At a ceremony hosted for Indian participants of the World Youth Festival held in Russia earlier, the ambassador Denis Alipov recollected one of his conversations with his ‘friend’ and former CEO of the NITI Ayog Amitabh Kant. Alipov remembered how Kant asked him to do the ‘surya namaskar’ at least five times a day when he shared how he is used to doing it just once.

Denis Alipov said speaking at the event held in Delhi, “I do surya namaskar every morning. On several occasions, I shared this with my Indian friends, some of them very prominent like Amitabh Kant. I remember he asked me once how many times I do it. I said once. He was unimpressed and said to me that one needed to do it at least five times…”

“It is a difficult exercise if you do it properly,” Alipov added.

During his talk, Alipov also spoke about the Russian President’s interaction with the participants during the festival. He said, “President Vladimir Putin met with Indian students, probably some of you and also emphasized the high profile of Bharat, as a founding nation of BRICS…”

Alipov also remembered that the Indian ‘tiranga’ was one of the most recognisable symbols at the festival. Tiranga’ was one of the most recognisable symbols at the festival and the Indian delegation, to our delight, was one of the largest,” he said. The Russian ambassador emphasised the importance of nurturing international connections to tackle global challenges.

The event witnessed at least three hundred and sixty Indian participants, representing diverse fields such as business, sports and others articulating their perspectives on the World Youth Festival’s significance as a platform for cross-cultural dialogue and collaboration.

The festival which was held in Russia from March 1- 7 was attended by 20,000 delegates from 190 countries. Speaking about the festival earlier the Russian President’s office said, “The goal of the festival is to foster ties between proactive young people from all over the world, who will work together to build a future shared multipolar world based on cooperation and a balance of interests.”

(With inputs from ANI)