The long and rich history of our city should be known to younger generation: Tourism Minister

The long and rich history of our city should be known to the younger generation, Tourism Minister S. Rajesh Kumar said at the 387^th year celebrations of Madras day here at the Victoria Public Hall on Saturday.

While speaking at the event organised by the Tourism Department and Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation (TTDC), he said it is important to celebrate Madras Day “as the city’s art, culture and history needs to be taken to the next generation and this day provides a good opportunity to do so”. Over years, the city has grown and evolved so much and many come here to build their life and career, he said, adding he visited the Special Photography Exhibition being organised at the Anna Centenary Library.

When people read books, they get to know the history of the country and world, but when they see them through photographs, the impact is significant. “When I visited the exhibition, I saw the photographs come alive [reflecting the history and spirit of Madras],” he added.

V.P. Jeyaseelan, Director of Tourism and Managing Director, TTDC, said they have held various events in the past week to celebrate the Madras Day, be it for contests for school and college students or wall art.

Victoria Public Hall holds a special place in the history of the city, he said. This building along with Moore Market and Chennai Central was part of old Madras and Chennai is now rapidly becoming a modern city. He noted that the aim of Madras Day is to learn from the history of the city, chalk out the path for the new city, and to make sure it remains inclusive.

The photography exhibition, which was also inaugurated on Saturday at the Anna Centenary Library, will continue till August 31.

During the occasion, winners of wall art and photo contests were among those who were felicitated.