President Pranab Mukherjee will inaugurate the five-day International Gita Mahotsava in Haryana’s Kurukshetra district on December 6.
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar lal on Monday said that the Gita Mahotsava is being celebrated to take the eternal message of Bhagavad Gita to the world stage during its 5153rd birth anniversary.
He said that a series of programmes would be organized during the five days of the Mahotsava.
The Chief Minister said that the high point would be an international seminar on the relevance of Bhagavad Gita in modern life. It would be organized at the campus of Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra on December 9.
This would be an excellent forum to continue the centuries long practice of sharing of thoughts and experiences in the tradition of Henry David Thoreau, R W Emerson, Aldous Huxley, Schopenhauer and J Robert Oppenheimer. Many famous scholars and lovers of Gita from all walks of life like Astronaut Sunita Williams, who proudly carries a copy of Gita in her space sojourns, and Senator Tulsi Gabbard, who took the oath of office with Gita in her hand have been invited to speak at the forum, said the Chief Minister.
At the inaugural function, 18,000 students from all over Haryana would recite the shlokas of the Gita at the sacred Brahma Sarovar in Kurukshetra. As many as 574 young men and women, each embodying one shloka spoken by lord Krishna, would converge at Kurukshetra from different cities in the country a day in advance. A number of cultural performances, art shows, literary events and festivities would mark the celebrations upto December 10.
Troupes from various countries such as Mauritius and Sri lanka would also participate in cultural programmes in collaboration with Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and North Zone Cultural Center (NZCC) during the festivities.
Besides, Gita Mahotsav would be organised in all districts of the state up to block level. Block and district level Gita Shalok recital, declamation and quiz competitions would be held between December 1 and 5.
Special shuttle bus service to and from the venue would be made operational in Kuruskshetra before the Gita Mahotsav.