A yoga Institute will be inaugurated at the Viva Chorao by the Union Minister Shripad Naik, Minister of State for Ayush. AJIT JOHN spoke to Rahul D’Mello, co-ordinator for the Yoga institute and Darryl Fernandes, director of the hotel to find out more.
HERALD: What prompted you to set up this partnership between these two establishments?
Rahul D’Mello: I spent time in England but I never forgot my Goa. I wanted to do something for the State. It was pretty obvious the culture was slowly being wiped out and it was obvious to see, the beauty of the place was vanishing. I wanted to bring something that had culture and had depth. As a singer I meet a lot of people and I also need some me time. I do yoga and I felt it would be ideal to bring it to Goa. I had visited the Viva Chorao and I thought it would make a lot of sense to bring both together. The Yoga Institute has culture it is over hundred years old and they were interested in expanding from their current base in Mumbai.
HERALD: Did you conduct any research on the ground before you went ahead with this move?
RD: It would not be just people locally or nationally coming to study but from all over the world. This is already happening with students coming from all over to study in Mumbai. It is just giving them a different location, a different vibe. Bombay is Bombay, Goa is Goa. The serenity of the place, the innocence of the place, the towns and the backwaters everything just adds so much more to the experience.
HERALD: How much will it cost to study Yoga at the facility in Goa?
RD: The teachers training course is a month which will cost Rs 90,000 which includes stay food etc, the other packages are around Rs 15000-20,000 all inclusive of stay and everything else.
HERALD: Who do you think will come for these packages?
RD: We are already getting interest from around the world, a lot of interest from around the country and yes Goa too. There are a few centres in Goa but they don’t teach the authentic version. It is all fine tuned manipulated unlike the classical way we will be teaching.
HERALD: How would you describe your property?
DARRYL FERNANDES: It is a nature lovers paradise and we never thought of ourselves as a resort and we never presented ourselves in such a manner and people have come over and enjoyed the place, the peace the place offers , the numerous fruit and medicine plants when Rahul came over, he had the vision and he pushed it forward. The response has been interesting. Yes we are getting interest from people from all over the world and the country but the response from Goa has surprised me. If you look at the people registering at the centre in Mumbai, 50% of them are from outside India.
