Chennai

Madras was one of the first outposts of British East India Company. The city was founded in 1639 when the company was granted land to build a trading settlement by the local Indian administrators. Madras is derived from Madraspatnam, a name given to the area when the British negotiated settling there. The origin of the name is uncertain. In 1996, in an uncharacteristic act of me-tooism, the Tamil Nadu government emulated Bombay’s example by renaming Madras to Chennai.

While a city like Bombay frequently compares itself to New York and lately, aspires to be Shanghai, it would be difficult to imagine Chennai comparing itself with, or wanting to be anything else. A visitor might justifiably think that inside this metropolis is the heart of a small town struggling to get out, but he would be wrong. It is not parochialism that characterizes Chennai; it is self-assurance. Its citizens are keenly aware of being successors to the Dravidian civilization and they take great pains to distinguish it from, and put it on par with, North Indian (Aryan) civilization.

The city has a thriving Tamil film industry, rivalling Bollywood in scale and surpassing it in opulence.

Chennai is also one of the undercelebrated successes of software development in India. It has also, in the past few years, become a car-manufacturing hub, drawing inevitable comparisons with Detroit.

Language

Most people speak Tamil, and picking up some knowledge of the language is useful to get by in Chennai. Many people know no other language and you will find that in a group people slip into Tamil among themselves ignoring the fact that there are others who do not know the language.

There is some hostility towards Hindi in Tamil Nadu. There are also speakers of Telugu. English education is widespread in Chennai, but the English spoken is somewhat archaic.

Sights

Fort St. George, built in 1653 by the English Company of the Eastern Indies (CAIO), houses the Secretariat and the legislative Parliament of Nadu Tamil. There is a museum presenting of the objects of the time of the domination of the CAIO, and a banquetting suite going back to 1802 where the portraits of the governors of the fort are hung. The fort comprises also the oldest church Anglican of India, the church of St Mary.

Guindy Snake Park, next to the Guindy National Park. See the deadly King Cobra, pythons and vipers as well as other reptiles. There is a Childern’s Park adjacent with collections of animals and birds.

 

 

Government Museum, or National Art Gallery on Pantheon Road, comprises an interesting archaeological collection and a room holding a significant and superb collection of Chola bronzes. One building has modern works, while the other has historical works.

Marina Beach, one ot the worlds longest beaches, 13 km long. The tsunami on December 26, 2004, caused massive death and distruction along the beach. It has been difficult to recover, but the community is working hard to make the area attractive to tourists and vacationers once again.

Mary’s Church, Built in 1680 it is the oldest Anglican Church in India. Robert Clive and Governor Elihu Yale (who later formed Yale University in the USA, were married here.)

There are also a lot of historical temples in Chennai. For the list of these temples visit: http://www.templenet.com/Tamilnadu/tempchen.html

Shopping Plazas

Spencer Plaza: 769, Anna Salai. Billed as the largest shopping mall in India, Spencer is a Chennai landmark that dates back to colonial times.

Chennai Citi Centre: 10, Radhakrishnan Salai - Chennai’s newest retail mecca, opened March 2006.

Shoppers’ Stop: 2, Harrington Road, Chetpet, Chennai. The K.Raheja groups Shoppers’ Stop is a departmental store.

Food and Accomodation

Hospitals in Chennai