Kashi Tamil Sangamam + UPSC?.ToString()?? UPSC?.ToString()+" Current Affairs";

The main theme of the third edition of Kashi Tamil Sangamam, a cultural exchange programme scheduled to be held from February 14 to 25, will be Rishi Agastya.
The first edition of the programme, which is organised by the Ministry of Education, was held in 2022, and it is meant to mark the bond in terms of civilisation and culture between Varanasi and Tamil Nadu.
Participants will visit Varanasi, Prayagraj, and Ayodhya, and with the event coinciding with the Maha Kumbh, they will also visit the Kumbh.
What is Kashi Tamil Sangamam?
About:
Kashi Tamil Sangamam celebrates many aspects of the historical and civilisational connection between India’s North and South.
The broader objective is to bring the two knowledge and cultural traditions (of the North and South) closer, create an understanding of our shared heritage and deepen the people-to-people bond between the regions.
It is being organized by the Ministry of Education in collaboration with other ministries like Culture, Textiles, Railways, Tourism, Food Processing, Information & Broadcasting etc. and the Government of Uttar Pradesh.
The endeavour is in sync with National Education Policy (NEP), 2020’s emphasis on integrating the wealth of Indian Knowledge Systems with modern systems of knowledge.
IIT Madras and Banaras Hindu University (BHU) are the two implementing agencies for the programme.
Cultural Significance:
King Parakrama Pandya, who ruled over the region around Madurai in the 15th century, wanted to build a temple to Lord Shiva, and he travelled to Kashi (Uttar Pradesh) to bring back a lingam.
While returning, he stopped to rest under a tree — but when he tried to continue his journey, the cow carrying the lingam refused to move.
Parakrama Pandya understood this to be the Lord’s wish, and installed the lingam there, a place that came to be known as Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu.
For devotees who could not visit Kashi, the Pandyas had built the Kasi Viswanathar Temple in what is today Tenkasi in southwestern Tamil Nadu, close to the state’s border with Kerala.