Addressing countrymen in his monthly broadcast 'Mann-ki-Batt' on Sunday Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that not many people in the country know about the Brahmaputra Pushkar festival which is also known as Pushkaram, Pushkaraalu, and Pushkaraha.
"Mr Ramesh Sharma from Nagaon in Assam writes that Brahmaputra Pushkar festival was held between 4 and 16 November, and people had come from all corners of the country to take part in this. Weren't you also surprised to hear this?" said Narendra Modi.
"Not many people in the country know about this. Well, if someone would have given it the moniker 'International River Festival', or used some other word for its reference, then it might have resulted in some sort of discussion around this topic in the country," said Modi.
"My dear countrymen, Pushkaram, Pushkaraalu, Pushkaraha. - have you ever heard these terms? Do you know what these are? Let me tell you, these are the different names by which festivals orgsed on the 12 different rivers across the country are called," said Prime Minister.
"Just like Kumbh festival it encourages the concept of national unity and echoes the philosophy of Ek Bharat Sheshtra Bharat," he said.
"Last year the Pushkaram was held on the Taamirabar river in Tamil Nadu. This year it was held on the Brahmaputra river. Next year it will be held in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka on the Tungabhadra river," he added.
( With inputs from ANI )