As the sun rises over the endless Marina beach, we find a city full of emotions-Madras, celebrating its 376 years of existence with almost the same fragrance everywhere.
Madras Day is celebrated on 22 August every year commemorating the foundation of Fort. Saint George by Francis Day of East India Company in 1639. According to S.Muthiah, Shashi Nair, and Vincent D’Souza : ” The prime motive of celebrating Madras Day is to focus on the city, its past, and present”.
It seems strange that out of a fort- a city was born. Every year people there celebrate seven days of Madras through culture, arts, traditions, archives, heritage walks, and the history on the basis of which the whole city came out. People say:“There is something for everyone in Madras”.
The celebrations consist of events such as food festivals, quizzes, exhibitions, public speeches, and talks. The talks are usually focused on the heritage and history of the city. The people and the team who arranges the celebratory events for Madras Day motivate communities, groups, companies, and campuses in the city to host events to honor and celebrate their city. Heritage walks, school exchange programs, talks and contests, poetry and music and quiz, food fests and rallies, photo exhibitions, and bike tours . . . . these are the few programs held across the city on this day. “Participation in these events is purely voluntary. Anyone who loves the city is free to join.”
Chennai has got many places which people wish to visit frequently. These places are the heart and soul of the city on Madras day and are also the famous tourist attractions of the city.
1.Marina Beach and Fort St. George :
The first place which comes to the mind of a non-Tamil guy when they hear about Chennai is the Marina beach. The beach might be populated and sometimes over-populated but you can never miss it when you are visiting the city. We can experience the real “Beach fun” here. Fort St. George was the first English Fort in India and is situated on the other side of the beach road.
2. Kapileshwara Temple
The Kapileshwara temple in Mylapore, Chennai, with a “seven-tiered Gopuram”, is known for magnificent sculptures depicting Puranic incidents.
3.Besant Nagar Beach:
A place where the sunrise is seen in a different approach- also famously known as the “Photographers spot”. Where evenings are worth spending, watching natural beauty.
These are just a few wonders of Chennai, as we enter the city we can find a lot of other things that we might not be fond of like the Traffic in Chennai roads. You can smell the fragrance of Mylapore Coffee even when you are 2 km away. In 1996 the name was changed from Madras to Chennai people still love to be called Madrasis because Chennai is a name that was given to them but the name Madras holds a deeper sense of meaning and attachment to the people. This is why people say “Chennai is a city but Madras is an emotion”
People love this place and its name too. A place where Movie tickets are cheaper than popcorn, Where the Auto meter is useless as ‘ueue’ in ‘queue’, Where festivals come more often than weekends, Where people hate both summers and winters, Where migrants are almost equal to locals in number:
