Youth Festival to remember the Monk who introduced India to the world

Mangalore: The 17th National Youth Festival starts in Mangalore on Saturday. The event is organized to commemorate the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda that falls on January12; the first festival of this kind was organized in Bhopal in 1995.

To mark this occasion youth from different parts of India have arrived to this coastal city situated along the Arabian Sea. Their arrival here on the occasion of National Youth Festival best represents India ';celebrating diversity in unity' at the national youth festival.

Situated at a distance of around 350 km off Bangalore, the city of Mangalore is an ideal place to celebrate the Youth Festival, as it is a multilingual city. Apart from Hindi and English, Kannada, Urdu, Tulu and Konakani are also spoken in the city making this city an ideal venue. Mangalore houses people of Hindu, Muslim and Christian faith.

To mark this occasion 5,000 students from different parts of India and delegates from SAARC countries has also arrived to participate in the various functions that will be held here for five days or more.

The chief minister of Karnataka D.V. Sadanand Gowda will inaugurate the festival while Union Minister of Corporate Affairs M. Veerappa Moily and Union Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports Ajay Maken will also grace the occasion.

The festival is jointly organized by the central government and Government of Karnataka.