'Aakanksha' fest kicks off at BHU with creativity

Varanasi: The annual youth festival, ‘Aakanksha', was inaugurated with great pomp and show at the Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, on Monday. The festival is a week-long programme featuring various activities and competitions aimed at promoting creativity, artistic skills, and a sense of camaraderie among the youth of the Institute.

The festival was inaugurated by Institute's director Sanjay Kumar and dean Satyanshu Kumar Upadhyay.

Student advisor Prof Madhu Taparia announced that the programme would feature 30 different events, including sketching, painting, dance, music, treasure hunts, mehndi, and rangoli.

On the opening day, over 151 students from the Institute participated in an essay competition conducted in Hindi, Sanskrit, and English. The topic for the essay was "'Contribution of Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya Ji to India's Independence and Education', honouring the founder of the university and his enduring impact on the freedom struggle and education in India.