The second edition of ‘Madurai Vizha,' a three-day event hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Madurai Zone, focussing on cultural and historical significance of Madurai, will begin at Tamukkam Ground here on Friday.
Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, the chairperson of ‘Madurai Vizha 2012,' Uma Kannan, said that the main objective of the festival was to create awareness of the rich historical past of the city among the public, especially the youth. The event would be a celebration of Madurai's history, traditions, culture and heritage. Efforts would be taken to promote the event as a unique tourism product for the global and domestic travellers.
With the next generation being the primary focus of the event, traditional dressing, cooking and ‘kolam' contests would be held for school and college students besides the public. Apart from traditional games such as ‘Uri' and ‘silambattam,' classical and folk dance performances such as bharatnatyam and karagattam have also been scheduled. Visitors could also see traditional costumes of Madurai and sample local cuisine. A photography exhibition showcasing the history of the city has also been arranged.
A jasmine workshop would also be held, besides live performances of traditional arts such as ‘villu paattu,' ‘thappaattam' and fire dance. Horse and bullock cart rides would be also be taken out.
Eminent persons who had contributed to Madurai's art and culture, besides other related fields, would be honoured during the event.
CII Madurai Zone chairman Shyam Prakash Gupta said that southern districts had a lot of tourism potential that was lying untapped. During this event, supported by the Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation (TTDC), a report on the development of tourism in south Tamil Nadu would be released and presented to the State Government.
G. Vasudevan, Convenor - Tourism Panel, CII Madurai Zone, said that with the youth increasingly taking to western influences, such events would help remind them of their roots before it was completely forgotten.
