A small group had a date to keep in June. It is the group which catalyses all that goes on in the name of Madras Day. For those who are new to the celebration, Madras Day is an annual event which attempts to celebrate the founding of this city of ours and all that it stands for. What began as a simple, one-day event some years ago is now a unique celebration which hosts close to 100 events that cover over a week. So we now choose to rename ­Madras Day as Madras Week!

The Madras Day group’s annual June meeting is for brainstorming. To think of core events, to list resources and people who can contribute, to share ideas on how to grow...

The 2011 edition of Madras Week is to be celebrated from August 21st to 28th since August 22 is now observed as Madras Day (the day a deal is said to have been signed between the local ruler and a rep of the Company to own a piece of sandy land which grew into Fort St. George and led to the formation of this city). We are very keen to get lots of communities and groups involved this year and, hence, getting the word across as early as we can is necessary to set the ball rolling.

It is all about sharing, networking and putting hands together.

IT professional and writer Pradeep Chakravarthy is best known for his tours of temples where he taps into records and inscriptions to tell stories. Now Pradeep is sparing time to give talks at a few city schools and take a few student groups on walking tours in south Madras.

Writer-historian V. Sriram has compiled a list of over 20 speakers who can deliver great talks on subjects related to the city. Crime, cinema, temples, archaeology, Gujarati community, the Anglo-Indians, theatre, cricket... and more.

Actor and collector Mohan V. Raman is willing to share his prize collection of postage stamps and Tamil film and theatre materials with people who will display them carefully. He is also open to invitations for talks “but only if there are at least 30 to 40 keen people in the audience.”

But Madras Week needs dozens of passionate people to share, link, network and execute to make this celebration a success.

The unique character of this event is that it is all about people doing their own thing with their own efforts and monies. There are no corporate sponsors, there are no state-driven plans and there is no one single mela. After all, this is a people’s celebration.

So this is the time to invite schools and colleges, clubs and community groups, artists and musicians, bikers and Hashers, Rotarians and Freemasons ... to plan events that celebrate this city of ours.

Some leads are at www.themadrasday.in.

E-mail: madrasday­@yahoo.com. (Courtesy: Mylapore Times)