Is there a secret to the bewitching charm of this place. And, are there folk legends about how this land was created?
The audience at the Raj Nivas got a peep into the ancient history of the city during a talk by P. Raja, author on ‘Tracing the history of Puducherry through folk tales’.
He was delivering the second talk of the Raj Nivas Lecture series which was conceptualised to engage residents of Puducherry on "thought leadership" through a series of interactive sessions by eminent speakers from the fields of history, art, literature, leadership, management, science, culture, health and spirituality.
If the maiden lecture of the series in December by Rajeev Peshawaria on "Leadership Energy" had an audience comprising Ministers, elected representatives, public servants and academicians, the Raj Nivas welcomed in school and college students for Prof. Raja’s talk. And, they sat in rapt attention as they rediscovered the city through fascinating folk tales.
Prof. Raja recreated the vision a land of captivating beauty through the Lord of Seas tale, how the place got its name through the story of a Frenchman and a fisherwoman and also narrated a mythological tale about the Manakula Vinayagar deity.
Lt. Governor, Kiran Bedi in her interaction with the students said that Raj Nivas is transforming itself into People's Nivas, Seva Nivas, Youth Nivas, Energy Nivas by the lecture series, film series and other networking initiatives.
Every time a new group of students would be invited and made to see Raj Nivas and be inspired and ignited to aspire to become future civil servants, administrators, academicians, sports persons and more importantly good human beings.
According to the Raj Nivas, the lecture series, along with Open House and soon to be launched Film series, Network@Rajnivas and NGO conclave formed an important fulcrum in connecting with the people from divergent sections.
