Madras Day is a day of celebrations organised in the city of Madras [Chennai], the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is celebrated on 22 August every year, and is named after Madras. It commemorates the founding of the modern city by establishing Fort St. George on a small piece of land acquired from the last King of Chandragiri in 1639 by the British East India Company.
It was on 22 August 1639 that a sliver of land, where now stands Fort St. George was handed over by the local Nayak rulers to the East India Company’s Francis Day his dubash Beri Thimmappa, and their superior, Andrew Cogen. From this small three square miles given to the East India Company grew the city of Chennai where more than four and a half million people live now. As years passed by out of the fort grew settlements and the villages around it were brought together with the old and new towns linked up and hence birth of a city.
Thus ...the founding day of Madras is considered to be August 22, 1639.
Anybody....be it a person or a place surely deserves to celebrate their Birthday. And more so, our city Madras that is now Chennai, definitely deserves this celebration!
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 entrepreneurs Revathi R and V. Sriram, who is also a writer-historian.
Madras Day celebrates the city. This enthusiastic group of people in 2004, who loved this City called Madras, launched this Birthday Celebration. The celebrations include several events organised, including citizens and students and lasts for a week.
This is how the Madras Day celebrations came to be.
Today, Chennai stands tall for a variety of reasons- be it - in the field of Education, healthcare, IT, history, tourism, auto industries, movies, etc. And yes, it also has its warts.
Many events take place like 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.
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.
In order to enlarge participation, the Madras Day has been expanded to create the Madras Week.
In 2011, MADRAS WEEK was celebrated from August 21 to 28. Let us appreciate the efforts taken by one and all to celebrate the greatness of Madras , our very own city that has stood the test of time and still has a unique character and style.
It is definitely a joy to be part of this historic city.
Let us be proud to be in our homeland...the Madras as we will always remember it to be!
It was on 22 August 1639 that a sliver of land, where now stands Fort St. George was handed over by the local Nayak rulers to the East India Company’s Francis Day his dubash Beri Thimmappa, and their superior, Andrew Cogen. From this small three square miles given to the East India Company grew the city of Chennai where more than four and a half million people live now. As years passed by out of the fort grew settlements and the villages around it were brought together with the old and new towns linked up and hence birth of a city.
Thus ...the founding day of Madras is considered to be August 22, 1639.
Anybody....be it a person or a place surely deserves to celebrate their Birthday. And more so, our city Madras that is now Chennai, definitely deserves this celebration!
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 entrepreneurs Revathi R and V. Sriram, who is also a writer-historian.
Madras Day celebrates the city. This enthusiastic group of people in 2004, who loved this City called Madras, launched this Birthday Celebration. The celebrations include several events organised, including citizens and students and lasts for a week.
This is how the Madras Day celebrations came to be.
Today, Chennai stands tall for a variety of reasons- be it - in the field of Education, healthcare, IT, history, tourism, auto industries, movies, etc. And yes, it also has its warts.
Many events take place like 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.
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.
In order to enlarge participation, the Madras Day has been expanded to create the Madras Week.
In 2011, MADRAS WEEK was celebrated from August 21 to 28. Let us appreciate the efforts taken by one and all to celebrate the greatness of Madras , our very own city that has stood the test of time and still has a unique character and style.
It is definitely a joy to be part of this historic city.
Let us be proud to be in our homeland...the Madras as we will always remember it to be!
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