International Gita festival to be held in Kurukshetra from Nov 19-Dec 6

Chandigarh, November 14

The annual international Gita festival will be held in Kurukshetra from November 19 to December 6, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said on Monday.

President Droupadi Murmu will formally inaugurate the main programmes at a Gita Yagya at Brahmasarovar in Kurukshetra on November 29, while the Mahotsav celebrations will start from November 19, he said.

She will also inaugurate the three-day International Gita seminar at Kurukshetra University on the same day.

“In this seminar renowned international and national scholars of the Srimad Bhagavad Gita and researchers from across the country and abroad will present their research papers on ‘world peace and harmony’,” he said.

The chief minister said that the Saras and Craft Mela will also be held from November 19 to December 6.

Sculptors from across the country have made 21 special stone sculptures based on the theme of the Mahabharata and the Gita. Various crafts persons will also showcase their talent, he said.

Khattar told reporters that in 2019, the ‘International Gita Mahotsav’ was celebrated in Mauritius and later, in London. In September, it was organised in Canada, he said. This year, Nepal will be the partner country and Madhya Pradesh will be the partner state for the festival, he said.

The chief minister said that a special pavilion has been set up by the Madhya Pradesh government at Purushottampura Bagh, Brahmasarovar, highlighting the state’s culture, crafts and food.

The Haryana pavilion showcasing folk dance, crafts, small-scale industries and food of the state will also be set up so that tourists and devotees visiting this festival can get a glimpse of Haryanvi culture and traditions,” he said.

“Exhibitions related to the development and progress of Haryana are also being organised by various departments to give detailed information about the welfare schemes being run by the government and the development of Haryana to the visitors,” Khattar said.

He said that there will be ‘Bhajan Sandhya’ every day on the banks of the Brahmasarovar and after that, a grand ‘Gita aarti’ will also be organised. “This aarti will be similar to the grand evening aarti held at other key pilgrimage centres of the country,” Khattar said.

The chief minister shared that ambassadors of various countries, including Azerbaijan, Ethiopia and Vietnam, are likely to attend the international Gita festival.

“People from different countries connected through social media will also get a glimpse of this festival. Even before the start of the International Gita Mahotsav-2022, more than four lakh people from more than 25 countries, including America, Canada, Australia, UK, Poland and China joined this mahotsav through social media. More than 3.80 lakh people have visited the webpage of the IGM-2022 website,” he said.

Khattar said Gita Shlokas recitation will be done by 18,000 students in Kurukshetra on Gita Jayanti Day on December 4.

“The ‘Gita Sthali’ Kurukshetra is a confluence of faith and tourism. Recently, Lord Krishna’s Virat Swaroop was unveiled in Jyotisar. Soon a 3-D projection mapping show will also be seen here. Its work has almost been completed. The show will be inaugurated in the coming days,” he said.

He said six museums are also being built in Kurukshetra at a cost of around Rs 250 crore, where episodes related to the Mahabharata and the Gita will be shown digitally.

To a question, Khattar said that “developmental parameters set by our government are not only limited to infrastructure such as roads, buildings etc. but spiritual and holistic development has always remained our utmost priority as we have inculcated the teachings of Gita in our working”.

Gita Manishi, Swami Gyananand Ji Maharaj, said the relevance of the Bhagavad Gita has become more relevant in the present times. Every person should imbibe the teachings of the Gita in their life, he said.

“The message of the Gita holds eternal relevance and it has been inspiring human beings for thousands of years,” said Swami Gyananand, who is known for his research on Bhagavad Gita and is a famous Gita speaker.