Banaras Hindu University launches PG course in Kashi study

BHU Professor believes that the course launched by varsity will help students decipher the mystique of the heritage city through academia.

Banaras Hindu University (BHU) to begin a two-year post-graduate course titled Kashi Study. Over millions of earthen lamps are lit from Ravidas Ghat to Rajghat during Diwali According to Professor Kaushal Kishore Mishra, dean of the social sciences faculty at the Banaras Hindu University (BHU), "This tradition of lighting the lamps was started in 1985. This time, Prime Minister Narendra Modi graced the occasion. After its subsequent success, it was being discussed that once the COVID-19 pandemic is over, Kashi would become a tourist hub," The professor believes that the course launched by BHU will help students decipher the mystique of the heritage city through academia.

To work on the course framework, a seven-member committee headed by the professor was formed. The course framework is expected to be presented for approval before the academic council in January. "The admission criteria will be decided once the framework is approved. For now, we have decided to allow foreign students to enroll. The first session under the Faculty of Social Sciences will begin in July 2021. The course will span four semesters with a total of 20 papers. Students, both Indian and international, need to pass all tests in order to get the certificate at the end of the course," he added.

Talking about the scattered literature available on Kashi, Mishra said, "In the 1980s, when I was a student, Diana L Eck arrived in Kashi to write her book, Banaras: City of Light. Unfortunately, she had nobody who could introduce her to the true aspects of the city. So, she met with tea stall owners, sadhus at the ghats, pandits in temples and other locals to write this book. Eventually, it became a hit, but it didn't truly represent the rich Banarasi tradition and folklore. We hope the course will." The students will also get a chance to understand the works of Tulsidas, Kabir, Premchand, Gautam Buddha and Ravidas.

"Kashi ko samajhne ke liye, Kashi ko jeena padta hai. Kashi is an emotion that can be seen and felt only when you have lived it. Currently, the tourist guides too have little or no clue about the real Kashi. Through this course, we are trying to create historians who will put the city on the world's cultural map," he added.

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