Varanasi, Feb. 22 -- The inter-faculty youth festival of Banaras Hindu University, Spandan 2026, began with a grand opening ceremony on the university campus. The five-day festival, from February 21 to 25, celebrates youth, creativity and healthy competition among students of different faculties and affiliated colleges. The chief guest was Malini Awasthi, Padma Shri awardee and noted folk singer. She thanked the university for inviting her and praised its efforts to promote India's rich cultural traditions. She also spoke about the strong musical culture of Banaras. Her performance focused on the festive spirit of Falgun and Holi. She sang popular songs such as "Masane Mein Holi", "Kachori Gali Sunn Kayil Balamua", "Tohe Rang Dalab Nand Ke Laal", "Bhola Bhandari", "Railiya Bairan" and "Holi Khele Raghubira". The programme was presided over by vice-chancellor Ajit Kumar Chaturvedi. He said that cultural festivals help build creativity, confidence and unity among students and that Spandan is a platform to discover hidden talent....