The family was "shocked, but honoured" by Modi's retweet
Published: Wed 21 Jun 2017, 1:10 PM
Last updated: Thu 22 Jun 2017, 10:58 AM
A picture of a Dubai-based teacher and three generations of her family practicing yoga has gone viral on Twitter, with Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi even retweeting the image himself.
In the picture, Pranita Lele - supervisor for Grades 11 and 12 (girls) at Indian High School (Oud Mehta) - is seen posing with her 85-year-old father, her 29-year-old daughter and her 2-year-old granddaughter at their home in Dubai.
Speaking to Khaleej Times on Wednesday (International Yoga Day), Lele said the family was "shocked, but honoured" by Modi's retweet.
"We are four generations of yogis so we feel very happy that yoga has been given this high value. It was a very proud moment for us," she said.
Lele's daughter, Pranshuta Ashar, first tweeted the picture of her family performing the "pranayam pose" (a form of deep breathing that supplies oxygen to brain), on June 15.
But soon after it garnered the attention of more than 3,100 people, and more than 750 retweets - including the Indian Prime Minister's one.
For Lele, she said yoga has been a big part of her life, and it's a practice which provides her with "holistic healing, both physically and mentally".
It was her father, KN Singh, who first instilled the importance of yoga in her, and before that it was Singh's grandmother who taught him the different techniques."This picture shows four generations of my family doing yoga but in fact it stretches back to six generations," Lele said.
A retired geologist, Lele said her father's profession was what first dictated to him that yoga should be an important part of life.
"He worked on very rocky terrain, at high altitudes. So the breathing exercises his grandmother taught him helped him out a lot," she said.
And when she thinks back to her first experience of yoga herself, she said she must have been just four or five-years-old.
"My dad started teaching me when I was very young. When I try to recollect the exact time it's hard, because I've always been doing these breathing exercises."
To celebrate International Yoga Day 2017, Lele and her family joined more that 2,200 students, parents and teachers at Indian High School on Wednesday, to partake in yoga sessions across the school.
In the auditorium, a program for parents and three generations of their family saw a turnout of more than 180 participants. But Lele's was the only fourth generation family to take part.
Calling it a "proud vision to behold", the supervisor (who has been at the school since 2004) said the students and Happiness Ambassadors led the sessions.
"Yoga has become a tradition at IHS and it was great to see all my girls take the lead in the sessions. They showed such composure and calm."
Kelly@khaleejtimes.com
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