An exhibition - ‘Picturing America’ - depicting the various facets of life in America for the past 200 years, was held as part of the celebrations.

Addressing the gathering, Public Affairs Officer at the Chennai Consulate Daniel T Saint - Rossy said the Consulate was focussing on new ideas for better partnership and innovation between the two countries. The best of these tie-ups were educational programmes which has led to students opting for popular courses like masters programme in business management which allowed them to study one year in the US and another year in India.

In a lighter vein, Saint Rossy, who came to India a few days ago said that his attempt to familiarise himself to the Indian culture and set up was derived from Bollywood movies and left him anxious about the level of emotional openness required to live here.

“Fortunately, a friend directed me towards other resources like books and materials to give a more realistic picture of life here,” he said.

The exhibition held by the National endowment for the Humanities in co-operation with the American Library Association, brings masterpieces of American art into classrooms and libraries nationwide. The exhibition will be open to the public until September 24 at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.

The American Corner serves as a window to life and culture in USA and the first stop for accurate and up-to-date information about cultural, educational, political economic and social trends in the United States.

Services include open access to material, reference services, photocopying and invitations to programmes organised by the Chennai US Consulate General.