After a two-year gap due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the main event of the eighth International Day of Yoga (IDY) celebrations on June 21 will be held in the physical mode at Mysuru in Karnataka. The event will be led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“Apart from the main event at Mysuru, another attraction will be Guardian Ring, a relay Yoga streaming event which will capture and weave together a digital feed of IDY programs organised by Indian Missions abroad on June 20. The proposed plan is to initiate the streaming from Japan, the land of the rising sun, at 6 am local time,” Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal told media persons here.
According to Ayush Secretary, Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, each Indian mission will organise yoga activities on June 21 as in the past.
Based on the broad pattern of observing IDY in previous years, these activities could include short functions, speeches, Common Yoga Protocol based yoga demonstrations and local celebrity videos among others, said the official.
The Guardian Ring programme will string together video feeds from 20 to 30 selected missions across different time zones into a continuous social media event of about 18 to 20-hour duration.
The Ayush Ministry has sought concurrence from MEA on which missions will be participating in the programme.
The event will witness the presence of the Karnataka Governor, Union Ministers, film stars, sportspersons, celebrities, revered yoga gurus, eminent dignitaries, experts of Yoga and allied science, local Yoga institutions and Yoga enthusiasts.
Later, Dr Ishwar Basavaraddi, Director of Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga, Ministry of Ayush shared Guardian Ring will end in North America by 11 pm in the night covering live yoga demonstration in 75 countries through-out the D-day.
"Also, as this Yoga day is being celebrated in the backdrop of the “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav” year, events will be held at 75 iconic locations like Shiv Sagar in Assam and Hampi in Karnataka across the country. The focus will be on ‘branding India’ on a global scale."
He also informed that a series of events are being held across the country and globe in the run-up to IDY and the 25 days countdown is being observed in Hyderabad from May 27, wherein around 10,000 Yoga enthusiasts will participate in the Yoga demonstration.
Sharing that “this time the Government is targeting at least 25 crore people who will be joining yoga events to be held across the world including India,” Basavaraddi pointed out adding that “Yoga has become an international phenomenon, with practitioners from all over the world practicing it in different ways. It has been followed by people of all ages and strata to improve their health and well-being.”