They choose a small local eatery called ‘Kasivinayaga Mess’ for the lunch.
The US Consulate General employees in Chennai celebrated the 377th founding day of Madras (now Chennai) in the most genuine way by ditching fork and knife without any hesitation and ate straight out of a banana leaf using their hands.
They choose a small local eatery called Kasivinayaga Mess for the lunch with family and tasted the traditional meal including the spicy sambar, rasam, pappadam and rice.
They shared the video of the outing in US Consulate’s official Facebook, twitter and YouTube accounts.
“Eating a meal with your hands in banana leaf is always special, isnt’ it? And it’s a celebration especially in South India! We are trying to connect everyday rhythm of Madras life highlighting Madras culture, food, and traditions,” read the caption of the video posted by the US Consulate General.
Madras Day is a festival organised every year on August 22 to celebrate the founding day of Madras city. It was the same day in 1639 the then village called Madraspatnam or Chennapatnam was brought by the East India Company from the viceroy of the Vijaynagar Empire, Damela Venkatpaty.
The festival is a tribute to Chennai’s history and its culture and the idea to celebrate the city is said to have been conceived by three people- Journalist Sashi Nair, historian S Muthiah and publisher Vincent D’Souza. They decided in the year 2004 that the founding day of the city should be celebrated to honour the city and its rich heritage. The celebrations have gave gained immense popularity and now even stretch to a week or even a month.
Social Media Updates:
Celebrating #MadrasWeek! Eating a MEAL with your hands, watch & make your
Madras connections! pic.twitter.com/U8IBSQ6QEu— U.S. Consulate General Chennai (@USAndChennai) August 22, 2016
Watch the video of our officer trying out the ancient art of flower braiding! Happy #MadrasWeek pic.twitter.com/4DiwZQMwVJ
— U.S. Consulate General Chennai (@USAndChennai) August 23, 2016