PM Modi-led Yoga Day event in New York creates World Record; next meetings with Biden in Washington

I am very glad to see his (PM Modi) presence in Washington, DC. He gave me a high five and signed my shirt. It is a memorable moment, I will never forget this, said a young member of the Indian diaspora as he welcomed PM Modi at a hotel in Washington, DC.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets the members of the Indian diaspora outside the hotel he is staying in, in Washington, DC.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at Hotel InterContinental Willard in Washington, DC. 

National anthems of India and the United States played at the Joint Base Andrews, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in Washington, DC. 

Members of Indian diaspora wait for PM Modi's arrival at Willard InterContinental Hotel in Washington amid rainfall.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi lands at the Joint Base Andrews in Washington, DC. Upon the arrival of the Prime Minister, the national anthems of both countries were played at the airbase.

"What a grand Yoga Day programme in New York! Grateful for the energy and commitment shown by all participants. This shows how Yoga unites us in the pursuit of health, peace, and harmony," tweeted PM Modi as he led International Yoga Day celebrations from the UN headquarters in New York. 

Members of the Indian diaspora participate in a cultural event in Washington, DC as they await the arrival of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

As a new Guinnesse World Record was achieved, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said, "A landmark day for India...PM Modi not just promoted Yoga on a global platform but reclaimed India's glory by gifting a new worldview of unity."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets people gathered outside a hotel in New York as he departs for Washington, DC after leading Yoga Day celebrations in New York.

PM Modi meets and greets children who participated in the International Yoga Day celebrations at UN headquarters.

Guinness world record for most nationalities in a Yoga session created at the Yoga Day event led by PM Narendra Modi, at the UN headquarters in New York. READ MORE

People raise pro-Modi slogans outside UN headquarters as PM Modi leads the International Yoga Day celebrations.

Yoga is portable, it is flexible. It can be done in a group or can be self-taught. It is unifying and one for all ethnicities, culture. Yoga is truly universal, said PM Modi.

"It is so important for us to move from just practitioners to executors. We practice Yoga but we execute what we get from Yoga in our lives. That is the message, I believe, the PM is bringing..," said Eric Adams, Mayor of New York City.

I am told that almost every nationality is represented today in New York, said PM Modi at yoga day event. 

Yoga comes from India and it is a very old tradition. Yoga is free from copyrights, patents and free from royalty payments. Yoga is adaptable to your age, gender and fitness level. Yoga is portable and is truly universal, said PM Modi as he led International Yoga Day celebrations from UN Headquaters in New York.

Last year, the entire world came together to support India's proposal to celebrate 2023 as the International Year of Millets. Today, it is wonderful to see the entire world come together for yoga, said PM Modi.

We have gathered here at the UN, at the meeting point of the entire humanity," said PM Modi at International Yoga Day celebrations at UN headquarters in New York.

Prominent  personalities who will be joining PM Modi for International Yoga Day from the lawns of UN headquaters in New York:

H.E. Mr. Csaba Korosi
A Hungarian diplomat currently serving as President of the 77th
United Nations General Assembly.

Mr. Eric Adams
American politician and former police officer, serving as the 110th mayor of New York City

H.E. Ms. Amina J.Mohammed
Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations and Chair of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group.

Mr. Richard Gere
Famous Hollywood actor; He is an advocate for human rights in Tibet; He is a co-founder of the Tibet House, US and Chairman of the Board of Directors for the International Campaign for Tibet.

Mr. Vala Afshar
He is Chief Digital Evangelist at Salesforce, and shares motivational stories / immigrant successes / tech in society stories.

Mr. Jay Shetty 
Award-Winning Storyteller, Podcaster, and former monk

Mr. Vikas Khanna
Award winning Indian chef and restaurateur; Host of the TV Show MasterChef India. 

Mr. Mike Hayes
COO, VM Ware (Cloud computing tech major) based in Silicon Valley. Highly Decorated former US Navy SEAL Commander, has served as a White House Fellow, and as Director, National Security Council.

Mr. Britt Kelly Slabinski
Highly decorated US Navy SEAL officer, has won several distinguished military honours for his services in Afghanistan and Iraq. Currently, Consultant at LeadWright Enterprise

Mr. Francisco D’Souza
Founder & CEO, Recognize (private equity). Son of IFS officer P.P. D'Souza; ex-CEO of Cognizant, now runs a venture capital fund in the US.

Ms. Colleen Saidman Yee
Celebrated Yoga teacher. New York Times christened her “The First Lady of Yoga.

Mr. Rodney Yee
Celebrated Yoga instructor,presently actively involved into integrating Yoga with Western medical paradigm. He has written two books, “Yoga: the Poetry of the Body” and “Moving Toward Balance: 8 Weeks of Yoga with Rodney Yee”

Ms. Deidra Demens
She runs a popular Yoga studio in New York City. She combines Yoga with theatre.

Mr. Christopher Tompkins
He is a scholar of South and Southeast Asian Studies at Berkeley University, California, with an emphasis on the roots and evolution of Yoga in the tradition of Tantrik Śaivism

Ms. Victoria Gibbs
Celebrated Yoga teacher and meditation coach. She is a 3-time New York regional champion of Yoga.

Ms. Jahnavi Harrison
Also known by her spiritual name, Jahnavi Jivana dasi, is a British musician. Known for her mantra meditation music (kirtan). She regularly appears as a presenter on BBC Radio.

Mr. Kenneth Lee
Community Health Chaplain at University Hospital, Newark, New Jersey. He is the husband of Ms. Jahnavi Harrison.

Mr. Travis Mills
Travis Mills is a war veteran who lost all four limbs in Afghanistan; He promotes yoga, meditation, and wellness to overcome adversity

Mr. Jeffrey D Long
Professor of religion and Asian studies at Elizabethtown College,
Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania,

Ms. Seema Mody
She is currently global markets reporter for CNBC with focus on foreign policy and Wall Street.

Ms. Zain Asher
Prime Time news anchor at CNN popularly known for global news show ‘One World with Zain Asher’ .

Mr. Ricky Kej
Three-times Grammy Award-winning, three-times Grammy
nominated Indian music composer and environmentalist. 

Ms. Falguni Shah
American singer whose music blends ancient classical Indian
melodies with contemporary western sounds

Ms. Mary Millben
American singer and actress. 

The function will also be attended by personalities and influencers from all walks of life including Diplomats, Officials, Academicians, Health professionals, Technocrats, Industry leaders, Media personalities, Artists, Spiritual leaders, Yoga practitioners,  among others. People from more than 180 countries will be joining the PM for Yoga Day programme.

'At the UN HQ in New York, India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ruchira Kamboj says, "Today's celebration is indeed very special as PM Modi will lead us in doing yoga here. It is under his leadership that 21st June was declared as International Yoga Day. It is only fitting that the inspiration behind the idea is with us today in the scenic multicultural setting of the UN..."'

PM Narendra Modi at the UN Headquarters lawns in New York, to lead the Yoga event on the occasion of International Yoga Day

People are very excited, they are already chanting. They have been waiting outside since 6 am, said Ruchika Lal, Yoga & Meditation Instructor, Art of Living on PM Modi leading the International Yoga Day celebrations at UN headquarters in New York.

Visuals from UN headquarters ahead of the International Day of Yoga celebrations, which will be led by PM Modi shortly.

Members of Indian diaspora blow conch shells to welcome PM Modi for the International Yoga Day celebrations at UN headquarters in New York.

Stage set for International Yoga Day celebrations at the North Lawn of UN headquarters in New York, which will be led by PM Modi shortly.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has met leading American economist Prof Paul Romer, investor and co-founder of the hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates Ray Dalio, and other eminent thought leaders and exchanged views and briefed them about the reform trajectory of his government to foster economic growth. READ MORE

PM Narendra Modi had a warm meeting with Mrs Chandrika Tandon, the Chairperson of the Board of NYU Tandon School of Engineering. Her efforts towards encouraging critical thinking among students is laudatory.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting with Ray Dalio, an investor, author, and co-founder of the hedge fund Bridgewater Associates in New York, on Tuesday. During the meeting, the Prime Minister highlighted reforms undertaken by the Indian government to foster economic growth, including the reduction of compliances and decriminalisation of a large number of legal provisions.

Nobel prize-winning American economist Paul Romer who met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New York commended India's model of Aadhar-based authentication saying that the country can "really show the world how to do it right." Prime Minister Modi and the former chief economist of the World Bank discussed India's digital path, including the adoption of Aadhar and cutting-edge solutions such as Digilocker during their meeting. They also discussed various initiatives being undertaken by India for urban development, according to a statement by the Prime Minister's office.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with a group of eminent US academics hailing from diverse fields of agriculture, marketing, engineering, health, science & technology in New York on Tuesday. Taking to Twitter, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, "Energising India-US knowledge partnership. PM @narendramodi interacted with a group of eminent US academics hailing from diverse fields of agriculture, marketing, engineering, health, science & technology."

The US remains deeply confident in India's diversification of military equipment and believes that Washington's proposal for industrial cooperation will further integrate the defence industries of the two countries, the Pentagon has said.
Pentagon’s Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters at a news conference on Tuesday that the US encourages all its partners and allies to avoid transactions with Russia.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lead a unique yoga session at the UN Headquarters here on Wednesday in a historic celebration to commemorate the 9th International Day of Yoga that will see the participation from top UN officials, envoys from across and the world and prominent individuals.
In a video message on the occasion of the International Day of Yoga, Prime Minister Modi said India has always nurtured traditions that unite, adopt and embrace and made a fervent appeal to eliminate contradictions, hurdles and resistances through yoga.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the US, called the conversation "The Great". 

American astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson who met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New York on Tuesday evening said that he sees a very "bright future for India." Tyson who is an author and science communicator read out a quote from his book "Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier" when he met PM Modi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Essayist and Statistician professor Nassim Nicholas Taleb on Tuesday in New York and held bilateral talks. Taleb, a distinguished professor of Risk Engineering at New York University's School of Engineering, presented his own book titled "Skin in the Game" as a gift to PM Modi. Besides, he met held discussions with various think tank experts, covering a range of developmental and geopolitical issues.

Describing the state visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to America as a "watershed moment" in bilateral ties, US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti has said that this week will be one of those moments that can change the course of history as the two democracies get together for peace and prosperity. In his keynote address to the inaugural INDUS-X conference being organised by the US India Business Council in partnership with the US Department of Defense and India’s Department of Defence Production, Garcetti said on Tuesday, “We're just getting in the car together and we're starting this voyage. It's the elevation of something that has been growing”.

The US remains deeply confident in India's diversification of military equipment and believes that Washington's proposal for industrial cooperation will further integrate the defence industries of the two countries, the Pentagon has said. Pentagon’s Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters at a news conference on Tuesday that the US encourages all its partners and allies to avoid transactions with Russia.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is currently on a three-day visit to the United States, meets Grammy award-winning Indian-American singer Falu (Falguni Shah) and her family in New York.

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday met prominent US personalities from different walks of life, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk who asserted that India has more promise than any other large country and that he is incredibly excited about its future.
Musk told reporters after meeting Modi that Twitter, the social media giant he owns, does not have a choice but to follow the local government. Or it will get shut down, he said when asked about the company's former owner and CEO Jack Dorsey's recent allegation against the Indian government.

In a separate video statement, Musk also lauded Modi, saying he "really cares about India because he is pursuing us to make significant investment in India. "I am a fan of Modi," he said. India is great for solar energy investment, Musk added, describing his talks with the prime minister as excellent.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who started his historic journey for the United States on Monday, met prominent US personalities from different walks of life, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk who hinted at the possibility of establishing his electric car vehicle factory in India. However, the billionaire clarified he has no rush to announce about making any announcement about his future projects in India.

 India will be a critical strategic partner for the US in the coming decades, the White House said and asserted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's State Visit to the country will affirm the deep and close partnership between the two nations.
Modi is visiting the US from June 21-24 at the invitation of President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden, who will host him at a State Dinner on June 22. The visit also includes an address by the prime minister to the joint session of the US Congress on June 22.

 India like the US is a vibrant democracy and the two nations are going to continue to work on their bilateral relationship, the White House said amid Prime Minister Narendra Modi's State Visit.
Modi is visiting the US from June 21-24 at the invitation of President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden, who will host him at a State Dinner on June 22. The visit also includes an address by the prime minister to the joint session of the US Congress on June 22. He is currently in New York.

PM Narendra Modi, in a video message, said that Yoga has become a global movement through the International Day of Yoga.

The Ukraine issue will come up in the discussions between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden, a White House official said.
National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby, however, said to what "degree specifically they will talk about a peace summit or a peace proposal, I cannot say right now".