Madras Day Celebration

Madras Heritage Lovers Forum, along with Archaeological Survey of India, will celebrate the 375th Madras Day on Friday at 10am in ASI, Fort St George. Also as part of Madras Day celebrations, the `Doyens of Madras` award, instituted by the Ambassador Group of Hotels, will be given to eminent Chennaiites on August 23. Governor K Rosaiah will be the chief guest.
A city deserves to celebrate its birthday. And Madras, that is Chennai certainly deserves it.
So a small group of people who love this city launched a unique celebration in 2004.
The founding day of Madras is considered to be August 22, 1639.
It was on that day, in that year, that a sliver of land, where Fort. St. George stands today, was transacted by the East India Company.
The deal was struck by Francis Day, his ‘dubash’ Beri Thimmappa, and their superior, Andrew Cogan, with the local Nayak rulers. It is believed that this deal was made on August 22, 1639.
Out of the fort, grew settlements. Then the villages around it were brought together. And then, the old and new townes linked up. And then we had the city.
Today, Chennai stands tall for a variety of reasons. Education, healthcare, IT, history, tourism, auto industries, movies, etc. And yes, it also has its warts.
Madras Day celebrates the city.
Madras Day was an idea that three people put together – the city’s famed historian, S. Muthiah, journalist Sashi Nair and publisher Vincent D’ Souza. Later, they have been joined by three others – senior journalist and editor Sushila Ravindranath, journalist and web site entrepreneur Revathi R and entrepreneur and writer-historian V. Sriram.
Madras Day focuses on the city, its history, its past and its present and the core team motivates communities, groups, companies and campuses in the city to host events that celebrate the city.
Heritage walks, school exchange programmes, talks and contests, poetry and music and quiz, food fests and rallies, photo exhibitions and bike tours . . . . these and more are the ways in which the city is celebrated.
In order to enlarge participation, the Madras Day has been expanded to create the Madras Week.
In 2014, MADRAS WEEK will be celebrated from August 17 to 24. MADRAS DAY, as always, is August 22.