The Ministry of Education is organizing the program in collaboration with other ministries like culture, textiles, railways, tourism, food processing, information and broadcasting, and the Uttar Pradesh government, according to the news agency PTI.
A senior Ministry of Education official said that the month-long program 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 endeavor is in sync with the new National Education Policy 2020’s emphasis on integrating the wealth of Indian knowledge systems with modern systems of knowledge. IIT Madras and the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) are the two implementing agencies for the program," the official told PTI.
During this program, more than 2,500 delegates from Tamil Nadu under 12 categories such as students, teachers, literature, culture, artisans, spiritual, heritage, business, entrepreneurs, and professionals will be visiting Varanasi on an eight-day tour, as per PTI reports.
The official said that the delegates will participate in seminars and site visits in special programs curated for each of the 12 categories to interact with local people of the same trade, profession, and interest. They will also visit places of interest in and around Varanasi, including Prayagraj and Ayodhya.
"Students of BHU and other Higher Educational Institutions will be participating in the academic programmes," the official said.
"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 and their train was flagged off by Governor of Tamil Nadu R N Ravi from Chennai Railway Station," the official added.
A month-long exhibition of handlooms, handicrafts, books, documentaries, cuisine, art forms, history, and tourist places of the two regions will be put up in Varanasi for the benefit of the local people, PTI reported.
The Prime Minister, during the inaugural program, will interact with the delegates coming from Tamil Nadu. The inauguration ceremony will witness various cultural performances such as a vocal rendition by Ilaiyaraaja and book releases.
(With PTI inputs)
