, forcing professionals do what is unexpected of them as official work is some of his qualities.

The most deserving are pushed to the margins and insulted on daily basis for no rhyme or reason. Doctors to yoga instructors, to administrative staff to even peons face it all and hence now learnt to laugh it off as the best way.

But under whose shadow such a Director has been given the powers to run a national institute certainly could be a big expose` any day.

I can simply say, MDNIY's Director, the biggest cartoon character I ever came across.