Kashiyatra

For the pilgrimage in India, see Kashi Yatra.

Kashiyatra काशीयात्रा
Dates	7-9 March 2025
Frequency	Yearly
Location(s)	Varanasi
Established	1981
Website	kashiyatra.org

Kashiyatra, also known as KY, is the annual socio-cultural festival of Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi. It is a four-day long mega event held in January every year, and is one of the most prominent[1] college festivals in India. Kashiyatra is one of the largest socio-culture festivals in Asia where 360+ colleges/universities take part.^[citation needed]

Kashiyatra witnesses a large number of participants across the country with having a footfall of 90,000+ participation footfall and organises 60+ events with many Celebrities performances. It provides a definite platform for the participants to showcase youths' talents as well as skills. The festival offers an unprecedented opportunity to meet and interact face to face with a large number of potential and targeted competitors across all the events.^[citation needed]

History

Kashiyatra had its first edition in the year 1981.[2] It has been named Sparsh and Spandan in the past. Over the years, Kashiyatra has seen the participation of prominent Indian cultural icons like classical singers Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, Ustad Bismillah Khan, and singers Shubha Mudgal, Shaan, Lucky Ali, Shibani Kashyap and Javed Ali. In 2006, Miss India Earth 2005 Niharika Singh took part in a fashion show organised as a part of it. Well known bands like Parikrama and Indian Ocean too have performed here.^[citation needed]

Events

Competitions

• Abhinay (dramatics competition) consists of stage plays, mono-acting, street-play. and mimes[3][4][5]
• Bandish (Indian music competition) features singing competitions from across the country including contestants from popular reality shows such as "Indian Idol" and "Sa Re Ga Ma Pa". It encompasses solo, duet and group performance of light and classical Indian and Western vocals.[6][7]
• Crosswindz (rock music competition) fuses an Inter-College Rock Rock Festival with a Professional Rock Band as the final act. In the past, Crosswindz has seen performances such as Parikrama, Indian Ocean, Orange Street etc.[8][9][10][6]
• Enquizta (quiz competition) consists of multiple quizzes. It has hosted some of India's largest quizzes over the years with participation in excess of 5000, by prominent quizmasters such as Vikram Joshi.[6][11][12]
• Mirage (fashion competition) [13][14][15][16][17][18]
• Natraj (dance competition) comprises solo, duo and group performances[19][20][21][22]
• Toolika (art competition) comprises sculptures, paintings on canvas, mehendi, tattoo and rangoli-making.[23][24][25]
• Samwaad (literary competition) comprises debates, extempore speeches, just-a-minute, poetry, and storytelling events.[26][27][28]
• Model United Nations has been held every year since 2013[29]

Pronites

• Antarnaad is the final night of Kashiyatra which sees famous artists and bands from the Indian film industry such as Lucky Ali, Javed Ali, Indian Ocean, Underground Authority, Parikrama etc.
• Fusion Nite is a creative amalgamation of classical Western and Indian Music which has witnessed the presence of the Dunes of Rajasthan, Rishi Inc and others.
• Kavi Sammelan is a poetic symposium which has been graced by Kumar Vishwas, Surendra Sharma and others.
• Bollywood Night is the celebrity performances by most renowned artist like Darshan Raval,[30] Raftar, Amit Trivedi

References

1. "Most prominent festival of northern India".
2. "Festival details".
3. "IIT-BHU's 'Kashiyatra' begins today". The Times of India. 24 January 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
4. "सलीम-सुलेमान के धमाल संग पूरी हुई IIT BHU के सांस्कृतिक उत्सव 'काशीयात्रा'". Patrika News (in Hindi). 19 January 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
5. "Sishir Sharma".
6. YouthInc (1 January 2020). "Kashiyatra 2020 – The Annual Socio-cultural Festival Of IIT Varanasi". Youth Incorporated Magazine. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
7. "YouTube". youtube.com. 12 January 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
8. "Kashiyatra, IIT BHU Varanasi". facebook.com. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
9. "CROSSWINDZ Kashiyatra17!". unstop.com. 17 September 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
10. "Dare2Compete rebrands to Unstop". Unstop.com (formerly Dare2Compete). Retrieved 12 May 2021.
11. "Kashiyatra, IIT BHU Varanasi". facebook.com. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
12. "Major Chandrakant Nair To Be The Quiz Master at Kashiyatra 2020". DU Express. 2 December 2019. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
13. "IIT BHU का वार्षिकोत्सव काशीयात्रा- 2020: द लोकल ट्रैन और ऋत्विज ने मचाई धूम". Patrika News (in Hindi). 18 January 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
14. "काशी यात्राः आईआईटी बीएचयू की छात्राओं ने पारपंरिक परिधानों में किया ऐसा रैंप वॉक, आप भी कहेंगे वाह". Amar Ujala (in Hindi). Retrieved 15 June 2020.
15. "IIT BHU का वार्षिकोत्सव : काशीयात्रा-2020 के 38वें संस्करण में 60 हजार लोग होंगे शामिल". Dainik Jagran (in Hindi). Retrieved 15 June 2020.
16. "IIT-BHU's 'Kashiyatra' begins today". The Times of India. 24 January 2013. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
17. "BHU IIT में वार्षिक सांस्कृतिक उत्सव काशी यात्रा का आगाज, छात्रों ने बिखेरा जलवा VIDEO". livehindustan.com (in Hindi). Retrieved 15 June 2020.
18. "IIT BHU: ऋितविज डीजे के पॉवर पैक पर्फामेंस ने लोगों को झूमने पर किया मजबूर". Varanasi News. 1 January 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
19. "IIT BHU के वार्षिकोत्सव काशीयात्रा 2020 का ऐलान, तीन दिनों तक फुल मस्ती". Patrika News (in Hindi). 14 January 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
20. "काशीयात्रा : सामाजिक-सांस्कृतिक उत्सव के लिए तैयार आइआइटी-बीएचयू, देशभर के 350 शिक्षण संस्थानों के छात्र-छात्राओं की होगी जुटान". Dainik Jagran (in Hindi). Retrieved 15 June 2020.
21. Kapoor, Punkhuri (15 February 2015). "'Valentine & religion' rules IIT-BHU campus". The Times of India. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
22. "Kashiyatra: Latest News, Videos and Photos of Kashiyatra". The Times of India. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
23. "Kashiyatra: A journey to creativity and knowledge". The Times of India. 26 January 2013. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
24. Abhinandan Singh (1 January 2015). "Kashiyatra'XV IIT (BHU) Varanasi – Toolika (fine Arts Event)". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
25. "IIT BHU annual cultural fest Kashiyatra-13 commences". studyguideindia.com. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
26. "Samwaad". Issuu. 24 December 2013. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
27. "iit bhu varanasi की सबसे ताज़ा खबर". Amar Ujala (in Hindi). Retrieved 15 June 2020.
28. "IIT BHU Kashi Yatra-2020:दूसरा दिन रॉक बैंड्स पर थिरके युवा, डीजे अनइवेन ने मचाया धमाल". Patrika News (in Hindi). 18 January 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
29. "Kashiyatra: A journey to creativity and knowledge". The Times of India. 26 January 2013. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
30. "Mysticism and magic in the air at Kashiyatra 2023!". GrooveNexus. Retrieved 18 November 2024.