Chennai gave me a lot of confidence: T.N. Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu

My childhood dream was to come to Madras. I often told my mother that I wanted to go to Madras. When my father was an MLC, I would accompany him to the Virudhunagar Railway Station to send him off and spend some time sitting inside the train that would depart for Madras, says Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu.

I always had a special fascination for Chennai, then called Madras.My father would bring take me to Chennai for the Upper House sessions. I will be sitting in the gallery.

Appa (father) took me to meet Kalaignar and I got his autograph. He signed the words “Tamil Vaazhga.” I was an ardent fan of Kamal Haasan, and meeting him was an unforgettable experience. This meeting happened when I was in Class VII or VIII. I took the same autograph book; Kamal saw Kalaignar’s autograph and asked me if I had met him. Later in life, I was working as a plant engineer in Thoothukudi. Suddenly, a group of engineers were transferred to Chennai – and I came to Chennai. I was interested in Carnatic music and I had the opportunity to visit a few sabhas and listen to kutcheris. For a person like me who came from a village, Chennai gave me a lot of confidence. This is the place where I met some of my favourite leaders and worked on my favorite projects.

People say that ancient temples are in Thanjavur, but Chennai also has its own ancient temples, like the ones in Mylapore and Velachery.

The city is also home to several migrant workers.

(As told to Sangeetha Kandavel)