Varanasi, Oct 24 (IANS): Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar Thursday inaugurated the first edition of the Banaras Utsav - a four-day cultural and art festival.

Accompanied by singing exponents Rajan and Sajan Mishra, the inaugural session was followed by one on the mysticism of Lord Shiva in literature by author Amish Tripathi along with Chandramouli Upadhyaya at the Sunbeam School, Bhagwanpur.

Said to be the first-of-its-kind art and cultural festival of city events, the festival would see functions at various ghats like Assi Ghat, Shivala Ghat, Jukaso Ganges Hotel on Ganesh Ghat, Raja Ghat besides Amrit Rao Peshwa Haveli and Benia Bagh, organisers told IANS.

"The spirit of the event is to showcase the rich heritage associated with the city and this is a conscious step taken by the Banaras Utsav Committee to inspire the younger generation to take the legacy forward ... it is very important to preserve the true essence of the oldest city of the world," Ashok Kumar Gupta, chairman of the finance committee of the Banaras Utsav, said.

Speaking on the occasion, Tripathi - author of the Shiva Trilogy, said, "Benaras has been home to poets, writers, thinkers and artists. It is always a delight to visit Benaras, regardless of the reason. I have learned that it is in itself a great metaphor for the Mahadev, a metaphor for duality while it is the centre of lively cultural confluence. It is very encouraging to see the response that this festival has received on its first day."

The inaugural day also witnessed a performance by Vyomesh Shukla and his theatre group on "Ramji ki Shakti Puja" at Surya Uday Haveli, Shivala Ghat.