Madras Day 2022: Chennai celebrates today as it turns 383; know the history, significance

Chennai, Aug 22: Every year August 22 is marked as Madras Day. Madras, that is called Chennai since 1996, will be celebrating its 383rd anniversary today.

It was on this day in 1639 that British administrator Francis Day along with his superior Andrew Cogan struck a deal with the Vijayanagar empire to acquire a stretch of no man's land, which went on to become Madras, today known as Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu.

The year after acquiring the land, the British built a fortified factory which was named on St. George's day April 23, 1640 as Fort St. George.

However, it is said that there already existed towns and villages before the British set foot on the Coromandel coast.

History

The idea to celebrate this day dates back to 2004, when journalists Shashi Nair and Vincent D'Souza, and historian S Muthiah were attending the trustees' meet of the Chennai Heritage Foundation.

They took their cue from the celebration of Mylapore Festival organised every January. It was decided to mark the foundation, the heritage, culture and tradition of the city in a similar fashion.

The Madras Day celebrations began in the year 2004 with five events that rose to 60 by the year 2007.

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 commemorate the 383rd anniversary of the city, several institutions are organising various programmes like heritage walks, exhibitions, quiz contests and others.