Does Modi do yoga? asks Russia President Putin

Does the man who started the latest yoga fad across the country, and was instrumental in getting June 21 recognised as International Yoga Day, himself practice it?

ThatÂ’s what Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted to know from this IANS correspondent when he met him along with wire service reporters from 11 other countries.

“Does Modi do yoga?” Putin asked, when an aide told him that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had started a Ministry of Yoga. He was incredulous that such a ministry could be set up, and then smilingly asked why anyone would do that. He was curious to know if the man who wants to spread yoga, practice it. He was told that it was likely, though he had not been publicly seen to do it. “Really?” he asked, with a smile.

“He is a good man, and a personal friend,” Putin said in reply to a question from journalists who met him at midnight at the end of the second day of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum here. The meeting was originally fixed for 8 p.m. but Putin said he could extricate himself with difficulty from others seeking his attention, one after the other.