Rajpath Prepares for Posture Perfect this Summer
NEW DELHI:It will be a Republic Day spectacle in summers. The ceremonial boulevard Rajpath will come alive with sea of people, primarily school and college students, wearing white, sitting in meditation and twisting themselves in yogic postures for half an hour on June 21 at 7 am to mark the first International Yoga Day. Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with his ministerial colleagues is also likely to be a part of the biggest mass participation in the yoga event at the historic road linking India Gate and Rashtrapati Bhawan.
The event at Rajpath is likely to witness participation of between 30,000 to 40,000 people doing fifteen yogic postures apart from the meditative breathing exercises, and simultaneously the same set of postures will be replicated at thousands of camps across the country. It is believed, setting a new Guinness World Record would only be a child’s play.
Over 150 Indian missions abroad will also hold same camps according to their time zone. While back home, commemorative coins of Rs 10 and Rs 100, along with a stamp will also be released on the same day. The government is also organising a two-day international Yoga conference on June 21 at Vigyan Bhawan.
The Centre has marshalled all its resources for making the first Yoga Day a success. “Children drawn from various schools in Delhi and NCC cadets would create a unique event to be telecast live across the world. From 7.00 am to 7.33 am on that day, the participants would perform yoga based on the special protocol prepared for the occasion. The 33-minute film featuring yogic postures will be played at LED screens to be put up at Rajpath,” a senior AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani , Siddha and Homoeopathy) ministry official told The Sunday Standard.
HRD ministry, through CBSE and UGC, has asked all the schools, colleges and universities to hold similar camps wherever possible. The NCC will too pitch in. “We have 11.8 lakhs cadets. The NCC too would hold yoga camps on the same day in all the institutions where it has branches,” a senior Army officer said, adding that the Prime Minister, while participating in an NCC programme in January this year, had called for similar exercise.
The process would start with a two-minute Rig Vedic invocation: Sangacchandwam samvadadwam, samvo manaamsi jaanathaam. Devaa bhaagam yathaa poorve, sanjaanaano upaasathey. The prayer calls for progressing together, discussing together, and keeping the same mental attitude. And the Gods accept the offerings given in unity.
Soon, the participants would relax themselves with three minutes of shaking of limbs, followed by 15 minutes of 15 specially chosen asanas like, Taadasana, Vrikshaasana, Pada-hastasana, Ardha Chakrasana, Trikonasana, Bhadraasana, Shashankasan, Ardha ushtrasana, Vakrasana, Bhujangasana, Shalabhasana, Makraasan, Sethubandaasan, Pawanmukt asana and Shavasana. It will be followed by breathing exercises Kaapalabhaati (two minutes) and Pranayana (five minutes) and meditation for six minutes.
It will end with with a pledge: Hame hamare man ko hamesha santulik rakhana hai. Isi mai hi hamara atmavikas samaya hooa hai (we have to keep our mind in a balanced state. It is in this state that my highest self-development is possible.)
The video prepared for the occasion features yoga teacher and writer Ira Trivedi along with scores of others performing the asanas. The government has named AYUSH ministry as the coordinator for the event. The government agencies including the police are treating the Rajpath event like the Republic Day. “Security arrangements will be in place akin to those in the Republic Day when all the approach roads are sealed and multi-layer cordon thrown around it. There will even be traffic restrictions as we expect nearly 45,000 strong participation,” a senior Delhi Police officer told The Sunday Standard.
While, the event at Rajpath would be high on optics, the government has also planned similar exercise across the country. The AYUSH ministry has given Rs 1,00000 to NGOs in each of country’s over 600 districts to hold month-long Yoga camps starting from May 21. The NGOs have also been asked to conduct other promotional activities like, Yoga run, free consultation to public, health exhibition, film screening, book sale etc.
What to Expect
● The event at Rajpath is likely to witness participation of between 30,000 to 40,000 people doing fifteen yogic postures.
● The postures will be replicated at thousands of camps across the country. Over 150 Indian missions abroad will also hold same camps according to their time zone.
● The process would start with a two-minute Rig Vedic invocation.
● After that the gathering would loosen themselves with three minutes of shaking of limbs, followed by 15 minutes of 15 specially chosen Asanas.
● It will be followed by breathing exercises Kaapalabhaati (two minutes) and Pranayana 15 minutes) and meditation for six minutes with music playing in the background.