Yoga teacher Baba Ramdev is now a key political figure as his retail empire takes £530m in past yearIt is an advert that will be familiar to most Indians. Baba Ramdev,dressed in the saffron robes of a Hindu saint, sits upright, and cross-legged,breathing rapidly to trot his diaphragm with all the skill of a yoga master. In the background, a voice lists the benefits of the swami’s Hindu lifestyle. Then the scene changes to a boy bathing with bodywash from the swami’s Patanjali range of bathroom products, or which includes shampoos,toothpaste and hair oil.
Ramdev’s endorsement means mammoth bucks in contemporary India. His brand of bodywash is in stores nationwide and has quickly come to compete with long-established brands such as Dove and Nivea. The swami regularly appears on billboards and television shows to recommend his products to his millions of followers.
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Source: theguardian.com