Divine transformation: Anu Aggarwal taking yoga classes for children and the underprivileged.
She was the quintessential enchantress of Bollywood in the 1990s. One who hemmed and hawed for months before accepting the lead role in Mahesh Bhatt’s superhit Aashiqui (1990), remade in 2013 as Aashiqui 2.
A gold medallist in sociology from Delhi University, Anu Aggarwal was a model before she became an actor, and then a yoga teacher and motivational speaker. She has a doctorate in naturopathy and yoga, and is the author of the book, Anusual: Memoir of a Girl Who Came Back from the Dead, published by HarperCollins Publishers India, in 2016, where she chronicled her ‘unusual’ and muddled life.
Today, through the Anu Aggarwal Foundation, Aggarwal conducts yoga classes for children and the underprivileged, and helps people seek joy within and overcome trauma.
In 1999, in Mumbai, Aggarwal met with a brutal road accident that changed her life and cut short her career in films. She was in a coma for 29 days. While Aggarwal was sentient after that, she was half-paralysed and her body laden with bruises. Doctors who treated Aggarwal said her recovery was a miracle of sorts.
In an exclusive chat with THE WEEK’s Drive to Live team, Aggarwal opens up on the accident and the learnings from it. Excerpts:
The car you were driving ran off the road and crashed into a sand dune. You were returning from an event at the US consulate in Mumbai. You said you have no memories of the accident, but there would have been eyewitness accounts and other reports. What led to the accident?
I had memory loss, but with the help of deep healing practices I awakened a certain memory that was unavailable to me.
My life is unusual... my accident was unusual. I have no choice in that. On that day I ended up driving a friend’s car without knowing it had an automatic gearbox. This happened on Gandhi Jayanthi in 1999. That night it was raining heavily in Mumbai. I tried to shift the gear. The rain was so heavy that it was difficult to look through the glass. It was a dramatic accident.
Anu Aggarwal
I had just returned to Mumbai from the international yoga university and ashram near the Ganges, where I had not even smelled liquor for years. My body was clean. The car, after the accident, was in such a bad shape. It was like a deflated balloon. Nobody thought I would survive. I think the accident came as a gift from nature. I attained stardom at a young age. I had attained material growth before the accident. I couldn’t have had a bigger film [Aashiqui] as a launch in Bollywood. After a few years I wanted to move to the spiritual side. I believe the accident happened because the law of nature supported my spiritual growth.
Twenty-nine bones in your body were broken. You had multiple fractures and head injuries. Your face was paralysed. Doctors gave up hope. What helped you recover?
I have been practicing yoga since age five. Today, I have a doctorate in naturopathy and yoga. My body was fit and healthy just before the accident. If I weren’t as healthy and trained in yoga, the recovery wouldn’t have happened. It was yoga, coupled with a strong mind and body, which led to my speedy recovery. One has to be positive always. Most people cannot accept wrong things that happen to them. I was positive and grateful to God. Acceptance is a huge key in healing. My thought process speeded up my recovery.
How has the accident changed you and the way you perceive the world?
I have inculcated acceptance and gratitude in me. I have understood that nothing is impossible. I also realised that one should never lose hope. You can do just about anything that you want to do if you believe in it. I have become more compassionate. After the accident, I wanted people to know my healing process. That’s how the Anu Aggarwal Foundation began, which not only teaches yoga to the underprivileged and corporates, but also does a lot of awareness building activity. We work and help all who have faced trauma and challenges.
Around 1.54 lakh people have died in road accidents in India in 2019. What is your advice to rash drivers? What are the urgent steps to be taken to reduce road accidents in the country?
All of us have to follow rules. Wear a seat belt, use a helmet. One should not drink alcohol and drive... all that is important. But I feel it is even more important to check one’s eyesight and the overall health of the driver. Prevention is better than cure. When people drive, so many things play up in their mind. So, it is equally important to look into the mental health of the driver. It sounds far-fetched, but when someone applies for a license, their mental ability has to be checked. They must be aware of basic things. Any disability can trigger off something.
In a still from Aashiqui
Does yoga help one recover from injuries faster?
Yes, it does. I lead a yogic lifestyle. So, I look at life holistically.
To prevent accidents and speed up recovery, we should wake up early, have good eating habits. Your lifestyle should suit the healing process in you. Your fever may subside with a tablet. But in yoga it is not like that. There are many asanas that help you heal faster.
These days you are talking to a lot of trauma victims. How do you help them recover from a sense of loss?
Trauma can happen because of anything. I am a survivor. I have had post-traumatic stress disorder. There are simple, energetic practices that take you away from a conscious reality…. I am not merely talking about asanas. These are ways of deep relaxation using psychic mind practices. I learned cranial sacral therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy and science of happiness. The illness is at your physical level.
Any mishap is a trauma. We don’t differentiate between road accidents and other accidents. I talk to these people depending on their level of trauma.
Your book—Anusual: Memoir of a Girl Who Came Back from the Dead—came out in 2016, where you talked about your journey to stardom and the accident. You have hinted on bringing out another book. What are you going to write about this time?
My writing is infused with compassion and hope. My first book was well received. I also narrated it in my own voice; an audiobook was out recently owing to the popularity of the book. Since childhood I have been a great reader. I admire writers like Gustave Flaubert and Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
I realised people want to know a lot more about me. Covid-19 has shown me the need for raising awareness in people. I have always hidden from publicity. I haven’t decided what the second book should be about, but it should excite many.