Conversations with Desikachar

T.K.V. Desikachar is the brilliant son of T. Krishnamacharya, 'the teacher of the teachers' and 'grandfather' of modern Yoga.
Desikachar visited New Zealand in 1995, to celebrate the publication of his book, 'The Heart of Yoga,' now a worldwide classic.
His student Mark Whitwell hosted him and organised a memorable public teaching week at Awataha Marae, on the North Shore of Auckland / Tāmaki Makaurau, New Zealand / Aotearoa.
(A Marae is the communal complex at the heart of the indigenous culture of the Māori people of Aotearoa.)
Questions composed by Mark Whitwell & presented to Desikachar by Diane Renker.
Camera: Alan Locke. Sound: Don Mathewson.
Production Manager: Louise Jones
Director / Producer: Johnny Gibbons
Executive Producer: Mark Whitwell
Produced for the Heart of Yoga Association by Livingstone Productions Ltd. Originally distributed on VHS.
This interview was conducted on the coast looking out to Rangitoto Island, sacred guardian volcanic island of the Hauraki Gulf.
"Desikachar's visit to New Zealand included a trip to Wellington to visit the woman who first caused him to study with his father, Kay Malvernan. His father Krishnamacharya had cured her of a life-long illness, and at the age of 27 Desikachar saw the very unusual sight of this Western woman hugging a Brahmin male in the public front yard. It impressed Desikachar very much to see this unusual sight, and he knew then that his father knew something very important and that he must begin to study his father's wisdom. (This was further cemented by the great J Krishnamurti, who studied Yoga with Desikachar and urged him to absorb as much as he could of his father's remarkable wisdom.)
It was a beautiful reunion in Oriental Bay, Wellington. Forever teaching, Desikachar reminded Kay, now elderly, of how to do her ujjayi inhalation."
- Mark Whitwell
Desikachar was responsible for bringing forth, translating and interpreting his fathers' teaching.
For further information and tribute please see www.heartofyoga.com/desikachar