Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, June 21: The Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the “International Yoga Day” event at the United Nations’ Headquarter in New York on Wednesday creating on the way Guinness World Record for people of most nationalities doing Yoga together. 135 nationalities participated in the Modi-led event breaking the earlier record of 114 nationalities.
Modi, who arrived in the US on Tuesday night (IST) at the invitation of President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden, led the historic event at the UN headquarters to commemorate the 9th International Yoga Day. The PM was joined by the President of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly Csaba Korisi, deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, and New York City Mayor Eric Adams. The event also saw several other UN officials, diplomats, and prominent personalities.
The event at the north lawn of the UN building was also attended by luminaries from the fields of science, art and entertainment, diplomats, academicians, technocrats and political leaders. Among them were the three-time Grammy winner Ricky Kej, singer Falguni Shah, actors Richard Gere and Priyanka Chopra and various UN officials.
Sporting a customised white yoga T-shirt and trousers, Modi thanked the people for attending the celebration. “I’m delighted to see you all. And I thank you all for coming. Friends. I’m told that almost every nationality is represented here today,” he said.
“Yoga free from copyright, patent, royalties… It is a way of life…Yoga is flexible, you can practice alone, group, learn from a teacher or self-taught… It is unifying, it is truly universal. It is for all ethnicities, faith, cultures,” Modi said in his address at the yoga event at the UN building.
“The feeling here is so open and embracing, I hope this feeling intoxicates the entire building. It’s a really nice feeling here today,” Gere said ahead of the event.
People from more than 180 countries participated in Prime Minister Modi-led Yoga Day celebrations here, representing different walks of life and comprising diplomats, artists, academicians and entrepreneurs among others, sources said.
“You can see the vibrations and excitement. Hundreds of people are lining up for International Yoga (Day celebrations) with Prime Minister Modi. Such a great feeling,” said Dilip Chauhan, Deputy Commissioner for New York City Mayor’s Office for International Affairs.
Ruchika Lal, Yoga and Meditation Instructor, Art of Living, said people are excited. “They have been waiting outside since 6 a.m.,” she said. People were seen standing in queues outside UN headquarters to take part in the yoga session since early morning.
The first International Day of Yoga was commemorated in 2015 and has since then been marked with several sessions and events highlighting the benefits and universal appeal of Yoga at the UN, Times Square and iconic locations across the world.
The UN underlined that Yoga is an ancient physical, mental and spiritual practice that originated in India. The word ‘yoga’ is derived from Sanskrit and means to join or to unite, symbolising the union of body and consciousness. Today it is practised in various forms around the world and continues to grow in popularity.
Later, Modi left for Washington, where the state visit will officially begin. At the Andrew Air base of Washington, he was given a traditional welcome by Indian expats. In Washington, he would end the day with a series of meetings with another group of industry leaders and CEOs. On Thursday, PM Modi will attend a dinner hosted by US President Joe Biden and his family at the White House. He would inspect the Guard of Honour at the White House, and later, hold bilateral talks in the Oval office.
In the evening, he will address a joint sitting of the US Congress. This will be his second address to a joint sitting – a first for an Indian and a rare honour for world leaders. Modi had landed in New York on Tuesday to a rousing welcome from expat Indians and later held a series of meetings with Nobel laureates, academicians, industry leaders, authors, mathematicians and medical professionals.
“Met a group of people associated with key think tanks. We talked about different aspects of policy making and the emerging global trends. Emphasised on the positive changes in India and how they are being powered by our youth,” Modi tweeted after the meetings.
Earlier, John Kirby, US National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications, said Modi’s visit “will strengthen our two countries’ shared commitment to a free, open, prosperous, and secure Indo-Pacific and our shared resolve to elevate our strategic technology partnership, including in defence, clean energy, and space.” India’s growing commitment to playing a more engaged international role, including in the Indo-Pacific Quad, demonstrates a new and growing willingness to join the United States to protect and advance a shared vision of a free, open, and rules-based global order,” he added.
Earlier in the day, the Yoga Day event organised in Gujarat’s Surat also set a new Guinness World Record for the largest gathering for a yoga session in one place with 1.53 lakh people joining the program. The previous world record was set in 2018 in Kota city of Rajasthan when 1,00,984 people participated in a Yoga Day session in one place.
