Chennai 369

Happy Birthday Madras@Chennai !!!

Chennai has turned 369 years old today. Surprisingly, the event has been a low key affair, falling short of recognition even from sms maniacs of the city who chose to continue describing Actor Vijay’s exploits at Beijing. :)

Anyway, as a Chennaite, it is my duty to pen this occasion.

369 is a magic number in itself. (3+6=9). Let’s hope this year will be a magical one for all of us. Sentiments apart, it is indeed a huge achievement for any city to survive this grueling test of time.

The city has witnessed four centuries. On this day in 1639, British Administrator Francis Day is believed to have received the grant for construction of Madraspatam as it was referred then by the British.

Many historians have written about the city. But there was no unanimity in the reason they gave for its name ‘Madras’ with the most popular and ironically, the most irritating version being of a visiting British Royal naming it so, ridiculing the behavior of one of its citizens whom he called a ‘Mad Rascal’.. Very annoying, isn’t it??

Thank god it was renamed as Chennai by the tamizh conscious Karunanidhi government in 1997.

The amount of change the city has seen in fifty odd years is there for all of us to see, thanks to the classic “Madras, nalla Madras” song. One can imagine how much change it would’ve been through over 4 centuries.

(Pic-> From top: Central Railway Station 1925, Mount Road 1925, Mylapore 1906, Napier Bridge 1895)

One of the main reasons for its endurance is it’s accessibility through sea and closeness to Sri Lanka which enabled easy trade and commutation.

Barring the most polluted river in its kitty, the city has always been on the road to development. I wish it all success in the days, years, decades, centuries, and maybe, millenniums to come.. Hail Chennai!!!