Yoga day: No colour, caste or creed

New Delhi: Yoga has amazing curative and preventive powers for well-being of humanity and modern lifestyle related disorders, President Pranab Mukherjee said.

Mukherjee inaugurated a mass yoga event at Rashtrapati Bhavan to commemorate the first International Yoga Day today. Speaking on the occasion, the president conveyed his best wishes to all on International Yoga Day. He said that India is the home of Yoga where it was practiced over centuries.

PM Modi said, "This coming together with our brothers of sisters in other countries, brings our hearts and minds together."

"The reach and spread of yoga spans continents, cuts across differences of colour, cast and creed. In order to benefit fully from yoga, we must understand who is yogi. Yoga is a vision for harmonious future," he said.

Batting for yoga, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the state government is planning to include it in the school and college curriculum.

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu was among the hundreds of enthusiastic people who participated in a yoga session in Kochi.

Congress legislator Hibi Eden also attended this 40-minute yoga session at an indoor stadium.

Thousands of people from various political parties, castes and religions performed yoga across the state to mark the day.

Union Minister for Law and Justice D.V. Sadananda Gowda led a yoga session in the state capital which was attended among others by the 85-year-old BJP leader O. Rajagopal.

Amit Shah avoids practicing yoga

BJP president Amit Shah attended a yoga camp, but left hundreds of people disappointed by not performing any asanas.

"Amit Shah participated in yoga camp at Moinul Haque stadium in Patna, which was attended by hundreds of people but he did not practice it despite appeals by the people," said a policeman deployed at the venue.

Raje makes first appearance after row

International Yoga Day provided Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje, the perfect occasion to make her first public appearance in almost a week in Jaipur. She has been at the centre of a controversy surrounding her links with former Indian Premier League chief Lalit Modi.

From vriksh asan, the tree pose to ustra asan, the camel pose, Raje performed all the postures during the 40-minute-long programme, but she looked more comfortable doing pranayama and the breathing exercises.

US Ambassador to India Richard Verma was among scores of diplomats who attended the mega event at Rajpath. According to sources, there was a large presence of international diplomats among the 35,000 people who took part in the event.

Verma, who later posed for a picture with Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar, also practised simpler forms of ancient Indian exercise regime at the event.

External Affairs Minister had invited diplomats from 152 foreign missions in the country for the mega event. While top envoys of all the missions could not participate in the celebrations at Rajpath, representatives of many missions were present for the event, sources said.

It was a joyous day for hundreds of school children at Rajpath as they were able to meet Modi.

The excitement among the young kids was so palpable that they mobbed the PM when he went to meet them after the event.

Kejriwal, LG Jung maintain distance

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Lt Governor Najeeb Jung joined the Yoga Day event at Rajpath here performing various asanas, albeit on different sides of the road.

The chief minister, who was accompanied by his deputy Manish Sisodia, and Jung kept their distance at the event. Their presence generated much interest as the Kejriwal government and Jung are engaged in a bitter power tussle in Delhi.

India's biggest gift to the world: Rajnath

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said yoga was India's biggest gift to the world and it cannot be tied to a particular religion, caste or sect.

Despite objections by several Muslim organisations, including All India Muslim Personal Law Board, a large umber of Muslims participated in the celebrations today, which witnessed participation of more than 15,000 people.

Flak for Kiran Bedi

It's yoga, yoga everywhere and it could be a little overwhelming, but Bharatiya Janata Party's Kiran Bedi went a bit too far.

She tweeted this morning that the mass outdoor yoga session had delivered a break for heat in New Delhi.

"Miracle of collective chant of Shanti,Shanti,Shanti, by millions brings pre-monsoon showers in Delhi. Reduces heat and cools even the trees," she tweeted.

Appealing to Pakistan to reconsider its stand about not observing the International Yoga Day celebrations, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad today yoga would have helped in "bringing peace" in their country.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis praised PM Modi for giving an international status to yoga and said it should be kept away from religion and politics.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan lead a large number of students and others in a yoga session at the Lal Parade Ground.

From Siachen to South China Sea

From ice-capped Siachen, the highest battlefield in the world, to the warships in the contentious South China Sea, Indian armed forces joined the International Yoga Day celebrations.

Defence officers led by Army Chief Dalbir Singh Suhag, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha and Naval Admiral RK Dhowan were present at the Rajpath doing yoga where Prime Minister Narendra Modi led a mega event to mark the day.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar was in Meerut for the yoga day celebrations.

Soldiers doing yoga in full gear on the Siachen Glacier at a height of 18,800 feet above sea level stole the show. Dressed in their special weather clothing, the soldiers practised yoga while sitting on mats placed over the snow.

At about 7 am, the temperature at Siachen was -4 degree Celsius. Yoga sessions were also carried out by the Army in various units across the country including Kargil, Ladakh.

Union Minister Harsh Vardhan described the mammoth event as the "largest ever expression of unity".

Hundreds turned away from Rajpath event

Hundreds of people were disappointed after being denied entry at Rajpath on Sunday.

Most of them said they were not aware that passes were mandatory for the event.

Pokraram Bishnoi, 70, from Jalore in Rajasthan tried his best to enter the venue but failed. He said he had been performing yoga from the age of 18 years and had been surviving on fruits and milk for 18 long years. Bishnoi told IANS that he reached Delhi on Friday and had tried to get passes for the event since then but did not succeed. Not to be discouraged, Bishnoi and a couple of his companions started performing yoga at the Rail Bhavan square. Soon several others who too had been denied entry joined them.