Celebrating Cultures
We are all part of the same, yet express ourselves differently - through clothes, food, music, dance, festivities. Through culture. Culture binds us together and showcases our diversity. The underlying joy that culture brings resonates across the globe. When we celebrate culture, we celebrate all our communities and enjoy the different expressions of the commonality. Building bridges between people and nations, it is culture that preserves our roots and deepens our bonds.
In the past decade, The Art of Living has prominently worked towards giving people a platform to showcase their cultures. From orchestrating the biggest ensemble of bagpipe players to hosting the world’s largest vegetarian buffet. The number of people who have enjoyed these events and supported them has only grown larger over the years. And some of these celebrations have been recognized by the Guinness World Records as remarkable feats.
The largest horn ensemble consisted of 444 musicians and was achieved by the Art of Living (India) in Kollam, Kerala. The 444 musicians all played the C-shaped long Indian horn called the Kombu or Sringa. The performance lasted for 25 minutes.
The most candles lit simultaneously at a single venue is 12,135 and was achieved on Diwali by the Art of Living (India) in Ahmedabad, India.
The largest bagpipe ensemble was achieved by 333 participants at an event organized by the Art of Living at the National Palace of Culture in Sofia, Bulgaria.
The largest hand drum ensemble consisted of 1,230 people playing tabla drums and was achieved by the Art of Living (India) at Humbarwadi Estate, Solapur, India.
The largest dhol drum ensemble was achieved by 1,356 participants in an event organized by Art of Living at Shivaji University Ground, Kolhapur, India. (Duration: approx 23 minutes)
The largest Kathakali dance was achieved by 150 participants at an event organized by the Art of Living at Putharikkandam Grounds in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. (Duration: 2 performances of approx 20 minutes each)
The largest choir consisted of 121,440 people and was organized by The Art of Living (India) in Perungalathur, Chennai, India.
The largest bhangra dance included 2,100 participants and was achieved by The Art of Living at the Punjab Agricultural University Campus, Ludhiana, India. (Duration: approx 15 minutes)
The largest vegetarian buffet consisted of 5,612 different dishes in an event organized by the Art of Living at Sri Sri Dham, Ahmedabad, India.
The record for the largest simultaneous sing-along was organized by the Art of Living and involved 104,637 participants singing 'Vande Mataram' at Antarnaad in Pune, India. (Duration: over 5 minutes)
The largest sitar ensemble consisted of 1,094 participants at an event organized by the Art of Living in Noida, Delhi, India. (Duration: 3 symphonies of approx 7 minutes each)
The most people performing a Mohiniyattam dance was 1,200 as part of the Silver Jubilee celebration of the Art of Living at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium in Cochin, Kerala, India. (Duration: approx 12 minutes)