Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Museum on State’s heritage planned in New Delhi

CHENNAI: A permanent audio-visual and artefactual museum on Tamil Nadu’s civilisational heritage has been planned at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) in New Delhi.

It will aim, among other things, to conjure up a “mental atlas” that synthesises the work of artists, writers and raconteurs down the ages and document the oral tradition from the perspective of “the history of change,” and not merely dynastic change.

IGNCA advisor V. Raghu Rama Ayyar told a press conference in Chennai on Friday that the archival material would be sourced from institutions and individuals in Tamil Nadu.

Describing the State Government’s response to the proposal as “spontaneous and tremendous,” Mr. Ayyar appealed to institutions and individuals in possession of any form of archival merit to support the cause for a permanent exhibition on the spirit of Tamil Nadu in the national capital. If everything went to plan, the show could begin in four months.

The IGNCA expected to formalise an agreement with the State for transfer of archival material. The museum would feature a gamut ranging from temple jewellery, arts and rituals to lingual and literary heritage and design of hydraulic engineering, bridge building and architecture.

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