Ufa (Russia): Narendra Modi may have led the world’s largest gathering of yoga performers in a record-breaking day of stretches and bends last month but fitness-obsessed Vladimir Putin has told him the exercises are not his cup of tea.

The Russian President today told the Indian Prime Minister that yoga appeared difficult to perform, and he had not attempted it. The topic came up when Modi thanked Putin for Russia’s celebration of International Yoga Day on June 21.

Over 33,000 Russians took part in the Yoga Day celebrations in 80 cities across the country’s 11 time zones.

Modi and Putin were meeting on the margins of the Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (Brics) and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summits in this southern Russian city.

“I have tried many things, though never yoga, though it cannot fail to attract,” Putin said, an amused smile on his face, according to a translation of his comments released by the Kremlin. “I will see what my level of fitness allows, but when you see real yogis, it seems that it would be impossible to reach that kind of skill, which is what stops me.”

India had written to all heads of state and government, asking them to join the Yoga Day celebrations. A handful of leaders, such as the Prime Minister of Mauritius and the President of Fiji, had symbolically performed asanas.

But Putin is the first world leader to formally tell Modi to his face that he is not sure about performing yoga.

Like Modi, who had repeatedly referred to the need for a “56-inch chest” to govern India, the 62-year-old Putin has striven to cultivate a macho image before his domestic audience.

The Kremlin has on multiple occasions highlighted Putin’s love for judo. The Kremlin had also released images of Putin, a former KGB agent, playing with a leopard cub that later attacked reporters.

But Modi’s fascination with yoga isn’t something that Putin appears to have quite understood.

In an interview to visiting news agencies in June, an apparently incredulous Putin asked reporters whether Modi actually practised yoga. “Does Modi do yoga?” Putin had wondered, expressing surprise on learning that India has a separate ministry (Ayush) tasked with promoting traditional medicine and yoga.

Yoga and Russia have a chequered history. Russia’s celebrations of yoga had stumbled against a speed bump when a central Russian city banned hatha yoga classes.

The ban, justified by the city of Nizhnevartovsk as motivated by fears that yoga could spread interest in occult practices, was lifted ahead of Modi’s visit amid concerns about any inadvertent signal that may be sent to India, officials said.

“As far as we understand, that ban is no longer in place,” Shambhu Kumaran, the joint secretary in charge of ties with Russia at the external affairs ministry, had said last week.

Putin today indicated that while the perfectionist in him may stand in the way of performing asanas, his government would promote “Indian culture”.

“We really do cherish and take deep genuine interest in Indian culture, and so all of our ties, including in humanitarian areas, are extremely important to us and we will continue to develop all of these areas,” the President said.

Yoga apart, Modi had hard economic possibilities to offer to Putin. Modi communicated to the President that India had shortlisted Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka as possible sites for a Russian nuclear reactor initially meant for Haripur in Bengal.

Local protests, backed by the Trinamul Congress, had forced India to jettison a plant at Haripur after Russia demanded progress on the project agreed on in 2008.

“This was actively discussed and favourably considered,” foreign secretary Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said.