Celebrate Madras Week with books, heritage walks and art exhibits. Here’s a quick guide

Chennai plans to ring in its birthday with a host of events starting this weekend. Follow this quick guide to celebrate 383 years of Madras

Madras Literary Society will be hosting a series of events throughout the month to train the lens on Madras-related literature. The Spirit of Madras, a storytelling session by Geeta Ramanujam and Vikram Sridhar, curated by the All Tamil Nadu Storytelling Chapter will be accompanied by a household heritage display by architect and conservation professional Sivagamasundari T, on August 20, 11am to 12.30pm.

Serving the Raj, an exhibition on hired help in Colonial Madras by author Venkatesh Ramakrishnan will be shown on August 22 to 29 from 11am to 3.30pm. And, Madras Inked, a talk and book discussion by author Sujata Sankar and artist and author Manohar Devadoss will be held on August 27 at 11am.

Chennai Photo Biennale looks to celebrate this Madras Week with a month full of photography events. Photo Kadai, a one-day pop-up photo fair on August 19 which is also World Photography Day lets us have a look at photo prints and merchandise, and participate in cyanotype workshop. The fair gives you a chance to win prizes through a lucky draw. Participating photographers, artists and initiatives include Amar Ramesh, Dwarakesh Iyengar, Manieesha Sambandam, Nam Veedu and more. Photowalks for children will also also be held in Mylapore temple and Besant Nagar beach on August 20 from 6.30am to 8am and August 21 from 6.30am to 8am respectively. Registration cost is ₹300. Reach out to contact@chennaiphotobiennale.com.

An exhibition on the kings and queens of ages past will be held by the CPR Institute of Indological Research from August 20 to 27 from 11 am to 5 pm at Shakunthala Art Gallery, CP Art Centre, Eldams Road. A talk on Kings and Queens who dot Madras History by writer Venkatesh Ramakrishnan will be held in conjunction with the exhibition on August 20 between 11am to 12pm at CP Ramaswami Aiyar Foundation, Eldams Road.

With over 30 vintage bicycles, including a customised Raleigh bicycle that incorporated the Tour de France specifications of the 1980s, contemporary and vintage cycle enthusiasts will have a field day looking at the popular mode of transport during the age of Madras. This will be held on August 21 between 08 am and 12pm at Hotel Tamil Nadu, Island Grounds (Opposite Victory War Memorial).

Luz House in Mylapore will be curating old photographs of the Buchi Babu cricketing family who were involved in pioneering the game from the late 1800s. Contributions by the Vizianagaram royal family will be found in this Madras collection as well. This will be held on August 20 between 10am to 6pm at Luz House, Luz Church Road, Mylapore.

Join Madras Musings, Madras Book Club and Ashvita’s in a talk featuring writer Dilip Kumar and Prabha Sridevan, retired judge of the Madras High Court for Dilip Kumar: Signboards to Stories, A Journey. The talk will take us on a journey through the stories of the past as they recount Madras as it used to be. This will be held on August 22 at 6.30 pm in Ashvita’s, Mylapore. Contact sonam@ashvitas.com to RSVP.