GUWAHATI, June 21 � The First International Yoga Day, which was celebrated across the globe today with the theme �Yoga for Harmony and Peace�, was also organised in the city.
It was jointly organised in the city by the Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS), National Service Scheme (NSS) and Sports Authority of India (SAI) under the aegis of the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports. Guwahati was among five cities across the country where the International Yoga Day was observed under the Government of India.
The programme, which registered a record turnout of over 10,000 people from different walks of life, was held at the AAU Veterinary College Ground, Khanapara, began with a yoga demonstration by the participants conducted by the Assam School of Yoga. This was followed by meditation and prayers for international brotherhood, peace, harmony and good health.
Delegations of youths and students who took part in the programme came from various institutions including Gauhati University, Assam Engineering Institute, Gauhati Commerce College, Handique Girls� College, Arya Vidyapeeth College, Gauhati College, Narangi Anchalik College, DPS, Asom Jatiya Vidyalaya, College of Veterinary Science, VKIC, Art of Living, CRPF, Chinmaya Mission, Marwari Yuva Manch, etc.
Addressing the participants, Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge), Youth Affairs and Sports, congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on taking the initiative to get the United Nations declare June 21 as International Yoga Day.
Sonowal also underlined the importance of yoga in building a health body and healthy mind, which in the process would lead to a healthy society and healthy nation.
�While everybody wants a healthy body and healthy mind, it is simple yoga for a few minutes every day that can make a person healthy both in body and mind. While yoga has been a part of Indian culture since time immemorial, the nation must thank the Prime Minister for having brought international recognition to it,� he added. Sonowal also congratulated the people of Guwahati who had turned up in large numbers for the International Yoga Day, and particularly referred to the hard work put in by officials of NYKS, NSS and SAI in this regard.
Later, inaugurating a youth convention organised on the occasion, PB Acharya, Governor of Assam and Nagaland, lauded the efforts of the Prime Minister in taking yoga to the international arena.
�Youth are the heart and pulse of the nation. But we must remember that a nation will remain healthy and energetic only when our youth remain healthy both in body and mind,� Acharya said.
Acharya and Sonowal also felicitated ten eminent persons for their outstanding contribution in the field of yoga in Assam. They were Yogacharya Subhasish (Guwahati), Mahananda Das (Barpeta), Prabhat Chandra Bora (Nagaon), Ram Charan Deka (Guwahati), Khagen Kalita (Guwahati), Akhil Sarma (Nalbari), Ranjit Deka (Bongsor), Manas Jyoti Bora (Nagaon) and Shekharjyoti Bora (Nagaon).
The youth convention was also addressed among others by Guwahati MP and former Union minister Bijoya Chakravarty, Prabhat Chandra Bora, president, Assam School of Yoga, Rajyogini Jonali Behen-ji of Brahmakumari Prajapita Iswahriya Viswavidyalaya, Guwahati, and former State additional chief secretary CK Das.
The Patanjali Yog Samity also organised several camps in the State including Guwahati, to mark the occasion.
Spreading the theme of �Yoga - a way of life�, the Indian Army camps in various districts of Assam involved the locals of all ages in the activities to mark the day. Yoga was introduced to the participants by experts and exercises conducted through demonstrations and audio-visual means. Troops of Guwahati Frontier of Border Security Force also observed International Yoga Day with a 3-day yoga programme. The three-day yoga programme which had begun on June 18 in the run-up to the observance of International Yoga Day, ended today.
The 1st National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) also celebrated the day. The Commandant of NDRF said that yoga would be an antidote for the rescuers who directly experience or witness life-threatening danger or physical harm. Around 736 personnel of 1st NDRF performed 25 various techniques of yoga at Patgaon, and at all the locations where its teams have been deployed.
The Office of the Commandant-128 Bn, CRPF also observed the occasion at its headquarters. Madan Kumar, Commandant, among others, was present on the occasion. Different yoga postures were performed by the CRPF personnel with enthusiasm. Kumar urged the personnel to practise yoga for at least 30/40 minutes, as it could be done anywhere and anytime with simple efforts.
The Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) Frontier Guwahati celebrated the day at its 22nd Bn HQ at Sonapur. SSB personnel along with members of Sandiksha (SSB Wives Welfare Association) and local people took part in the celebrations. A representative from Art of Living taught various yoga activities and deep breathing techniques at the camp.
Members of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force also celebrated the occasion at the Games Village, Basistha.
RS Virdi, General Manager of NF Railway inaugurated the International Yoga Day celebration camp at the Railway Indoor Stadium, Maligaon. Railwaymen and members of the public turned up in large numbers at the mass yoga conducted by Art of Living on the occasion.
The event was organised at the Sarusajai Sports Complex by the NCC where a total of 1200 cadets and students of Ayurvedic College along with different NCC officials participated. Sanjeeva Kumar, Principal Secretary, Health Department also attended the session.
Matri Mandir, a Guwahati-based specialised adoption agency, Prajapita Brahma Kumaris Ishwariya Vishwa Vidyalaya, Apollo Medskills and Maverick IT, a private firm, also organsied yoga camps in Guwahati.
