NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s love for yoga is soon going to strike a larger-than-life asana. Breathing in tandem with his yoga initiative for all, New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) is planning to construct a gigantic yoga asana installation on the lush lawns near AIIMS. Assisting the agency in designing the figure will be College of Arts and School of Planning and Architecture (SPA).
“We are in talks with the SPA and College of Arts in the design of the statue. A Surya Namaskar is under consideration, which will be made in stone or metal, similar to the charkha in Connaught Place’s Inner Circle,” said Neeraj Bharti, the NDMC official heading the project. NDMC first hosted Modi on International Yoga Day (June 21) in 2015 on Rajpath.
Last year, it held a gala event with 20,000 people participating in yoga asanas at Connaught Place. The sculpture near AIIMS will be frozen in a Surya Namaskar. This will be second such yoga installation in Delhi; one is at Indira Gandhi international Airport
Directions for the installation of a yoga statue at AIIMS have come from the Ministry of Urban Development, under which the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) functions. NDMC chairman Naresh Kumar has given orders for its construction with “good visibility impact”.
“The idea is to increase the impact of yoga among the people of Delhi. We hold yoga workshops and events in the run-up to International Yoga Day to create a groundswell among the public. We believe the sculpture near AIIMS will add to the beauty of public art in the area,” said Neeraj Bharti, NDMC official heading the project.