MUMBAI
Nearly 20 years ago, when Dr Bijaykumar Maharana came to Mumbai to take his master's in philosophy, he had not fathomed the journey he would soon be embarking on.
This year on Teacher's Day, his book, 'Mission to Success' was released by Dr Rajan Welukar, the vice-chancellor of Mumbai University.
Speaking of his struggles to get a PhD, Maharana said: "I had got held up in Cuttack as I was needed to donate blood. By the time I reached Mumbai, I was late by 15 days; but going back was not an option. So I took up various jobs to sustain myself and achieve my goal. Getting a guide was a big hurdle. Nearly 30 professors rejected me as they believed I wouldn't be able to complete the research. But Prof Shakuntala Singh, principal and head, dept of philosophy at Joshi Bedekar College, showed faith in me. She only asked me if I knew what I was writing about. Being a man of actions, I did a headstand right there in her office. She smiled and instructed the people concerned to provide me the PhD form."
Thus the journey began. And on the way Maharana worked as a dabbawalla and a courier boy.
"Mumbai is a city of struggle; everyone struggles to realise their dreams. Even now my struggle is not over. For the last 10 years, I've been teaching cancer patients at Tata Memorial Hospital yoga. Over the years, I've developed many new techniques and postures, but it's a struggle introducing more people to these techniques," said Maharana.
To help spread the techniques he had developed, Maharana started his own centre, Issara Yoga Centre, at Antop Hill, and published 'Mission to Success'. He believes yoga is very relevant in today's age and practising yoga for just 24 minutes can change one's life.
Maharana's wants today's youngsters to focus on their dreams and be aware of society's needs. "I've been working with cancer patients for nearly 10 years. I've donated blood platelets 68 times and plan to score a century in this because many people would benefit from it. The youth of today should be aware of these things and help the society in any way they can."
His mail ID: bijay.mumbai@gmail.com)