Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the month-long Kashi-Tamil Samagam at Kashi Hindu University in Varanasi today.

The event will pave the way for rediscovering centuries-old bond of knowledge and ancient civilisational linkage between the North and the South. The Yogi Adityanath government in the state has swung into action to organise the ‘Kashi-Tamil Samagam’ in the holy city of Varanasi on a grand note and to give a glimpse of the Dravidian culture as well as the culture, cuisine and music of Tamil Nadu to the people of Uttar Pradesh.

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to inaugurate the month-long Kashi Tamil Sangamam in Varanasi on Saturday, the preparations for the same are in full swing.

The land of Raj Rajeshwar has been decorated to welcome the guests coming from the land of Rameshwar. Enthusiasm is also being seen in Kashi city regarding Tamil Sangamam. Final touches have been given to the decorations and preparations at the ghats of Varanasi including the Srikashi Vishwanath Temple. To eradicate the differences, people here are addressing the traditional greeting ‘Har Har Mahadev’ as well as ‘Vanakkam’ (salutations) in Tamil.

Inaugurating the month-long Kasi Tamil Sangamam, the Prime Minister will release books on Tirukkural and Kasi-Tamil culture. The PM will pay respect to the Aadinams (Abbots) of Matha temples in Tamil Nadu and seek their blessings. PM is also likely to interact with more than 200 students from Tamil Nadu.

A total of 75 stalls have been set up in Kashi Tamil Sangamam, which will run till December 16, will act as a bridge between South India and North India through agriculture, culture, literature, music, food, handloom and handicraft, folk art. These products also include GI and ODOP products from Tamil Nadu. Some artisans from Kashi will also display GI products.

Kashi Tamil Sangamam is being organized by the Ministry of Education in collaboration with other Ministries like Culture, Textiles, Railways, Tourism, Food Processing, Information and Broadcasting and the Government of Uttar Pradesh in Varanasi.

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.

Adequate security arrangements have been made by the Varanasi Commissionerate Police regarding this entire event.