CHICAGO: The International Yoga Day (IYD) celebrations in Chicago would have turned out to be a much more glorious affair but for the concurrent celebration of Father’s Day by the mainstream American society and an unfortunate twist given by some religious bigots, deeming it a sectarian event.
And yet it was a memorable affair largely because of a relative good turn out of Yoga enthusiasts from across Chicago land – anywhere between 2000 to 2500 throughout the day – who enjoyed each and every bit of their presence participating in various activities which included Yoga , Pranayam, Meditation, Yoga exhibition, relevant talks on Yoga and of course good food – proffered by twenty pus voluntary service organizations that had backed Indian Consulate in hosting the show.
The kind weather and free parking at the Odium Expo Center in Villa Park were decidedly plus factors. The consensus was still that there should have been a larger participation from non desis and non Indians and the feeling was that Indian Consulate should have put in more efforts in this that would have ensured not only bigger attendance but also given a more color to the event, especially when Yoga is fast catching up with Americans.
The welcome news was that Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner issued a special Proclamation declaring June 21 as International Yoga Day in Illinois. Another welcome development was that a good number of elected officials attended the event. Indian Minister for Minority Affairs Najma Heptulla was a gracious guest speaker and in her inspiring speech she underlined the fact that Yoga has no religious or geographic boundaries and praised efforts by the Indian Consulate in organizing the event in a much disciplined manner in Chicago.
Swami Ishatmanandji, President, Vivekanand Vedanta Society was a keynote speaker while dignitaries attending the event were Senator Michael Noland, Illinois, Mrs Christine Winger Illinois State Representative, Tim Schneider – Cook County Board of Commissioner & Chairman of the Illinois Republican Party , Mayor of Oakbrook Dr Gopal Lalmalani, Mayor of Burr Ridge M Mickey Straub, Dennis Jung – Outreach Coordinator, liaison to the Asian American community for the office of Governor Bruce Rauner, Matthew Abbott Outreach Coordinator Senator Mark Kirk, Nimish Jani Trustee Schaumburg Township, Mrs Beena Patel – Cook County Clerk’s Office, Raja Krishnamoorthy, the Democrat Congressional candidate for Illinois’ 8th District.
In his welcome address, Indian Consul General Dr Ausuf Sayeed observed that Yoga represents a 6000-year-old tradition that goes back to pre-Vedic times and is an epitome of India’s ancient, deep-rooted and diverse civilization. “Yoga is an invaluable gift of India to the world and it pre-dates any religion in the forms as we know today. Yoga represents the union of man with self, a unity of mind and body and a holistic approach to health and well-being,” he said
He went on to add that Yoga Day celebrations enjoyed whole-hearted support from different sections of the Indian-American community in Chicagoland, transcending the boundaries of region, religion and language. He thanked the Federation of Indian Associations Chicago (FIA) and all the socio-cultural organizations for their unflinching support to the Yoga Day.
Referring to the United National General Assembly (UNGA) adopting an India-led Resolution on December 11, 2014 declaring June 21 as the “International Day of Yoga,” he said that 177 nations joined India as co-sponsors for this Resolution, the highest number ever for any Resolution in the 193-member UNGA.
He then detailed a series of interesting activities for the event which included common Yoga Asanas, Surya Namaskar, Meditation workshops, informative lectures and discourses, book and photo-exhibitions on yoga ,screening of documentary films on yoga and special activities for senior citizens and children.
He lauded the efforts of a few individuals – Viresh Virani, Harendra Mangrola, Nirav Patel, Jagan Bukkaraju and Ms Vandana Jhingan, and from the Consulate O.P.Meena, Gunjan Bajpayee and Elizabeth – who worked tirelessly to make the International Yoga Day celebrations a grand success.
Ramesh Soparawala
India Post News Service
