Second edition of Kashi Tamil Sangamam to begin on December 17

Team L&M

The second edition of this Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat programme is slated to be held from December 17, the first day of the holy Tamil Margali month. The programme will end on December 30. Like its first edition, this programme proposes to take forward the objective of reviving the living bonds between Varanasi and Tamil Nadu – two important centres of learning and culture in ancient India – by facilitating people to people connect across different walks of life.

In Phase 2 of Kashi Tamil Sangamam (KTS), around 1,400 people from Tamil Nadu and Puducherry will travel by train to Varanasi, Prayagraj and Ayodhya for an eight-day immersive tour, including the travel time. They will be divided into seven groups of around 200 each, comprising students, teachers, farmers and artisans, traders and businessmen, writers, and professionals etc. Each group will be named after a sacred river (Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati, Sindhu, Narmada, Godavari and Kaveri)

The delegates will see places of historical, tourist and religious interest and interact with people of UP from their domains of work. The KTS 2.0 would have a crisper format with emphasis on awareness generation and outreach, people to people connect and cultural immersion. The focus would be on increased engagement and interaction with local counterparts (weavers, artisans, artists, entrepreneurs, writers etc) to get insights into best practices, enhance learning and cross pollination of ideas.

The Ministry of Education is the nodal ministry for the programme, with participation from Ministries of Culture, including ASI , Railways including IRCTC, Tourism, Textiles, Food Processing (ODOP), MSME, I&B, SD&E, and concerned departments in Govt. of UP. To capitalise upon learnings from Phase I and given their reputation for research, IIT Madras will serve as the implementing agency in TN and BHU in UP.

Delegate itinerary will include two days onward journey – two days return; two days at Varanasi and one day each at Prayagraj and Ayodhya. Stalls exhibiting art and culture, handlooms, handicrafts, cuisine, and other special products of Tamil Nadu and Kashi will be set up, cultural programmes blending the cultures of Tamil Nadu and Kashi will be organized at Namo Ghat in Varanasi. During this period there will be academic exchanges – seminars, discussions, lectures, lec dems on various facets of knowledge like – literature, ancient texts, philosophy, spirituality, music, dance, drama, yoga, Ayurveda, handlooms, handicrafts as well as the modern innovations, trade exchanges, edutech and other gen next technology etc.

Apart from experts and scholars, local practical practitioners from the above subjects / professions from Tamil Nadu and Varanasi will also participate in these exchanges so that a body of practical knowledge/ innovations can emerge from the mutual learning in different fields.

Dedicated awareness generation and outreach activities would be organised by IIT Madras in coordination with identified institutions in Tamil Nadu. Workshops, seminars, meetings and other outreach campaign programs will begin on December 1 and held through the month.

Those who wish to participate in the programme can register themselves on the KTS portal, created specifically for this purpose by IIT Madras. The selection of delegates will be done by a selection committee constituted for the purpose.

The first edition of Kashi Tamil Sangamam, held last December, had 2,500 people from Tamil Nadu, representing 12 different walks of life.