On Friday, June 21, as the word celebrated International Day of Yoga 2024 the artistic minds of Fitoor theatre society at St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, put together a ‘Nukkad Natak’ - ‘Yog Aur Yuva - Tan, Man, Kaya’, to raise awareness about the importance of Yoga, particularly to the overworked young generation that experiences body pains at alarmingly young ages. The street play was performed in the college campus and also at Azad Maidan.
This session was conducted in St Xaviers’ College Hall between 3 pm and 5 pm. Approximately 130 participants from various courses and year groups attended the session, representing a diverse cross-section of college communities. Not only did the students participate, but the excitement was high as even the teachers joined in on the session, making it extra special and showing their support for the wellness week and community spirit!
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St. Xavier's College Celebrates Yoga | File
St. Xavier's College Celebrates Yoga | File
The event began with a short introduction to Yoga Day along with a few fun yoga facts here and there. Later, the event kicked off when the nukkad natak began.
“योग और युवा: तन, मन, काया” was a beautifully executed play that highlighted the importance of doing yoga daily. It took the audience on a ride filled with different storylines, showing different problems faced by people who weren’t doing yoga daily. Attendees were ready to start with the yoga poses and exercises after the play left them energised and enthusiastic.
Seanna D’Souza, an attendee in the yoga session, said, “Yoga always seemed interesting to me. I've been wanting to try it for a long time but never done anything about it. When I learned about the yoga workshop, I decided to be there, and ECC points were a bonus. After the session, I felt calm. There were no scattered thoughts in my mind or worries about anything. It felt great. My favourite pose was Vruskshasan. In school, I was told it would help me grow tall. I'm still the same, but out of all the poses, I’ll never forget this one."
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St. Xavier's College Celebrates Yoga | File
Radhika Kasat, the writer of the nukkad natak, said, “It took me two days to write the play, but the final draft after all the changes was done after a week. It took us around 15 days of day-long practice to perfect the nukkad. Writing wasn't that difficult for me since I already had experience. Since Yoga Day was coming up, Fitoor thought this would be the perfect opportunity to spread awareness about yoga, especially to the younger generation who doesn't understand the depth of yoga.”
Shradha Tripathy, the head of the Yoga Committee, said, “I was inspired to organise the yoga sessions for our college because I believe in the profound benefits that yoga can offer people. College life can be incredibly stressful and yoga provides a holistic approach to managing this stress, promoting physical health, mental clarity and emotional stability. It took around one month of planning to organise the event. We started with a street play because it's interactive and can captivate the audience’s attention, serving as an effective tool to raise awareness about the benefits of yoga. By performing in public spaces, the play can reach a wide audience, including those who might not be familiar with yoga and its positive impacts on physical and mental health. The yoga session itself lasted 45–50 minutes."
“This play aims to bridge the gap between generations and highlight the importance of yoga in addressing the new world problems,” said Aarya, the head of the Fitoor theatre society.
