Varanasi, Dec 17: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday inaugurated the second edition of Kashi Tamil Sangamam which is witnessing the participation of 1,400 dignitaries from Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

For the first time, the Prime Minister tried a new experiment with his speech at Kashi Tamil Sangamam, when simultaneous AI based Tamil translation was done through Bhashini for those in the audience who understood Tamil.

While speaking at the festival's inauguration, Modi said: "You all have come here as members of my family, more than being just guests. I welcome you all to the Kashi Tamil Sangamam."

He said that since the first edition of the Sangamam, lakhs had joined in including farmers, artists, religious leaders, students and people from other walks of life.

"Coming to Kashi from Tamil Nadu means coming from one home of Mahadev to another. There is a link between the hearts of people from Kashi and Tamil Nadu. When you return, you will take back the culture, taste and memories of Kashi with you," he said adding that the Sangamam strengthens the concept of 'Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat'. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also addressed the audience at the event.

He said: "Kashi Tamil Sangamam will strengthen the cultural nationalism of our country.

"Due to the religious importance of Kashi, people from all over the country have been coming here. It is the centre of faith, culture and spiritual awareness in India. Like Kashi, Tamil Nadu has also been a centre of culture, knowledge, art, architecture and literature since ancient times," Adityanath added.

The Tamil delegation, comprising around 1,400 people, after their stay in Kashi, will also visit Prayagraj and Ayodhya.

The seven groups include students (Ganga), Teachers (Yamuna), Professionals (Godavari), Spiritual (Saraswati), Farmers and Artisans (Narmada), Writers (Sindhu) and Traders and Businessmen (Kaveri) – all of them have been named after seven sacred rivers of India.

The Kashi Tamil Sangamam will encompass lectures covering literature, ancient texts, philosophy, spirituality, music, dance, drama, yoga, and Ayurveda.

Additionally, seminars are planned on innovation, trade, knowledge exchange, edutech, and next-gen technology. Over 42,000 registrations were received during the time of registration that ended on December 8 and out of them, 200 people for each group were selected by the selection committee.

The Union Ministry of Education is the nodal agency for this event.

The first phase of the Kashi Tamil Sangamam was organised from November 16 to December 16, 2022, with the Ministry of Education working as the nodal agency, in which over 2,500 people from Tamil Nadu travelled to Kashi, Prayagraj and Ayodhya on an eight-day tour.

Meanwhile, earlier participating in the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra programme at Barki Gram Sabha in Sewapuri development block, the Prime Minister said that this this was a way of checking whether government schemes were being properly implemented and whether people were getting the benefits.

He said that with events like the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra, the government machinery also remains alert and gets feedback about its efforts.

"It gives immense self-satisfaction when the results are good," he added.

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The Prime Minister also flagged off the Kashi Tamil Sangamam Express from Varanasi to Kanyakumari, on the occasion.

(IANS)

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