Madurai: Dalai Lama, who consented to be the chief guest, enlightened the audience on the significance of a peaceful world during an hour’s session, APJMJ Sheik Saleem, grand nephew of Dr Kalam said. Dalai Lama emphasized that there was no need to discriminate on the basis of colour, religion, tradition or culture. ‘We must promote and preserve man’s sense of unity in order to emphasize the concept of unity’. Meanwhile, his birth anniversary was observed at various parts of Madurai and other parts of the southern districts on Thursday. It was a special occasion at his home town in Rameswaram. Owing to COVID pandemic, there were some restrictions put in place by the DRDO at Kalam’s memorial at Pei Karumbu. Initially, relatives of Dr Kalam were permitted to the memorial and offered prayers for 15 minutes, sources said. Ramanathapuram Collector K Veera Raghava Rao offered floral tributes at the memorial to mark the anniversary.