This past Sunday (June 22), the office of the Indian High Commission – Pretoria, celebrated the 11th International Day of Yoga with over 500 people attending, at the Union Buildings.
As International Day of Yoga (IDY ) completed 10 years, let us recall how this day was accepted by the United Nations in 2014. Honourable Prime Minister, Narendra Modi proposed to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to celebrate 21st June as IDY. In December of the same year the resolution on IDY, co-sponsored by 177 countries was adopted by the UN General Assembly and the world started celebrating IDY. This 11th International Day of Yoga was celebrated with great enthusiasm at the Iconic Union Buildings, South Lawns, Pretoria, with the participation of South African & Indian community members. The crowd included Yoga Trainers/ Teachers of various Yoga Institutes, kids, students, enjoyed the various segments of Yoga i.e. Yoga poses/ asanas, meditation and laughter yoga. On this occasion, High Commissioner Prabhat Kumar felicitated the Yoga Trainers and said,”A warm welcome to all of you. You have enthusiastically joined to celebrate the 11th International Day of Yoga on a sunny day. It is cold, the temperatures are low, but the warmth of the sun and the warmth that you will generate while doing the asanas will make this Yoga Day happy and successful.
And what a beautiful setting we have. We are going to do Yoga in front of the Union Buildings, the most iconic building of Pretoria, the work of architect Herbert Baker, who was also the architect of the Central Secretariat building in New Delhi. Yoga means union or unity and here is one more thing that unites India and South Africa. And we have Tata Madibaa Khulu Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela blessing us from behind.”-Submitted by: Durga Dass, Second Secretary (Press, Information & Culture), High Commission of India, Pretoria.
