A celebration of India’s literary and cultural vibrance through dialogues,
performances, competitions, and creative expressions.
Competitions Guidelines
Document
📍
10th & 11th July 2025
JNTU Hyderabad, Kukatpally, Hyderabad
Presented by Varma Foundation
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Participatory Competitions and Youth Engagement
Competitions are designed to make the festival participatory for School students and
Youth.
Categories:
Juniors: 6th class to +2 (senior intermediate)
Seniors: Graduate and Postgraduate students, youth below 35.
To register: https://bit.ly/SaraswatiLitFest
Last date to register: 9 July, 11.59 pm
For more information - 8897312800
War of Word Lords (Thematic Debate Competition)
A high-stakes debate competition where teams of two, challenge one another on themes
related to Indian literature and its contemporary relevance. Participants will showcase
research, logic, and oratory rooted in our literary ethos.
Overall Theme: Indian Cultural Heritage and Indian Literary Traditions in the 21st Century.
Specific debate statements will be given on the spot.
Languages allowed: Telugu, Hindi, English
Time Limit: 5-8 mins
Example Debate Statements:
Teams argue for and against these topics.
Folk tales should be modernized to stay relevant
For: Appeal to today's youth. Against: Risk of losing authenticity.
Oral storytelling is more effective than written storytelling.
For: emotional engagement. Against: lack of permanence.
English is diluting the value of Indian languages in literature
For: languages being sidelined. Against: English helps global recognition
Digital platforms like YouTube and Instagram are the future of Indian storytelling
For: Wider reach, creative freedom. Against: Superficiality and lack of depth
Drama and roleplay teach Indian literature better than textbook study
For: Experiential learning. Against: Risk of inaccuracy or distraction
Traditional puppetry should be revived in modern schools
For: Cultural education and creativity. Against: Time constraints and logistics
Storytelling is more important than facts in shaping young minds
For: Builds empathy, values. Against: Risk of distortion or lack of accuracy
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Ancient Indian literature is too complex for today’s youth.
For: Difficult language, context. Against: Timeless wisdom and adaptability.
Cultural competitions in schools are as important as academic exams.
For: Holistic development. Against: Academics should remain the priority.
Traditional medicine can replace modern allopathy in everyday healthcare.
For: Natural, time-tested, holistic approaches.
Against: Lack of standardization, slower response in emergencies.
Indian mythology should be treated as historical truth.
For: Based on cultural memory and symbolic truths.
Against: risk of misinterpretation.
Culture creates more conflict than unity in modern society.
For: Cultural differences lead to division and bias.
Against: Shared culture fosters identity, inclusion, and belonging.
Regional aspirations are more important than globalization.
For: Protects local economies, languages, and traditions.
Against: Limits opportunity, innovation, and global cooperation.
Nationalism is also important in an increasingly global world.
For: Nationalism fosters pride, accountability, and sovereignty.
Against: Global challenges need collective identity.
STEM education is more relevant than liberal arts today.
For: Higher job demand, innovation, and technological growth.
Against: Liberal arts build critical thinking, and societal understanding.
Panchatantra Storytelling
Competitors embody the role of storytellers, recreating timeless fables from the
Pancatantra through voice, expression, and narrative finesse. The contest revives India’s
oral tradition of imparting wisdom through engaging tales. Participants can choose one
story and narrate it. Additional points for usage of props, songs and other expression
modes. Plain storytelling without any props is also allowed.
Time Limit: 10 mins
India Quiz
A vibrant quiz exploring India’s tangible and intangible cultural heritage – from
literature, languages, music, monuments, traditions, places, rivers, Indian history,
geography, to personalities and puranas. Open to teams of three. All three participants
have to register individually
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Model United Nations (MUN)
Theme: Solving Global Issues through repository of Indian knowledge systems – Vasudhaiva
Kutumbakam
An intellectually rich simulation where students act as global delegates proposing culturally
grounded, sustainable solutions to global problems. The emphasis will be on Indian
knowledge systems, SDGs and global citizenship values.
Note: Specific topics, countries will be assigned on 10 July to registered participants.
Example topics are given below:
Sustainable Living through Indian Ecological Wisdom
Water Security through Traditional Indian Practices
Using ancient Indian water management systems like stepwells, tanks, rainwater
harvesting to address the modern global water crisis.
Zero-Waste Lifestyle: What the World Can Learn from Indian Village Systems
Delegates debate incorporating practices from rural Indian models to reduce global
waste.
Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam: A Moral Compass for Global Diplomacy
Discussing the Indian concept of universal brotherhood as a principle for global conflict
resolution.
Can Non-Violence Be a Foreign Policy Principle Today?
Reviving Gandhian values in resolving modern political and military conflicts.
Decolonizing Global Education: Role of Indian Knowledge Systems
Could including texts like Panchatantra, Arthashastra, and ancient mathematics change
world curricula?
Craft-Based Economies: Can Indian Rural Models Guide Global Sustainability?
Discussing global revival of craft-based economies inspired by Indian village models and
khadi movement.
Nordic Countries + India: Co-creating Climate Conscious Civilizations
Blending Nordic environmental policy and Indian ecological philosophy.
African Union + India: Indigenous Wisdom in Modern Development
Exchanging traditional ecological knowledge for food security, water, and healing
practices.
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ASEAN + India: Reviving Shared Cultural Heritage through Policy
From Ramayana routes to shared musical and craft traditions, can policy foster cultural
diplomacy?
BRICS Nations: Indian Philosophies in Reimagining Global Governance
Could Dharma-based leadership principles shape global institutions like WTO or UN?
Cultural Intelligence in AI: What Indian Epics Can Teach Tech Ethics
Using Indian epics and logic systems to program ethical decision-making into AI.
Global Health Equity through AYUSH: Mainstreaming Traditional Medicine in
Global Healthcare Systems
Representing Indigenous Narratives: Tribal Arts, Rituals, and Practices on the
Global Stage
Culture vs Civilization: Do They Move Together or Apart in a Globalized World?
Participation & Registration
Events are open to schools, colleges, and individual enthusiasts across all disciplines. Each
participant will receive a certificate, and winners will be awarded with merit certificates nd
momentos.
To register: https://bit.ly/SaraswatiLitFest
Schedule
Reporting Time: 10.00 am on both days.
War of Word Lords
11.00 Am, 10 July
Panchatantra Storytelling
11.00 Am, 10 July
MUN
11.00 Am, 11 July
India Quiz
11.00 Am, 11 July
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