Happy 370th birthday, Chennai

From a tiny fishing hamlet to a bustling metropolis with major automobile units, a thriving IT industry and pride of place as the cultural capital of the South, its been a long and eventful journey for Chennai, the erstwhile Madras, which turns 370 on Saturday.

As befits the historic occasion, a grand week-long birthday bash has been drawn up to mark 'Madras day' celebrations -- a wide canvas of cultural and literary activities.

Heritage walks, school exchange programmes, talks and contests, poetry and Carnatic music and quiz, food festivals and rallies, photo exhibitions and bike tours will give the true blue Chennaites glimpses of the city they never knew and of some things they do.

It was on this day in 1639 that British Administrator Francis Day got permission from the wards of Chennapa Naicker, a chieftain ruling the fishing hamlet near Madras Harbour to construct Madraspatam, as it was referred then by the British.

The deal was struck by Francis Day, his 'dubash' Beri Thimmappa and their superior Andrew Cogan, with local Nayak rulers.

The original document relating to building of Fort St. George, a historic fort which was for a while the seat of power of the East India Company, is said to have been signed at Chandragiri fort in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.

Robert Clive, founder of British empire in India, got married in a church inside the fort. His marriage certificate is still the prize possession of the museum in the fort.