IANS-
The Embassy of India in Washington DC and all the five consulates in New York, Chicago, Houston, Atlanta, and San Francisco observed the 8th International Yoga Day, on Saturday, June 18.
The Indian embassy’s event was held at the iconic Washington monument. This year’s theme was “Yoga for Humanity” and the guest of honor was Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan, the director of the US National Science Foundation.
“Yoga has been the greatest gift of India to the world, and it has been a strong uniting force across geographies and boundaries. Both science and yoga are in synergy towards the prosperity of mind and body,” said Dr. Panchanathan.
“Yoga is deepening the vital people-to-people link and connect which is at the core of the India-US bilateral partnership guided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden,” said Taranjit Singh Sandhu, Indian ambassador to the US.
Sandhu said yoga helped enhance the spiritual, physical, mental and intellectual well-being of an individual.
“In the post-Covid scenario, yoga is helping in building resilience, health, togetherness, compassion and happiness,” Ambassador Sandhu said.
Similar events were held at the iconic Times Square in New York, Niagara Falls, Golden Gate National Park in San Francisco, California Museum, Sacramento, Crown Point Park in San Diego, Newtown Park in Atlanta, Grant Park in Chicago, Mahatma Gandhi Memorial of North Texas in Dallas, Discovery Green in Houston and River Walk in San Antonio.
A common yoga protocol session was also conducted at all the venues.
In the run-up to the international yoga day celebration several curtain raiser events were organized by the Embassy and Consulates across the United States with the active participation and support of community organizations and Yoga enthusiasts, and coinciding with the celebrations of 75 years of India’s Independence as ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’.
