NEW DELHI: Attending Ganga Arti, visiting Sri Kashi Vishwanath Dham, night cruise and walking through bustling streets of Kashi, its famed ghats, mutts and Subramaniam Bharti House all this and much more is on the anvil for the 2,500 delegates, who will be thronging Varanasi from November 16 for the month-long Kashi Tamil Sangamam.
The first of its kind eight-day cultural and academic exchange, which is free of cost for the delegates, selected from all across Tamil Nadu, will also include visits to Prayagraj, Sarnath and Ayodhya, said Chamu Krishna Shastry, Chairman of the Bharatiya Bhasha Samiti (BBS) or the High Powered Committee for Promotion of Indian Languages.
“It is first of its kind, a unique mega event. As part of the programme, there will be academic exchanges, events and workshops in which experts will discuss and bring out the common linkages the two ancient cities share, be it literature, culture, philosophy, heritage, and art,” Shastry said. BBS had come up with the proposal to celebrate the age-old links between Tamil culture and Kashi.
Shastry said the idea is also to “rediscover and re-strengthen the bond” between the people of Tamil Nadu and Varanasi, the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Apart from seeing the famous spots in the holy city, the delegates will visit areas popular and inhabited by the Tamilian population like Kedar Ghat, Sri Kumaraswamy Mutt, Hanuman Ghat and Subramania Bharati House, where the great Tamil poet, writer and freedom fighter, lived.
Three trains starting from Rameswaram, Chennai and Coimbatore - will ferry these delegates weekly. “Three special additional coaches have been added to these trains. A total of 12 trains will be ferrying the delegates, who will be accompanied by volunteers, doctors and facilitators,” Shastry told this newspaper. While the Education Ministry is organising this one-of-its-kind event, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Madras, which selected the delegates, and Banaras Hindu University (BHU) are the two knowledge partners for the Sangamam, which will end on December 16. BHU will host the mega event.
The first batch of the 2,500 delegates - drawn from 12 categories, including students (PhD, postgraduate, undergraduate students), teachers, literature, culture, professionals, entrepreneurs, business, spiritual leaders, rural areas and artisans - will start on November 17 from Chennai. There will be a total of 12 groups, and each group will consist of 210 people.
IIT-Madras has engaged the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) to provide end-to-end services, which include lodging and boarding, he said. Apart from academic sessions, workshops and events, the delegates will visit the various stalls, which will showcase handloom, handicrafts, and various art forms of Tamil Nadu. Also, food courts offering different cuisines of Tamil Nadu will be available.
The delegates will also get a chance to visit the international trade facilitation facility, which the textile ministry has set up. Everyday cultural programmes - both classical and folk art forms of Tamil Nadu - will be organised with artists from the southern state presenting their art forms. Shastry said the first group would start from Rameswaram on November 16 at 11.55 pm and then reach Chennai in the morning, where it will start its journey, and the last group will reach Chennai on December 20.
Celebrating Kashi & Tamil confluence
Varanasi will host the month-long ‘Kashi Tamil Sangamam’ programme between Nov 16 and Dec 19
1 month programme will feature interactive discussions, panel discussions, and seminars on the long-standing ties between the two civilisations
More than 2000 students will also take part in the festival
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras and Banaras Hindu University (BHU) will be knowledge partners for festival
The wonderful Tamil language and culture, as well as the ethos of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat, will be celebrated during this function