If there is a loving memory of Chennai and a story behind it, now would be the time to dust the old photographs or if there is a recipe that has been handed over for generations in your family, it’s time to whip up something good at the cooking competition, for Madras Week is here! The city is turning 373 this year and celebrations have already started with a bang. Various programmes for the week began on August 19 and will conclude on August 26.
Madras Week celebrations started with a Madras Musings lecture on Sunday. People from various fields like entrepreneurs, dancers and chefs, would participate in panel discussions over the week to discuss the grace with which the city has aged.
“This year, the hotels of the city will, once again, be enthusiastic participants. Some will be venues for talks while others will host art and photography exhibitions besides organising food festivals with Madras cuisine as their theme. Art galleries have also taken to this event in a big way,” the organisers said. They are planning to conduct a range of activities, including quiz for school students, elocution and debates and heritage walks will be held as part of the celebrations, which have been extended to suburban parts like Tambaram and Nanganallur.
“Most of the landmarks have vanished and only stories are left behind. For people like us, who were never part of the generation which saw and enjoyed the Madarasapattinam in all its glory, Madras Week is something to look forward to,” says college student Nikhil Jayakrishnan.