Madras Quiz organised by the Murugappa Group

Jayakanthan R and Kartik Ramadas – Winners of the Madras Quiz (Open) 2026.

K Palani and A Santhanan – the first runners-up.

K L Dheeraj and Ramesh Krishna S from PSBB, K.K. Nagar – Winners of the Schools Quiz.

As Chennai celebrated its 387th anniversary during Madras Week, the Madras Quiz for Schools and Madras Quiz (Open) 2026, presented by the Murugappa Group and conducted by renowned quizmaster Dr Sumanth C Raman, were held at Victoria Public Hall. The twin quizzes attracted 166 teams from across the city, transforming the iconic venue into a vibrant celebration of Chennai’s history, heritage, culture, and spirit.

As many as 88 school teams from across Chennai participated in the Madras Quiz for Schools 2026. In a closely contested final, KL Dheeraj and Ramesh Krishna S from PSBB, K.K. Nagar, emerged the winners, receiving gift vouchers worth ₹6,000. Dev Naveen and Aakush A Dhanujnath from Bharatiya Vidhya Bhavan’s Rajaji Vidyashram, Kilpauk, secured the first runners-up position and won gift vouchers worth ₹ 4,000 while S Lokeshwar and Sanjeev S from The Grove School, Teynampet, were declared second runners-up, taking home gift vouchers worth ₹3,000.

The afternoon witnessed an engaging contest, with Jayakanthan R and Kartik Ramadas emerging winners of the Madras Quiz (Open) 2026. They lifted the prestigious rolling trophy and received gift vouchers worth ₹15,000. K Palani and A Santhanan secured the first runners-up position and won gift vouchers worth ₹10,000, while Srinivasa Ramanujam and Deepa Alexander finished as second runners-up, taking home gift vouchers worth ₹8,000.

Dev Naveen and Aakush A Dhanujnath from Bharatiya Vidhya Bhavan’s Rajaji Vidyashram, Kilpauk – the first runners-up of the Schools Quiz.

The excitement continued throughout the day, with members in the audience and even those joining virtually, winning spot prizes. This year’s theme — “Manasellaam Madras, Vibe-ellaam Chennai”, came alive through lively quizzing, bringing together 166 teams, quiz enthusiasts and audiences of all ages.

Madras Day Souvenirs Collection at Poompuhar

The Tamil Nadu Handicrafts Development Corporation (Poompuhar) unveiled a special Madras Day souvenir collection on August 21, 2026, at the TNHDC Office on Anna Salai, Chennai. The launch event was graced by MSME Minister P. Mathan Raja, alongside key officials including Principal Secretary TN Venkatesh and Poompuhar Managing Director S. Amirtha Jothi.

Madras Week at SRM

Stamp Seal making workshop.

Special address by Sriram V.

Madras Heritage Tour organised by TTDC.

Honouring Madras at the Panchayat Union Middle School, Chettipunniyam village.

The School of Architecture and Interior Design, SRM Institute of ­Science and Technology (SRMIST), Kattankulathur organised a three-day outreach programme that offered participants an engrossing ­experience through workshops, expert talk and field visit.

Day 1: At the workshop on ‘Stamp Seal Making – Stamping the Icons of Madras’, the participants converted visual identities of Madras into stamp designs and produced actual rubber stamps using liquid polymer. A Screen Printing workshop was also conducted for the participants. In the afternoon, there was a special address by Sriram V. exploring the fascinating history and evolution of Madras from its early settlements, the establishment of Fort St. George, the growth of George Town to the emergence of modern Chennai.

Day 2: A Madras Heritage Tour was organized in collaboration with Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation (TTDC). Conducted aboard an Electric AC Double-Decker Bus, it was a guided field visit to significant heritage precincts and iconic landmarks of Chennai, offering first-hand exposure to the city’s architectural, cultural and urban history.

Day 3: “Create an Iconic Thumbnail for Madras” — A creative and engaging heritage-awareness workshop was conducted for the students of Classes VI and VII at the Panchayat Union Middle School, Chettipunniyam Village. The session introduced the young participants to the story behind Madras Day, helping them understand the origins of Madras and the city’s rich architectural heritage. The programme concluded with a special felicitation ceremony titled “Honouring Madras” to acknowledge and appreciate all the participants. Students who assisted in conducting this event were also acknowledged during this session.

At Queen Mary’s College

History students of Queen Mary’s College on a Myl-apore Walk led by K R Jambunathan.

Dept. of History students display coins, stamps and vintage items at the Madras Day event.

At Sri Kanyaka Parameswari College

Visitors at the Madras Day event hosted by Sri Kanyaka Parameswari College, George Town.

Madras day Celebrations by Mylapore Times

Mylapore Walk for Senior Citizens led by K.R. Jambunathan and Sridhar Venkatraman.

Vidya Mandir team – winners of the ‘Heritage of Chennai’ project contest for city schools.

One of the teams that took part in the project ‘City Streets’ meant for architecture college students.

Team of Rani Meyyammai Girls School – winner of the Madras Quiz in Tamil.

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Winners of the ‘Champions of Chennai’ trophy organised by KSA Trust.

Madras Day celebrations at Hotel Aadithya

Moods of Madras Through its Melodies – A ­performance by Akhilesh Rajan and band

 

386 Years… And Madras Still Lives On – A presentation by Meenakshi Devaraj.

Talk on The Chandragiri Fort

An illustrated talk by Sudha Umashanker, writer and storyteller, on “The Chandragiri Fort and it’s Role in the founding of Madras” held on August 30, 2026 at Hotel Palmgrove. The event was organised by Storycorner at Bookmine.

Madras Week Events organised by Madras Inherited

Indo-Saracenic Heritage Walk – led by Ashmitha Athreya on August 22.

Madras on a Table Event – led by Ashmitha Athreya and Olivia Daniel on August 22.

Kasimedu Cultural Heritage Walk – led by Ashmitha Athreya and Shruthi Sivakumar on August 23.

Pattalam Cultural Heritage Walk – led by Ashmitha Athreya on August 23.

Postcard Collection Celebrating Madras

A special collection of postcards featuring illustrations inspired by the history, elements, architecture and iconic buildings of Madras by the late artist, writer, translator and heritage enthusiast Pavithra Srinivasan was released at Higginbothams Book Store, Anna Salai, in Chennai. Titled “Madras: Arches, Alleys & Icons”, the collection celebrates Pavithra’s deep connection with the city. The postcards were released by T.N. Venkatesh, IAS, Justice Prabha Sridevan and historian K.R.A. Narasiah.

The initiative was put together by the Postcrossing Welfare Society of India with Nam Veedu, Nam Oor, Nam Kadhai, and the Madras Literary Society.

Pavithra’s father, Srinivasan, said that she was also a musician and that proceeds from the sale of her books and related materials support a non-profit foundation that helps pay school fees for underprivileged children. The book and games that she had been working on would be released soon.

The collection is priced at ₹500 for a set of 12 postcards. Copies can be obtained by emailing madras.kadhai@gmail.com or through Postcardsville.