76. At the age of 80 I won a prize for completing 44 Sun Salutations in ten minutes...

I received this narration from Mrs. Vinodini Yardi as an email sent by her son. Her level of dedication to physical fitness and desire to learn new things is awe-inspiring. The original narration was in Marathi. Here is the translation…

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Thousand Moon: Vinodini Raghunath Yardi.

Contributed by: Vinodini Raghunath Yardi

My name is Mrs. Vinodoni Raghunath Yardi. I completed 81 years in May 2013. I am in good health for my age. My maiden name was Vinodini Trimbak Dhume. I was born and brought up in Pune.  We were six siblings, three girls and three boys. Now I have two sisters. I live in Kothrud. On my husband’s side I have three brothers and three sisters in law. I was the youngest girl among my sisters and the eldest daughter-in-law.

I did my schooling till the 10^th grade. I liked physical exercise since my school days. I have won prizes in acting, ring tennis, and Sun Salutations in school. In Kothrud where I live, there is an exercise class for seniors every morning at 6:30AM that I attend regularly with my sister. We also go for walks in the evening regularly. I can still do 108 Sun Salutations continuously. Last year a competition was held on Ratha-Saptami day and I won a prize for completing 44 Sun Salutations in ten minutes.

Before coming to Kothrud we used to live in Mukund Nagar. We have been with our son in Kothrud for the past five years. While in Mukund Nagar I used to Parvati with my friend every day at 5:30 AM. I adhered strictly to this daily activity for the 25 years up until coming to Kothrud. At Mukund Nagar I conducted classes for knitting, painting, crochet, shuttle, and embroidery. At the age of 70 I learned to do pencil sketch and I still like to learn new things.

My husband is a retired Income Tax Officer. We have one son who is a chartered accountant and has his own practice. Our daughter-in-law has a very caring temperament. She has a degree in home science and is an excellent cook. I have a friendly relationship with my daughter-in-law. I have two grand children who are also very caring and affectionate. My son and daughter-in-law look after us very well.

My in-laws were very nice people. I am glad that I was able to care for them in their old age. It is because of their blessing that we are leading a happy and peaceful life.

Since completing 81 years I consider each day now as a bonus. I have fulfilled all my responsibilities. What more do I want? I am fully content. I just pray to the almighty to keep me in good health till the end.

-Mrs. Vinodini Yardi