The 377th Founding Day of the city was celebrated with an Heritage Ride to Sadras Fort. Located at a stone throw distance from Kalpakkam Township area Sadras was a port with international contacts called as Rajanarayanan Pattinam during period of Sambuvarayars and later Sadiravasagan Pattinam under Vijayanagar Kingdom, the name could have altered and came to be known as Sadurangapattinam and Sadirai, the English eventually called it as Sadras. It was a flourishing weaver settlement between 10th-16th Century. When the Dutch took over it gained importance in view of large scale export of Muslin Cloth, the Dutch established a factory here in 1648 AD and when it became necessary to protect it constructed a fort. The Battle of Sadras, the travel accounts of Dutch Traveller Jacob Haafner and Buckingham Canal which traverses through Chennai add glory to Sadras. ALONG WITH PULICAT, SADRAS PLAYED AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE FOUNDING OF MADRAS.
A group of 85 Cyclists excluding the support staff and volunteers descended upon this place on a calm Sunday morning and to many it was an new experience. The ride which started from Probikers OMR at 5.15 am gained momentum as the time passed. Upon arrival packed breakfast followed by a brief description on history of the fort along with Swatch Bharath Pledge were taken up and soon after which was the group photo session having the historic Bell Tower in the background. From here the next destination was Dakshinchitra Heritage Museum, as the Sun began to beat the ride posed some challenges which was eventually overcome by the cyclists. The settings at Dakshinchitra brought forward cheer to the participants. A specially created event was on the pipeline. After Medal Ceremony and the release of My Stamp on Muthiah Sir the Chronicler of Chennai all the members were treated to a high octane folk show which included performance with drums (Parai). The ride concluded with a vote of thanks to people who made it happen and tireless volunteers who contributed to its success. The 5th edition of Madras Day Heritage Ride thus came to and end with aspirations and expectations for another interesting rides in the upcoming years.
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| Group Picture at Sadras Fort |
Newspaper Clippings
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| Dinamalar |
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| TOI - Chennai |
