Mysuru may have missed the Guinness world record for largest mass yoga demonstration, but the district administration is hoping the city will set a new world record for the longest yoga chain, created a couple of days before the International Day of Yoga programme.
More than 8,000 school and college students created the yoga chain in front of the Mysuru palace on June 19 with the hope of breaking the world record held by an institution at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu.
“We have submitted all the documents, including video proof and photographs, to the Guinness authorities. We hope the city sets a new world record in that category,” said Deputy Commissioner D. Randeep on Thursday. He said that as documentation of the yoga day events was done in a professional manner, he was confident of leaving an imprint.
On Mysuru missing the record for largest mass yoga demonstration to Ahmedabad, he said the yoga day event at Ahmedabad, which was led by yoga guru Baba Ramdev, had managed to get an adjudicator from the Guinness World Records office by paying the necessary fee.
“Based on the ticket numbers, the record was given to Ahmedabad. Though we had more participants, they had not obtained tickets. Over 5,000 people could not enter the venue for various reasons,” Mr. Randeep said, adding that announcement of the record could have been kept on hold until after assessing Mysuru’s numbers.
Nevertheless, the evidence and all other documents will be submitted to Guinness. “There is an outside chance still. Let us wait and see,” he said. “In my view, a record has been set as far as Mysuru is concerned. The unprecedented support from the public was moving and was itself a record of sorts.”
The DC thanked yoga enthusiasts, networking federations, NGOs, officials and the media for the yoga day programme’s success.
