Chennai: As the city celebrates its 376 birthday on Saturday -‘Madras Day’- people living in the city are divided between whether it should be celebrated or not. While some say it is a birthday of colonial Madras and a cultural globalisation like that of Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day, some others feel that it is a celebration of the city and since one needs a particular day for celebration, the day East India company leased out land, is celebrated as Madras Day.
Dr G. Ravindran Professor and head of the department of journalism and communication, terms it as middle class celebration and he does not believe in Madras Day or Madras Week celebration. “It is for those people who adapted that British style and English speaking. Before 1639, should we say there was no city that existed? There were five cities. Mylapore was the port city,” he said. He added that Mylapore must be one of the ancient cities. Similarly Pallavas put up a grand temple in Triplicane. “So shall we not celebrate Mylapore, Triplicane and so on and so forth? Why do we need to celebrate something, which is declared by the British? Our city was not a forest area, monuments and temples and buildings existed then as well,” he said.
So he added that Cholas and Pandyas were the first to control the sea around 200 to 300 BC. “We are the victims of the colonial era. We closely link with the British Raj. There is nothing wrong in celebrating but it is real only by the buildings of the British,” he said. He further termed Madras Day is like Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day celebrations. “Madras Day is like cultural globalisation,” he said. He also feels that it is misleading for the foreigners who think there was no population before that.
Vincent D’Souza, a journalist and media entrepreneur, said that the reason why Madras Day celebration exists is to celebrate the city. Many groups do it voluntarily. “Some people are looking at its history, others are looking at its nature and wildlife. While some others are exploring the city’s temples and some are busy with the politics and civic issues. Some people think we are celebrating the British which is entirely misplaced,” he said. One should be proud of celebrating the city, he added.
He said that whenever one wants to do something or celebrate, first they should say we believe in a particular day. “We have chosen a day when East India Company leased out a land. It is the formation of Fort St. George, whether one likes it or not. One has the right to disagree in a democratic country like India. But I believe we should celebrate our Mother,” he said. He added that we are celebrating the foundation and start of Madras.
