America
Chicagoland and the Mid-West celebrate Yoga day
By
Suresh Bodiwala/Asian Media USA
Chicago IL: The
Consulate General of India in Chicago in
collaboration with nearly two dozen participating organizations celebrated the
First International Day of Yoga (IDY) on Sunday, June 21st 2015 at the Odeum Expo
Center, 1033 Villa Avenue, North Park, IL
from 10:00 AM to 05:00PM.
Dr. Najma Heptulla, Hon’ble Union Minister of Minority Affairs inaugurated the
event by lighting of the lamp in a traditional Indian manner. Swami
Ishatmanandji, President of Vivekanand Vedanta Society was the keynote speaker
on the occasion. State Senator Michael Noland, Illinois State Representative
Mrs. Christine Winger, Mayor of Burr Ridge Village Mr. Mickey Straub, Mayor of
Oakbrook Village Dr. Gopal Lalmalani, the Democrat Congressional candidate for
Illinois’s 8th District Mr. Raja Krishnamoorthy, Cook county Board of
Commissioner and Chairman Mr. Tim Schneider and Trustee of Schaumburg Township,
Mr. Nimish Jani participated in the inaugural ceremony of the First
International Day of Yoga, along with Mr. Matthew Abbott, outreach coordinator
of Senator Mark Kirk and Mr. Dennis Jung, Outreach coordinator of Governor
Bruce Rauner.
The Consul General, Dr. Ausaf Sayeed, extended warm
welcome and greetings to all the participants on the occasion of the First
International Yoga Day celebrations in Chicagoland. In his remarks the Consul
General traced the history of Yoga and gave a background of the adoption of an
India-led Resolution by the United National General Assembly (UNGA) on December
11, 2014 declaring June 21 as the “International Day of Yogaâ€. The
Consul General described Yoga is an invaluable gift of India to the
world and said that Yoga pre-dates any religion in the forms as we know today.
Hon’ble Minister, Dr. Najma Heptulla thanked all the
dignitaries, participating organizations, the Consulate & the people of
Chicago for celebrating the First International Day of Yoga in Chicago for
peace & harmony.
State Senator Michael Noland appreciated the effort made by India in
declaring 21st June as International Day of Yoga for peace & harmony.
Hon’ble Mayor of Village of Oakbrook, Dr. Gopal Lalmalani and Mayor of Village
of Burr Ridge, Mr. Mickey Straub underlined the importance of yoga in day to
days life & appreciated the Government of India for leading the issue at
international level. Mr. Nimish Jani, Trustee of Schaumburg Township and
Outreach coordinator of Governor’s office, Mr. Dennis Jung, jointly read out
the Proclamation wherein Hon’ble Bruce Rauner, Governor of the State of Illinois, proclaimed June 21, 2015 asINTERNATIONAL YOGA
DAY in Illinois,
for the cultural significance of yoga and to raise awareness of the health
benefits of yoga. Mrs. Beena Patel read out the message of the Cook County
Clerk Mrs Dorothy Brown in which she congratulated the Indian-American
community for the IYD celebrations. To support yoga, the Cook County Clerk’s
office started conducting classes on Yoga from “Akhu Ausar†for health benefits
of their employees since May, 2015.
Hon’ble Minister, Dr. Najma Heptulla, all the dignitaries
and representatives of the participating organizations also released the
commemorative souvenir on the occasion. Thereafter, the dignitaries
inaugurated the special Book and Photo exhibitions on yoga organized by the
Consulate at the Odeum Expo center. All the dignitaries took a round of the
booths of participating organizations & all venues wherein parallel yoga
related activities were organized.
Besides Chicago, the First International Day of Yoga was celebrated in Carmel in Indiana and Madison in Wisconsin.