On Friday, Chennai celebrates its 375th birthday. August 22 commemorates the day in 1639 when officials of the East India Company established Fort St George, which would become the nucleus of the modern city. Though many people in the rest of India view the southern city as a bit of a backwater, residents point out that Chennai has many reasons to be proud of itself.
The Chennai municipal corporation is the oldest in the country, the city is the beating heart of the Carnatic music tradition and its filter coffee is so superior, the global chain Starbucks opened there two full years after entering the Indian market.
The momentous anniversary seems to have sent Chennai's musicians into raptures. At least three theme songs have been composed for the occasion. Going by the evidence on display, filter coffee, Marina beach and yellow autorickshaws are the elements that fuel the Chennai dream.
The Madras Song
The Murugappa group collaborated with the venerable newspaper The Hindu to portray a first-time visitor's discovery of Chennai. She zooms around the city on a scooter, buying saris and eating dosas. The high point of her trip, undoubtedly, is her match against world chess champion Vishwanathan Anand.
Chancey illa
In this peppy video sponsored by The Times of India, Chennai's youngsters exclaim "Chancey illa", accompanied by the characteristic hand gesture. Roughly translated, they're proclaiming, "Dude, there's no chance there's a place like our Chennai." The star of the video is also the composer of the tune: Anirudh Ravidhander, who wrote the viral hit Kolaveri Di in 2011.
Namma Chennai
Another first-time visitor, this one from abroad, falls in love with the southern city from the backseat of an autorickshaw. Composed by AR Reihana, who is the sister of AR Rahman, the tune namechecks CV Raman, Abdul Kalam and of course, Rajnikanth. It has been produced by Sathyabama University.
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The Chennai municipal corporation is the oldest in the country, the city is the beating heart of the Carnatic music tradition and its filter coffee is so superior, the global chain Starbucks opened there two full years after entering the Indian market.
The momentous anniversary seems to have sent Chennai's musicians into raptures. At least three theme songs have been composed for the occasion. Going by the evidence on display, filter coffee, Marina beach and yellow autorickshaws are the elements that fuel the Chennai dream.
The Madras Song
The Murugappa group collaborated with the venerable newspaper The Hindu to portray a first-time visitor's discovery of Chennai. She zooms around the city on a scooter, buying saris and eating dosas. The high point of her trip, undoubtedly, is her match against world chess champion Vishwanathan Anand.
Chancey illa
In this peppy video sponsored by The Times of India, Chennai's youngsters exclaim "Chancey illa", accompanied by the characteristic hand gesture. Roughly translated, they're proclaiming, "Dude, there's no chance there's a place like our Chennai." The star of the video is also the composer of the tune: Anirudh Ravidhander, who wrote the viral hit Kolaveri Di in 2011.
Namma Chennai
Another first-time visitor, this one from abroad, falls in love with the southern city from the backseat of an autorickshaw. Composed by AR Reihana, who is the sister of AR Rahman, the tune namechecks CV Raman, Abdul Kalam and of course, Rajnikanth. It has been produced by Sathyabama University.