Twelve years old Samridhhi Pandey, a New Town resident, woke up at 4 am and rushed to his school SPK Jain Futuristic Academy for attending a yoga session.
At Mahanayak Uttam Kumar (Tollygunge) and Esplanade stations, Metro railway officials performed yoga on the platform around 6.30 am while passengers were waiting for their trains.
At Mohar Kunja, a park near Victoria Memorial, the yoga session ended with distribution of jhaal muri among participants.
All could not make it to the Red Road for joining the Prime Minister’s mega event for the 12 International Day of Yoga, but an awareness for healthy living set the tone of their Sunday. From schools, colleges, hospitals to workplaces including govt offices, housing complexes, parks and clubs, people stretched together in the fervour of Yoga 365, a nationwide wellness campaign by the Ministry of Ayush, which aimed at making yoga a daily habit rather than a single-day celebration.
Gated communities across the city mostly watched the Red Road event on TV and then participated in similar yoga sessions organised on their campuses. Lions Club of Urbana at Anandapur had two yoga sessions — one for kids and the other for adults, in which 50% of the participants were women. Tarun Kumar Basu, president of Lions Club at Urbana, said, “About 200 participants were part of the event that made a different Sunday mood in all.”
Debasish Basu, secretary of South City Apartments, said, “About 55 residents, from a nine-year-old child to an octogenarian, did yoga together. They made registrations for participations.” Siddha Pines complex’s residents performed asanas under the guidance of a dedicated yoga instructor. Manav Mehra, secretary of the complex, said, “Usually we do yoga in batches. On this day, all of us did it together.”
City schools and colleges saw the participation of both students and teachers in yoga sessions for celebrating the day. St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous), Kolkata, in association with the St. Xavier’s College (Calcutta) Alumni Association, the Students’ Council, and the NSS and NCC departments, observed International Yoga Day on the college campus. Principal Father Dominic Savio highlighted the importance of yoga in promoting physical and mental well-being, stating, “Yoga is the journey of the self, through the self, to the self. We saw active participation from students, both past and present, reaffirming the institution’s commitment to a healthy, balanced, and sustainable lifestyle.”
Simran Sanghera, principal of Asian International School, said, “A total of 26 students and 4 teachers were part of the main event. Not only that, we also hosted a mass yoga presentation on our campus.”
Sanjay Barua, headmaster of Naraindass Bangur Memorial School, said, “All our students came to school by 6.30 am, and we held a session around the same time the main yoga event was underway on Red Road. We were surprised to see the immense energy among the students, and they were very excited to participate.” Raja Dey, headmaster of Mitra Institution, Bhowanipore, said, “It was a sunny morning, and the students were highly enthusiastic about participating in the yoga session. Our teachers were right there with them, and it turned out to be a very refreshing morning for all of us.”
Aligning with the mega event on Red Road, all principal heads of departments, other senior officers and staff participated in a yoga session with the rest of the country through video link at Metro Rail Bhavan. A similar session was organised at Noapara carshed for officials as well.
The Calcutta High Court judges observed the day at the Judges’ Lounge of the Sesquicentenary Building around 9.30 am. The West Bengal circle of the postal department also organised a special yoga camp at GPO. From the lush green fields to the training halls, the spirit of Yoga resonated across Sports Authority of India (SAI) NSEC Kolkata, bringing together athletes, students and officials.
The Kolkata (NSCBI) airport’s yoga session for officials was conducted under the guidance of Brahma Kumari Yoga Expert who highlighted the importance of yoga in achieving physical, mental, and emotional balance.
About 100 members of Eastern Metropolitan Club off Bypass attended a session from 8 am to 9 am. The members of Confederation of West Bengal Trade Associations’ (CWBTA) had their session at Mohar Kunja around 6 am. Sushil Poddar, its president, said, “The central theme of the event was 'yoga for everyone’. We served Jhalmuri to all.”
In keeping with the theme of the celebration this year — 'yoga for healthy ageing’ — the doctors, nurses and other staff of Desun Hospital held a yoga session. Charnock Lohia Hospital also held a yoga camp to mark the day.