Hopefully, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other practitioners of yoga congregate on International Yoga Day on June 21 in Chandigarh, the prayer they chant will assuage farmers in deep distress. The spectre of drought has not deterred officials as they work hard to ensure that the second edition of the International Yoga Day (IYD) is a bigger and grander event than the first observed last year on the same date. While that set a record of sorts, in enrolling 35,985 participants and the most number of nationalities in a single yoga session, “IYD II has a got a bit longer,” said H.R. Nagendra, president of the 2016 Yoga Day and yoga guru of Mr. Modi.
Dr. Nagendra told The Hindu , “Unlike last time when the Prime Minister led followers to do yoga for 35 minutes, this time it will be for an hour.”
New protocolThe reason for this is that the Common Yoga Protocol — designed and deliberated upon by nearly 20 teachers drawn from institutes in the country where yoga is taught — has just got a bit longer with the inclusion of some relaxation techniques. Besides the 45-minute Common Yoga Protocol, a 15-minute provision has been made to include Pranayama (breathing), Yoga Nidra (cooling off), Dhyana (meditation) and Satsang (congregation of the truthful). This takes the total duration to an hour of yoga practice on IDY II, Dr. Nagendra said.
Two-day conferenceWhile Dr. Nagendra will join Mr. Modi in Chandigarh, to ensure that the event is not a one-day affair, a two-day conference in Vigyan Bhavan has been planned. “The idea is to popularise it in at least 200 cities. We have requested the Human Resource Development Minister to take it to schools and colleges,” said Dr. Nagendra, who is chairman of the expert committee on yoga for teacher educators and Chancellor, S. Vyasa Yoga University, Bengaluru.
To ensure that the pull of yoga endures, it has been suggested to the HRD Ministry to direct schools and colleges to observe the day. Dr. Nagendra said, “The HRD Minister has suggested to us that they will direct 650 colleges and universities in the county to organise a conference on yoga.” Describing his association with Mr. Modi, which goes back to two decades, the yoga guru says he would rather not be addressed as the Prime Minister’s yoga guru.
While Dr. Nagendra is closely working with the AYUSH Ministry, the Ministry will seek the help of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry to drum up publicity. The Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity will be releasing advertisements shortly in print and on TV. Last year, the electronic media partly subsidised the efforts by giving publicity to the event following a directive from the I&B Ministry.
This time, while Doordarshan has been asked to telecast the event, channels too will be roped in, sources said.
