Grammy award winner Ricky Kej on June 19 said Yoga has gained strong prominence across the world because of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts.
“Yoga has gained strong prominence worldwide because of PM Modi. This year, Yoga Day at the United Nations headquarters in New York will be extra special because PM Modi is leading everyone. I am thrilled to attend World Yoga Day tomorrow,” Ricky Kej told ANI. Three-time Grammy Award-Winning Musician Kej will participate in the Yoga Day celebrations at UN headquarter which will be led by PM Modi on June 21.
As per the advisory issued by the UN, “The Permanent Mission of India to the UN invites you to a celebration of the 9th annual International Yoga Day on June 21, 2023, from 8-9 am EST at the North Lawn of UN Headquarters in New York”.
Top UN officials, ambassadors, envoys, representatives from Member States, as well as well-known members of the international and diaspora communities, are anticipated to attend the historic yoga session. During the event, Yoga mats will be available, and the advisory encourages guests and participants to dress in yoga-friendly attire for the special session.
The President of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly, Csaba Korosi, is looking forward to attend the Yoga Day celebrations and tweeted, “I am looking forward to participating in the 9th International Day of Yoga celebrations @UN with Prime Minister @NarendraModi at the UNHQ North Lawn next week.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi first introduced the proposal during his address at the opening of the 69th session of the UN General Assembly, in which he said, “Yoga is an invaluable gift from our ancient tradition. Yoga embodies unity of mind and body, thought and action…A holistic approach [that] is valuable to our health and our well-being. Yoga is not just about exercise; it is a way to discover the sense of oneness with yourself, the world and the nature”.
Ricky Kej also expressed his views on PM Modi’s first official visit to the US and said, “It’s amazing to see these two world leaders coming together in a spirit of friendship, making the world a better place. India is taking leadership in areas such as climate change, environmental awareness, and international treaties & bonds between countries.
India is no longer sitting on the sidelines and is considered the leader of the Global South. The world will benefit from this meeting. It’s beneficial for the United States to have a leader like PM Modi visit and have dialogues of partnership with the honourable President of America.”
After celebrating Yoga Day celebrations at the UN headquarter, PM Modi will visit Washington where he will receive a ceremonial welcome at the White House on June 22 and meet President Biden to continue their high-level dialogue.
President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will host a State Dinner in honour of the Prime Minister the same evening, according to a release issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). The PM will also address a Joint Sitting of the US Congress on June 22.
In the event at the White House, Kej is also invited. Talking about that he said, “It’s really amazing to see these two world leaders coming together and coming together in a spirit of friendship, in a spirit of making this world a better place. In the past, it’s always said that India has never participated in international dialogues and has never participated in international movements and treaties and things like that. Whereas now, if you look at things like climate change, environmental awareness, international treaties and bonds between countries, India is no longer sitting down on the sidelines.”
“And India is not just participating, but India is taking leadership. India is considered nowadays the leader of the Global South. And so I think it is very, very beneficial for the United States to actually have a leader like Prime Minister Modi come and to have these dialogues of partnership,” he added.
(with inputs from ANI)
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