“Banaras is the oldest city in the world, the city of bliss, Joy and conscious Living.” Dr. Sachidanand Joshi

New Delhi: Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, held its new series of book reading namely ‘Prastuti : Aakhar’ on the book titled “Banaras Ke Ghats”. This book has poems of Dr. Sachidanand Joshi, Member Secretary, Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts. The book has been researched by Prof. Pratapanand Jha, Director, Cultural Informatics, IGNCA. Dr. Priyanka Mishra, Director, (Administration) is person who conceptualized “Prastuti: Aakhar.”
On this occasion, Dr. Sachchidanand Joshi, said that “Banaras is the oldest city in the world. This city pulls towards itself and Keeps you hooked.” He further said that it’s the city of bliss, joy and slow and conscious living. The city keeps you in check. He shared anecdotes from his own experiences he had while having a boat ride from Assi Ghat to Dashashwamedh Ghat and added that it’s the city of individual experiences and if possible one should have that experience by doing the boat ride of ghats all alone. He composed the poems based on his experiences and thoughts he had while seeing the ghats like Harishchand Ghat, Chet Singh Ghat, Manikarnika Ghat and other ghats. Dr. Pratapanand Jha, who played an important role in the book, said that during the visit of the President of France to India, information was sought on the ‘Ghats of Banaras’. It is only then the book came into being as lot of research on the issue was done and as a result the book was developed. It has a collection of poems written by Dr. Sachchidanand Joshi. It would be interesting to note that there is no compiled information on ghats of Banaras and this book comes as an answer to it because it includes concise information on the same. Dr. Sachidanand Joshi, read his poems from the book too on the occasion.
Earlier in the event Dr. Priyanka Mishra, introduced the whole concept “Prastuti: Aakhar” and said that that the idea was to infuse soul into ‘Prastuti’ the souvenir shop of IGNCA. She also added that it should be interactive and there should be two way communications and it should not be like any other commercialized event. Mr. Sumit Dey, Assistant Professor, IGNCA also shared his views and experiences about Banaras. Subsequently, in the end the visitors and the personnel of IGNCA also shared their views about ghats of Banaras.
It would also be noteworthy in this context that Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts in the past has held an event in Varanasi namely “Kashi Mahotsav” which received an overwhelming reception by the people. In the recent past, a photo exhibition on the occasion of ‘Kashi Tamil Sangamam’ was also organised. The exhibition will be on at BHU Amphitheatre Ground, from 18th November to 16th December, 2022. The event showcases various interrelated and shared ‘Saivite and Vaisnavite’ traditions of Tamil Nadu and Kashi with special emphasis on portraying major temples of Tamil Nadu through a digital presentation on the same. The exhibition also focusses on the Shakta traditions along with various spiritual schools such as Sant Kabirdas Ji, Keenaram ji and many others.