By Surender Bhutani
Warsaw, Jun 18 (IANS): Around three thousand people on Sunday celebrated the Fourth International Yoga Day in Poland, a country where yoga has almost become a way of life for many citizens.
The celebrations were not limited to Warsaw, the Polish capital. Many big and small cities, among them Krakow, Wroclaw, Poznan, and Lodz, also marked the event, reports received here said.
Unlike the last three years, the main venue in Warsaw this time took place in the historical Laziniki park, where people thronged throughout the day to take part in the display of asanas or yogic teachings. Kirti Gahlawat, a yoga instructor who is attached to the Embassy of India was the main person to help people to understand the intricacies of this ancient art. She was the prima donna of the main event.
Newly-appointed Indian ambassador Tesweng Namgyal, a yoga enthusiast himself, led the campaign in the Polish capital from 10 a.m. Many foreigners from other countries also participated in the unique event.
Addressing the gathering, Namgyal expressed his deep satisfaction with the response of the people across the Polish nation.
"Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi's efforts to make yoga a universal phenomenon is one of the biggest accomplishments of his tenure. It is because of him that the United Nations had declared June 21 to be the International Day of Yoga in 2015," Namgyal said.
"Since then the yoga day is being celebrated around that date," he added.
"By practicing yoga the policymakers of the world can generate more trust and confidence in one and other. The world can overcome many unnecessary prejudices", observed J.J. Singh, president of the Indo-Polish Chamber and Commerce (IPCC).
Singh is one of the main organisers for the past four years. It is through his efforts the art of yoga has reached many corners of this nation.
There are more than 800 yoga centres in Poland where regular courses are conducted throughout the year, mainly by the Polish teachers. There are more than a hundred yoga schools in Warsaw itself.
Ambassador Boguslaw Zakrzewski, a famous Indophile is of the opinion that "yoga prompts you to take an inner journey and helps you to maintain a balanced view of life and world".
Zakrzewski has translated five volumes of Indian poetry into Polish.
Some Indian restaurants put up stalls to entice the Poles with Indian cuisine. Samosas and tandoori chicken, along with mango lassi, were in great demand.
The event was concluded by a sitar recital.