Mysore/Mysuru: Prime Minister Narendra Modi performed Yoga along with thousands of participants at the mass demonstration in the backdrop of the iconic Mysore Palace this morning.

“This whole universe starts from our own body and soul. The universe starts from us. Yoga brings peace to us. The peace from Yoga is not merely for individuals. Yoga brings peace to our society. Yoga brings peace to our nations and the world. And, Yoga brings peace to our universe,” PM Modi said.

Today’s event in Mysuru is also part of the ‘Guardian Yoga Ring’ which is a collaborative exercise between 79 countries and UN organisations along with Indian Missions abroad to illustrate Yoga’s unifying power.

The PM entered the Mysore Palace premises exactly at 6.26 am after his overnight stay at Hotel Radisson Blu Plaza and ascended the stage at 6.35 am. After exchanging formalities with the guests and addressing the gathering, the PM performed Yoga with over 12,000 people.

Orderly arrangements

The sprawling Mysore Palace was divided into 53 blocks and each block was barricaded. Though arrangements were made to accommodate 15,000 people, only over 12,000 stretched and bent with Modi as many could not enter the Palace as the gates were closed after the PM’s arrival. There was confusion about entry gate for public.

Many were stranded outside and as a result, several places like the empty space in front of the Bhuvaneshwari Temple and the nearby park were vacant though green carpet was laid and Yoga mats were spread.

As early as 2 am

Thousands of Yoga performers entered the Palace as early as 2 am as over 100 buses ferried them from various points across the city and the buses had reached their respective destinations last night itself. All the participants were assigned respective blocks and were told to be seated in that block.

Also, as all the blocks were barricaded, there was no opportunity for participants to switch from one block to another. Overall, it was an orderly event. T-Shirts for the event were distributed two days back and the Yoga mats were provided by the AYUSH Department.

In all, there were four layers of security around the Palace and all the participants were checked at the respective counters. First their Yoga passes were checked before they were allowed inside. They were frisked at the second layer and the third layer was the metal detector. The fourth layer formed by the sleuths made the participants enter through door frame metal detector.

Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, CM Basavaraj Bommai, Union Minister Sarbananda Sonawal, Health Minister Dr. K. Sudhakar, District Minister S.T. Somashekar, MP Pratap Simha, MLAs S.A. Ramdas & L. Nagendra, DG-IGP Praveen Sood, Pramoda Devi Wadiyar and Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar were among those who performed Yoga with Modi.