Around 5.45 am, men and women wearing white T-shirts start trickling into the spacious compound of the Narikkuni English Medium School at Chembakkunnu village, located 18 km from Kozhikode in Kerala. Fifteen minutes later, as some in the group, between the ages of 40 and 60, start with their morning walk, a trainer instructs, “Line up.” Soon, men and women take their positions in separate formations, marking the beginning of another day of the multi-exercise combination (MEC-7) programme, which has become the subject of a political row lately, after the ruling CPI(M) alleged that the Jamaat-e-Islami and Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), the political wing of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI), were using the platform to further their political agendas. Raising alarm over the fitness programme, CPI(M) Kozhikode district secretary P Mohahan recently said, “Lifestyle diseases should be fought and remaining physically fit is important for everyone. However, the Jamaat-e-Islami and the SDPI are using MEC-7 for their narrow politics. The Jamaat is using it as a shield for its campaign for Islamic nation. Secular society should be vigilant against such attempts.” Mohanan was forced to soften his stance – which was seen by some as continuation of the CPI(M)’s attacks on “radical” Muslim oufits – after it emerged that CPI(M) leaders in Kozhikode district supported the programme. CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan also stepped in, saying the party did not consider MEC-7 a tool for communal activities. While a section of Muslim clerics also came out against MEC-7, their stand did not get any support from the larger community. Even as the controversy was in the limelight, Congress Palakkad MP V K Sreekandan inaugurated a new session of the fitness programme in Pattambi, saying he wanted MEC-7 to be expanded across India, and underlined that there were “no religion elements” in it. At the Chembakkunnu school compound, the trainer guides those gathered through the paces. The MEC-7 programme comprises 21 exercises in all, each for the duration of a minute, performed over 21 minutes. The brief instructions to the 130-odd participants are about the only sounds around as they navigate from one exercise to another – jumping jacks, ankle rotations, knee rotations, hip rotations, head rotations and so on. The sound of synchronised inhaling and exhaling fills the ground as the second set of exercises, focusing on breathing, begins. A minute later, with their fingers interlocked, the participants stretch both arms over their heads while holding their breath. Next, the participants begin clapping overhead, and then stretching their arms behind their backs and bending forward, as they exhale. The next steps of the routine are sit-ups and acupressure, in which participants squeeze the sides and centre of their stomachs. After a moment’s rest, they begin with abdomen vibrations, meant to strengthen muscles and improve blood circulation, and then toe jumps for the next minute. After a pause, standing with their eyes closed, they begin meditating. Once that is over, they massage their faces with both hands. After the final exercise, the participants break out of their formation to stand in a circle, and end the day’s session by shaking each others’ hands. The participants say that the MEC-7 programme in Chembakkanu began nearly four months ago, and has been part of their morning routine, for both men and women, since. It was more than a decade ago that ex-CISF assistant sub-inspector Salahudheen P conceptualised the programme, and now an estimated 1,000-plus groups which follow it, concentrated in Malappuram and Kozhikode. A public sector bank employee, K M Venugopalan, 54, says he has been attending MEC-7 sessions since they began in 2012. “I used to go for morning walks, but got interested when I heard about the programme and joined it in the initial days itself. I lost 3 kg after I started regularly doing this exercise. People from all parties and religions take part. Every morning, we meet for nearly half an hour. This gives a pleasant start to the day, apart from helping us build social bonds,” he says. Shafeeque K M, the instructor at Chembakkunnu, says more and more people are drawn to the programme due to such benefits. “Social life and personal relations have improved. We have two brothers who had been estranged, hadn’t spoken to each other for several years. But after they started attending MEC-7, change came, as every participant has to shake the hands of all the others before leaving the day’s session,” he says. Many participants at Chembakkunnu tell The Indian Express the exercise session has helped them manage weight, lower cholesterol and blood pressure, plus regulate their mornings, which otherwise they may have idled away. Aneesha, who works as a public relations officer at a nearby hospital, says that for women in particular, MEC-7 has been a game-changer. “This has grown into a collective of women. Homemakers get an opportunity to meet people of their locality and improve their bonds. We all live in the same village, but are not familiar with one another. This session gives us a positive energy for the day,” she says. Graphic designer Shiny, who is in Chembakkunnu these days on a work-from-home assignment, agrees. “Homemakers are now celebrating their social life. All us women participants at MEC-7 recently went on a tour and are planning another next month. We discuss our issues and look at how we can help a member in need,’’ she says, adding that the sessions have taught them a way to be happy. Usha, a homemaker, says her family was accommodative when she wanted to make MEC-7 part of her daily routine. “We rescheduled the domestic chores… I take a half-an-hour break from the kitchen. Earlier, by noon, I used to get exhausted both mentally and physically. Now, I feel the change.” MEC-7 Kozhikode district coordinator Asharaf Pulparambil says the controversy has not impacted the fitness programme’s conduct or popularity. “We are getting inquiries to start more such clubs… No religious element is involved in the exercise module,” says Pulparambil. He also dismisses the claim of Muslim clerics that the exercise is against religion, putting it down to their fears regarding the intermingling of genders. “Women have separate sessions at MEC-7 and they too realise that health is important,” the coordinator says, adding that they expect more units in Kozhikode after the present issues settle down.
