What feeds Ramdev's lifestyle empire

As his multi-crore rupee business comes under the scanner, the spotlight is on yoga guru Baba Ramdev's vast health and lifestyle empire, fed on low-fat, low-cholesterol, organic and herbal products.

From multi-grain wheat to ayurveda medicines, it's a rich basket and claims to offer cures for lifestyle diseases like diabetes, hyper-tension, blood pressure and disorders of the digestive system.

The most popular health food brand marketed by Ramdev is health wheat, Arogya Atta, a shopkeeper in the Chandni Chowk Market in old Delhi told IANS.

"It is made of a combination of nine grains, including bajra(millet), corn and lentil extract. Breads rolled out of wheat is a whole meal in itself," the shopkeeper said.

Last year, several union ministers visited Haridwar to inaugurate Ramdev's Patanjali Ayurveda Hospital.

Union minister Subodh Kant Sahay inaugurated an herbal and organic food park spread over 95 hectares. The Rs. 500-crore park had begun growing and extracting compounds of aloe vera, Indian gooseberry, citrus fruits, vegetable and herbs.

Ramdev's first ayurvedic medicine counter, Divya Pharmacy, was set up in Haridwar in 1995. Since then, it has spread across the country.

Statistics cited by Patanjali Yogpeeth say that New Delhi and the national capital region have 30 pharmacies that sell at least 50 varieties of medicines made of herbs.

These have not been without controversy. Over five years ago, Ramdev was accused of using bone extracts for his drugs but the allegations died down.

Most of the drugs bearing traditional names like Divya Arashkalp Booti, Divya Ashmarir Ras, Divya Udar Kalp Churna, and Divya Churna are prescribed by the 'vaid' at the pharmacies in combination with strict diets of bottle gourd juice, bitter gourd juice, gooseberry juice, herbal pastes, neem extract, turmeric, multi-grain bread, low-calorie vegetables, fruits and milk.

The hugely popular yoga guru, who has become a familiar face due to TV yoga, has been in the limelight since a police crackdown on him and his supporters in the capital last weekend that also saw him evicted from Delhi.