The city beautiful is all set to welcome Prime Minister Narendra Modi and geared up to host the Second International Day Of Yoga.
Elaborate arrangements have been put in place to ensure smooth performance at the venue. The complex is divided into eight blocks where 500 master trainers along with their team members will perform.
Nearly 600 buses are being used to ferry the participants to the venue. 300 pre-fabricated bio-toilets and 30,000 mats are being used on the occasion. A full dress rehearsal took place at the venue on Sunday to ensure that nothing remains amiss.
Yoga Protocol Asanas shall be performed on the occasion. The Asanas are divided into different sections, beginning with the loosening up exercises, like neck bending and body twisting. The second section of Asanas done in Standing Posture comprises of six yoga exercises, including Tadasana or palm tree posture and Vriksasana or the tree posture.
The third section is in Sitting Postures, with five asanas, including Sasankasana or the hare posture and Vakrasana or spinal twist posture. Following these are the three Prone Postures, including Bhujangasana or the Cobra Posture. This shall be followed by the Supine Postures consisting of Sethubandhasana or the bridge posture, pavanamuktasana or wind releasing posture and finally Savasana or the dead body posture. Breathing exercises like Kapalbhati and Pranayama shall be performed next by dhyan or meditation and finally Shanthi Path.
In the run up to the event, Modi released a commemorative postal stamp on Surya Namaskara in New Delhi. The Ministry of Human Resource Development has taken up the initiative ‘Yoga Olympiad’ with participation from school children from government schools in order to promote Yoga.
Reputed Yoga institutions will participate in the International Day of Yoga by leading the demonstration functions across the country. A theme song for International Day of Yoga, named ‘Yog Geet’ has been released this year in addition to the Yoga Protocol of forty five minutes. This song is of 3 minutes and 15 seconds in Hindi language.
International Day of Yoga was organised successfully in India and throughout the world for the first time last year, after United Nations General Assembly, in December 2014, declared 21st of June as International Day of Yoga.
On Monday, the authorities were busy giving last-minute touches to the Capitol Complex even though there were fears of a washout after showers on Monday evening. The showers notwithstanding, preparations continued in full swing and officials were busy sprucing up the venue after the rain.
‘“There are high chances of rain in Chandigarh and nearby areas on Tuesday too,’’” Surinder Paul, director of the meteorological office here, said.
Deputy Commissioner Ajit Balaji Joshi, the event’s nodal officer, said 600 special buses would be deployed for transporting participants from Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana.Officials said all places, including those to be visited by Modi, will remain open to public though restrictions will be imposed on movement of vehicles on routes to be taken by the dignitaries. This is the second visit of Modi in six months to Chandigarh’s Capitol Complex. On January 24, Modi received visiting French President Francois Hollande at the Capitol Complex.
PU Yoga camp
As part of International Day of Yoga celebrations, Panjab University (PU), Chandigarh would organize Yoga Camp at PU Cricket Ground from 7 to 8 AM on Tuesday. There would be no restrictions and the entry is open for all the students, teachers, alumni, their family members and general public. No registration is required for participation at the PU Yoga Camp at Cricket Ground. Those participants, who got registered for the capital complex celebrations but have not been issued the ID card can also attend the camp. large number of participants from PU Campus, DAV colleges and other affiliated colleges are likely to participate in the morning yoga camp. As many as three thousand participants from PU would participate in the International Yoga Day Celebration in Chandigarh on June 21. One thousand participants would participate at the allocated block at Chandigarh Capital Complex with Prime Minister Narendra Modi; one thousand participants would be on reserve and one thousand other participants would do yoga at PU Cricket Ground on June 21. For last one month, the University has been organizing six Yoga training camps daily and large number of participants have been attending the camps regularly. PU has formed two groups of 1,000 participants each. Each Group will be further divided into 20 teams of 50 members each, which would be led by a team leader.
Sculptures dipicting yoga asana
Sculptures made from waste, depicting yoga asanas, have been installed at Capitol Complex here for the second International Yoga Day (IYD).
‘“23 sculptures depicting different yoga asanas have been made and these have been installed at Capitol Complex,’” Anuj Saini, son of late Nek Chand, the creator of the iconic ‘Rock Garden’, said. The sculptures have been made from waste material like ceramic tiles, broken crockery which have been the highlight of Rock Garden.
‘“Installation of these sculptures are a tribute to my father,’” Saini said. Nek Chand died in June last year. He was the creator of Rock Garden which has amazed people for decades with his unique sculptures. He used material like broken crockery, electrical fittings, glass bangles, bathroom tiles, wash basins and bicycle frames to make mosaic sculptures in the garden.