International Yoga Day events will be organised at 75 major places in the country in view of the 'Amrit Mahotsav' celebrations of 75 years of Independence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday and urged people to mark the occasion at a special place in their respective cities, towns or villages.
In his monthly 'Mann ki Baat' radio broadcast, Prime Minister Modi said the theme of the 8th International Yoga Day on June 21 would be 'yoga for humanity.
He urged people to celebrate Yoga Day with great enthusiasm while cautioning that they should take all precautions related to the coronavirus.
"By the way, the situation now is looking better than earlier across the whole world. On account of more and more vaccination coverage, people now are going out more than ever; therefore, a lot of preparations are also being seen all over the world for Yoga Day," Modi said.
He said the Covid pandemic has made people realise the overarching importance of health in their lives.
"People are experiencing how much physical, spiritual and intellectual well-being is receiving a boost through yoga. From the world's top business persons to film and sports personalities, from students to common people, everyone is making yoga an integral part of one's life," he said.
"I do believe that witnessing the increasing popularity of yoga across the world must be making you happy," he said.
Noting that this time some very innovative examples were being held on Yoga Day in the country and abroad, Modi said one of them is the 'Guardian Ring' which will be a very unique programme.
"In this, the movement of the sun will be celebrated, that is, as the sun travels, we will welcome it through yoga from different parts of the earth. Indian missions in different countries will organise yoga programmes at sunrise according to the local time there," he said.
The programme will successively commence in one country after another.
"The journey from east to west will go on continuously...and on these lines, it will proceed accordingly. Streaming of these programmes will also be linked one after the other, that is, it will be a kind of relay yoga streaming event," the prime minister said.
This time, keeping in mind the 'Amrit Mahotsav' in the country, International Yoga Day events will also be organised at 75 major places in the country, Modi said.
"On this occasion, many organisations and countrymen are preparing to do something innovative at their own level, in their respective fields. I would urge you also this time to celebrate Yoga Day, choose any place in your city, town or village which is most special. This place can be an ancient temple and tourist centre, or it could be the banks of a famous river, lake or pond. With this, along with yoga, the identity of your area will also be reinforced and tourism there will also get a boost," he said.
At present, the 100-day countdown leading to Yoga Day, is also underway, he noted.
"I am sure that all of you will participate enthusiastically in Yoga Day as well as adopt yoga in your daily life," he said.
In his broadcast, Modi also talked about his recent Japan trip and said that amid many of his programmes, he got a chance to meet some wonderful personalities.
"Though they (the personalities he met) belong to Japan, they harbour amazing attachment and love for India. One of them is Hiroshi Koike ji, who is a well-known art director. You will be very happy to know that he has directed the Mahabharat project. This project was started in Cambodia and it is continuing for the last nine years," Modi said.
Every year, he travels to one country in Asia and produces parts of the Mahabharata with local artists and musicians, the prime minister highlighted.
Through this project, he has done productions and given stage performances in nine countries, including India, Cambodia and Indonesia, Modi said.
"Hiroshi Koike ji brings together artists who have had a diverse background in Classical and Traditional Asian Performing Art. Because of that, different hues are seen in his work. Performers from Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Japan make it more attractive through Java dance, Balinese dance, Thai dance," he said.
During 'Mann Ki Baat', Modi also talked about Atsushi Matsuo and Kenji Yoshi, both of whom are associated with TEM Production Company.
"This company is associated with the Japanese Animation Film based on the Ramayana that was released in 1993. This project was associated with Japan's very famous film director Yugo Sako Ji," Modi said.
"About 40 years ago, in 1983, he came to know about Ramayana for the first time. 'Ramayana' touched his heart, after which he started researching deeply on it. Not only that, he read 10 versions of Ramayana in the Japanese language, and he did not stop at this, he also wanted to showcase it through animation. In this, Indian animators also helped him a lot, he was guided about the Indian customs and traditions shown in the film," he said.
Now, after 30 years this animation film is being re-mastered in 4K, Modi said, adding that this project is likely to be completed soon.