Four yoga gurus — including a woman expert— will share the dais with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ayush Minister Sripad Naik to lead the country in celebrating the maiden Yoga International Day on June 21 at Capital’s Rajpath where 35,000 people are expected to participate.
The yoga gurus are Baba Ramdev, HR Nagendra, chancellor of Karnataka-based University S-VYASA, Hansaji Jaydev Jogender of Mumbai-based The Yoga Institute and Swami Atma Priyananda, Vice-Chancellor, Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda University, Belur Math, Howrah. Only bureaucrat accompanying them at the stage will be Ayush Secretary Nilanjan Sanyal, who will present Vote of Thanks for the event.
While none of those sitting on the dais would perform at the 35 minutes programme, the officials from the Ayush Ministry are keeping their fingers crossed, hoping that the event would be able to surpass the existing record for the largest yoga class which was set in November 2005.
Vivekanand Kendra at Jiwaji University in Gwalior had made the record by holding an 18-minute class involving 29,973 students, drawn from 362 schools.
“This is a Government function and participation is voluntary. We hope that people including students from the schools in Delhi and NCR region, NCC Cadets, CRPF and volunteers and members of Resident Welfare Associations through various yoga institutions will come in a large number to make the event a success,” said a senior official from the Ayush Ministry.
The anxiety to grab the Guinness record is not unwanted with none other than but the Prime Minister himself supervising the mega event which is being held world-over after the UN passed a resolution in this regard last year at his initiation on behalf of India.
However, in a setback to the Ministry, Brahamkumaris, one of the largest spiritual organisations, has decided not to participate in the event citing difference in the forms of yoga they believe in.