Chennai is celebrating its 377th birthday this year and Madras Day celebrations are on in full swing. (Thinkstock Images) Chennai is celebrating its 377th birthday this year and Madras Day celebrations are on in full swing. (Thinkstock Images)

A tribute to the splendor, history and culture of Chennai, Madras Day marks the birthday of the city, with this year being its 377th. On August 22, Madras Day is observed to commemorate the founding of Chennai (then Madras) for it was on 22 August 1639, that a sliver of land, where now stands Fort St George, was handed over by the Sowbaraniya rulers to the East India Company’s Francis Day, from where grew the historic city of Madras.

The idea of a festival to honour the city was conceived by three people – the city’s famed historian, S Muthiah, journalist Sashi Nair and publisher Vincent D’ Souza in 2004. “The primary motive of celebrating Madras Day was to focus on the city, its past and its present,” said Muthiah in a statement to The Hindu. What had started off as a small citizen initiative has today grown into a week-long grand affair with more than 150 events scheduled to take place this year consisting of heritage walks, film screenings, public talks, exhibitions, public performances, food festivals and quizzes.

This year’s festivities will take place during August 21-28 and will feature unique events to resurrect the city’s past, one of them being the heritage ride by the group, “Cycling Yogis”. The group, which brings together cycling enthusiasts and history aficionados, has been part of Madras Day celebrations since 2012. This year, the group organised a ride to Sadras (Sadurangapattinam) on August 21, a port town of historical importance, once famous for its Muslin exports and the battle between East India Company and the Dutch. The celebrations also included a tribute by The Hindu Group to the spirit of the city through their Madras Beats song.

Watch the video here.

“Over the years, the Madras Week has been instrumental in shedding light on the significant aspects of the city,” said historian Muthiah at a recent press meet. “We hope that this edition will also see active participation from the public,” he added. A key aspect of the celebrations this year is the inclusion of Tamil programmes to engage a larger audience.

Reportedly, around 120 events are being organised during Madras Week this year. Details of which can be found at http://www.themadrasday.in.

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