It was in one of India’s most renowned yoga institutes that Anil and Meena discovered each other. “I had joined the ashram because yoga was my passion and something I wanted to do for the rest of my life,” Anil reminisced. “I don’t remember when I first saw her–but I do recall her to be an innocent girl lost in her own world. We started talking and I was surprised with her straight-forward way of saying things.” Anil soon found himself attracted to Meena’s smile, her maturity and her strength. He found her fearless, and never hesitating to do the right thing.
Anil and Meena Kumar are founders of Platinum Yoga in Singapore.
Before long,Meena too was captivated by Anil’s kindness and sincerity. “I noticed him for the first time outside our ashram kitchen when he saved a little mouse that was stuck in water,” she recalled. “I wanted to do something, but was not sure how to go about it—and then I realized somebody else (Anil) was already doing it without a care for the rain or mud or people. I knew then that he had a very kind heart and a strong mind.”
The two soon started talking and became great friends. They complemented each other—Meena had a deep understanding of yoga philosophy and was the best in theory; while Anil was the best in yoga practice, and a yoga champion. Meena inspired Anil to aim for the sky. “She gave me a card which said, ‘When you will spread your wings, this sky will be small for you’,”recalled Anil. “Until today, I treasure this card and carry it with me everywhere.”
In their second year together at the ashram, Anil proposed to Meena. She was completely stunned at the proposal, and told him to first get a job and then talk to her parents. Anil got his first job in Singapore, and on 14 February 2007, he met her father who agreed to the wedding.
After almost a decade of being together, Anil and Meena continue to share their passion for yoga.
“Yoga is to reach perfection, and I am trying to perfect myself with each passing day. It may take many lives to reach the ultimate, but with her I can do it,” Anil concludes. “We were good friends then and we are best of friends now.”
This article was first published in the print edition of Yoga Journal Singapore, which is now Yogahood Online.
