Lucknow, Oct. 11 -- Purvanchal has always stood for unity, harmony, hard work and service, deputy chief minister Brajesh Pathak said on Saturday, mentioning Kashi's 'gyan parampara' (knowledge tradition), the sweetness of folk songs and the vibrance of folk art. Invoking Uttar Pradesh's legacy, he also said the state's soil has given the country seers, thinkers, writers, artists and leaders. He was addressing a gathering at the 9th Purvanchal Mati Mahotsav and Samman Samaroh at Sangeet Natak Akademi. Pathak said soil carries civilisation, culture and ideology. "It is the invisible thread that ties a person to his roots, no matter where life takes him," he said. "We get so busy chasing life that we forget the soil that made us," Pathak said. "But our real identity lies there. Success is not just ours, it belongs to the mitti that shaped us." "Purvanchal's mitti smells of our glorious history," he said, adding that festivals like Mati Mahotsav do more than honour talent, they keep heritage alive and connect the next generation to its roots. Making a call to the youth and diaspora, Pathak said, "Carry your village, your city with you. Let your work bring glory to your soil and your conduct reflect its values. Only when we stay rooted can we truly rise." Noted poets and satirists - Prashant Pandey, Rajkumar Singh, Ashok Takri, Alok Anil, Pankaj Prasoon, Satendra Kumar Kuntal, Hassan Kazmi and Brijnath Yadav - were felicitated for their contribution. The event was attended by Union minister of state for finance and UP BJP chief Pankaj Chaudhary, festival convenor Asif Azmi, BJP Lucknow chief Anand Dwivedi, ADG (Law and Order) Amitabh Yash, ANDUAT (Acharya Narendra Deva University of Agriculture and Technology) vice chancellor Gyanendra Pratap Singh, Pradeep Narayan Singh of the Banaras royal family, and senior journalists Prateek Trivedi and Pradeep Singh Babbu, among others....