Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) is all set to organize the third edition of ‘Kashi Tamil Sangamam’, an event of the Ministry of Education, Government of India, being held from 15th to 24th February 2025.
The objective is to create awareness about the cultural connections between the two important centres of learning and culture in ancient India – by facilitating people-to-people connections across different walks of life.
Call for applications is enabled in five categories for participation in this event through the portal — http://kashitamil.iitm.ac.in. Registration is open to the public. The Banaras Hindu University (BHU) will be the receiving Institute in Varanasi for this event.
Elaborating on Tamil Nadu’s participation in the event, Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, “A total of 1,000 participants from Tamil Nadu, split in Five Groups of equal numbers, will be taking part in the event. They will be from different walks of life including students, teachers, farmers and artisans, professionals and small entrepreneurs besides women and researchers. Further, one batch of 200 Tamil Students from all the Central universities will also be part of this event and will get to undertake local visits to Varanasi, Prayagraj and Ayodhya.”
A highlight of this year will be that the event coincides with the Maha Kumbh Mela, being held from 13th January 2025 to 26th February 2025. The delegates will have the opportunity for ‘Shahi Snan’ or a holy dip during the Maha Kumbh Mela and also have a darshan at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
The main theme of this edition of Kashi Tamil Sangamam will be to highlight the significant contributions of Sage Agasthyar to the Siddha System of Medicine (Bharatiya Chikistsa), Classical Tamil literature and to the cultural unity of the Nation.
An exhibition will be held on the different facets of Sage Agasthyar’s personality and his contributions to the world of health, philosophy, science, linguistics, literature, polity, culture, art, particularly to Tamil and Tamil Nadu. Further, seminars and workshops on the topics will also be scheduled during this event.
The first month-long Kashi Tamil Sangamam was held from 16th November to 16th December 2022 as a Government approach to revive the living bonds between Varanasi and Tamil Nadu. The Second Edition was organized from 17th December to 30th December 2023. Given the overwhelming response from the people of Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh to both editions, it was proposed to organise this third edition.
Participants from Tamil Nadu will be visiting the ancestral house of Tamil Poet Subramania Bharati, Kedar Ghat, Kasi Mandapam and to the Banaras Hindu University’s Tamil Department for an academic and literary interaction.
