: Puducherry woke up to a group of yoga enthusiasts stretching out and twisting their bodies as dawn broke on Saturday at Gandhi Thidal on Beach Road.
Morning walkers and joggers watched while a few joined the bhajans and free yoga classes were held at the venue. As the 23rd International Yoga Festival was drawing to a close on Saturday, the participants meditated and demonstrated asanas in the morning.
Organised by the Department of Tourism, Government of Puducherry, more than 800 candidates from 18 states across different parts of the country participated in the yoga festival. The International Yoga Festival in Puducherry has a long history dating back to 1992.
Director of Tourism R.Mounissamy who was present at the morning yoga session in Gandhi Thidal, said several yogasana competitions and discourses were held during three-day international yoga festival.
He added that cultural programmes were organised in the evenings. Local cultural teams like Natyanjali, students from Bharathiar Palkalaikoodam entertained the audience in the evening during the festival. Dr. Pramod Kumar from Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences delivered a lecture on meditation. Prizes were distributed to winners on Saturday evening.
The teams were categorised into six groups based on the age group of the participants.
The overall championship was bagged by Arti. S (16-20 years group) from Karur district in the female category and Dharanidaran from Tirupur (10-15 years group) in the male category.
Four winners were selected from each category and 64 prizes distributed to the winners at the valedictory function held on Saturday evening. The maximum number of participants was from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
Raj Bhavan MLA K. Lakshminarayanan, Puducherry Tourism Development Corporation Chairman M.N.R.Balan and other officials participated in the programme.
