PM surprises with yoga performance

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi sprang a surprise on Sunday when he suddenly decided to join the participants observing International Yoga Day, and perform most of the Asanas, instead of only delivering a speech.

Two weeks ago, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had said Modi would only address the crowd on International Yoga Day. Modi, however, surprised everybody when he joined thousands of others on Rajpath after delivering his speech.  Ayush Ministry officials said even security agencies were caught unawares, though they quickly made the required arrangements.

After the speech, Modi climbed down from the podium, removed his spectacles and walked up in front of the participants, where a mat was quickly laid out for him.

Dressed in a white shirt, trousers and a tricolour scarf, the 64-year-old performed most of the 21 Asanas as per common yoga protocol, though he stopped for a while after the loosening exercises to inspect some people behind him. Later, he interacted with the children. “Rajpath has turned into a Yogpath,” said Modi on seeing the sea of crowd in front of the dais. He tweeted his greetings early in the morning, besides several photographs after the event.