NEW DELHI: Union Minister for Education and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday met KV Krishnan, the 96-year-old nephew of Tamil poet Subramania Bharathiyar, and his family in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.
One of the greatest Tamil literary figures of all time, Mahakavi Bharathiyar's home is on the banks of Hanuman Ghat in Kashi is a pilgrimage.
Pradhan said that Subramania Bharathiyar's ideals on social justice and women empowerment are more relevant now than ever.
"Kashi had a profound influence on shaping Bharathiyar's personality and Kashi Tamil Sangamam celebrates the philosophical unity and commonality between our two great cultures," he further said.
The Union Minister also said that the poet will forever be an inspiration for the next generations.
Earlier in the day, Pradhan Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan took stock of the preparations of 'Kashi Tamil Sangamam' ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh to inaugurate a month-long event on Saturday.
Kashi Tamil Sangamam is being organized in Varanasi from November 17 to December 16 with the objective to rediscover, reaffirm and celebrate the age-old links between Tamil Nadu and Kashi - two of the country's most important and ancient seats of learning.
"Union Minister for Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan has been actively monitoring the preparations of the program in Varanasi to take stock of the arrangements ahead of Prime Minister's visit to Kashi," the Ministry of Education said in a statement.
Previously, he also held meetings with the Minister of Railways, the Governor of Tamil Nadu, officials of the Uttar Pradesh Government and other key stakeholders to ensure the successful organization of Kashi Tamil Sangamam.
Kashi Tamil Sangamam is being organized by the Ministry of Education in collaboration with other ministries like Culture, Textiles, Railways, Tourism, Food Processing, Information & Broadcasting and the Government of Uttar Pradesh.
The programme aims to provide an opportunity for scholars, students, philosophers, traders, artisans, artists and people from other walks of life from the two regions to come together, share their knowledge, culture and best practices and learn from each others' experience.
The endeavour is in sync with NEP 2020's emphasis on integrating the wealth of Indian Knowledge Systems with modern systems of knowledge. IIT Madras and BHU are the two implementing agencies for the programme.
More than 2500 delegates from Tamil Nadu under 12 categories such as students, teachers, literature, culture, artisans, spiritual, heritage, business, entrepreneurs, professionals and others will be visiting Varanasi on eight-day tours.
"They will participate in seminars, LEC-DEMS (Lecture Demonstrations), site visits etc in special programmes curated for each of the 12 categories to interact with local people of the same trade, profession and interest," the ministry said.
The delegates will also visit places of interest in and around Varanasi including Prayagraj and Ayodhya.
Students of Banaras Hindu University (BHU) and other Higher Educational Institutions will be participating in the academic programmes. They will study the comparative practices pertaining to various sectors in the two regions and document the learnings.
The first group of delegates consisting of 200 students started their tour from Chennai on November 17, their train was flagged off by Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi from the Chennai Railway station.
Along with this, a month-long exhibition of handlooms, handicrafts, One District One Product (ODOP), books, documentaries, cuisine, art forms, history, tourist places etc of the two regions will be put up in Varanasi for the benefit of the local people.
During the inaugural programme, Prime Minister will interact with the delegates coming from Tamil Nadu. The inauguration ceremony will witness various cultural performances such as vocal renditions by Ilaiyaraaja and book releases.