On 22nd August 1639, Madras was founded by the East India Company who bought it as a piece of land from the local Nayak rulers. 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.
In ancient times, the city of Chennai was known as Madraspatnam. This area had a history of rule by the Cholas, the Pallavas, the Pandiyas and the Vijaynagar Empire. This was followed by the arrival of European traders and the first to arrive in the area were the Portuguese in 1522. The Portuguese were followed by the Dutch in 1612. Following the Dutch, came the British East India Company.
The city of Chennai as we see it today was essentially a British settlement known as Fort St. George. The rulers of the Vijaynagar Empire who ruled the area, appointed chieftains called Nayaks to rule various regions of the province independently. In 1639, when the Brtish East India Company arrived in the area to establish a factory, Darmala Venkatadri Nayaka, a Telugu king and a powerful chieftain who was in charge of the area (what is present day Chennai).
According to a treaty signed with the Nayaks, the British and other European Christians were only allowed to colour the outside of their buildings white. Because of this, gradually over time, this area began to be known as “White Town”.
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 website entrepreneur Revathi R and entrepreneur and writer-historian V. Sriram.
On 17th July 1996, the name of the city was changed from Madras to Chennai by the then Chief Minister of the state, M. Karunanidhi. The new name Chennai was derived from Chennaipattanam, a small town near Fort St. George. The reason for the name change was the linguistic pride associated with renaming a city in the vernacular, rather than being stuck with the name given to the city by the British.
Chennai today is the capital of Tamil Nadu and is a modern and cosmopolitan city. The city is an important commercial, cultural, economic and educational hub in south India. Chennai’s economy boasts of automobile, computer, hardware manufacturing and healthcare sectors.
An inspired series of heritage walks, talks and exhibitions held across town to honour the 1639 founding of then-Madras.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.
