How is Mysuru which hosted the country’s main Yoga Day event a couple of years ago preparing for the 2024 International Day of Yoga?
As the yoga day brings together the enthusiasts of the ancient art on a grand platform to perform ‘asanas’, it is obvious for them to get to know the scale of the event since the city once hosted a record-breaking yoga session, drawing the headlines.
However, the mood seems to be sombre as the administration was busy over the past few weeks conducting the Lok Sabha polls, and there appears to be no grand celebrations at least for this year as any mega event required elaborate preparations.
Nevertheless, the celebration on June 21 is happening and that too in the iconic Mysuru Palace premises. All the yoga exponents and others associated with the ancient art are expected to meet on Friday to discuss the plans and arrangements. The Deputy Commissioner, K.V. Rajendra is likely to preside over the meeting ahead of the celebrations.
The big question is how Mysuru changed after the 2022 Yoga Day event when Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the country’s celebrations from Mysuru?
Senior yoga exponent Sri Hari, who is also the convener of Yoga Federation of Mysuru (Yoga Okkoota), says, “The best part is that yoga managed to reach the schools not just in Mysuru but in other places and the celebrations are also getting decentralised with groups formed across the city after many started to embrace yoga like never before. This is a positive development that was foreseen post-Modi yoga day event.”
In 2022, many yoga gurus felt that Mr. Modi’s visit to Mysuru for Yoga Day would trigger ‘Brand Yoga’. “The event helped to promote yoga tourism for which Mysuru is well known. I think the importance of yoga has been understood with neighborhood yoga centers coming up prominently, considering the benefits of yoga on health,” argued Mr. Sri Hari.
Especially post-pandemic, many yoga organisations got registered and started to teach yoga. People started practicing yoga in a big way after COVID-19. “I think the event helped people connect with yoga in a big way. No matter, if the celebrations are not grand, the message has been reached and yoga has managed to reach most homes of Mysuru,” he said.
Other than tourism, another reason for foreigners to visit Mysuru is yoga. Like Rishikesh in Uttarakhand and Pune in Maharashtra, which are important yoga destinations, Mysuru also attracts many foreign nationals who want to learn the ancient art. Not just international visitors, enthusiasts from metros and IT sectors from key Indian cities also visit Mysuru to learn the ancient practice from yoga gurus.
The number dropped due to the pandemic but the city has started attracting the foreign nationals for yoga, with Gokulam, Lakshmipuram are among the localities here where they learn the art.
