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Chennai Travel Guide
Chennai General Information
Area
: 174 sq. kms.
Population : 3,795,028 (1991 census)
Altitude : Sea level
Climate : Summer : Max. 37ºC, Min. 21.10ºC
Winter : Max.
32ºC, Min. 19.81ºC
Rainfall : 1,272 mm.
Season : Tropical Throughout the Year
Clothing : Tropical
Languages spoken : Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam, Urdu and English.
Chennai is a city where the traditional and the modern blend in life everywhere.
From traditional vegetarian fair to fast foods, from nine-yard sarees to the
latest in fashion, from ancient temple architecture to modern high-rise - with
Indo-Saracenic and Victorian as stops along the way - from classical music and
dance to discos throbbing to heady beats, Chennai has them all and many more
vivid contrasts that are a pleasant surprise.
And
perhaps the most striking of them all is that here is a modern metropolis with
beaches, parks and even sanctuaries in the heart of the City. Chennai offers
a wealth of nature and a rich historic past to visitors in the ambience of a
city with every modern facility.
Modern Chennai grew out of a small village when in 1639 a fishing hamlet called
Madraspatnam was selected by early English merchants of the East India Company
as a site for the settlement.
Chennai is a gracious city that has a clear skyline, long sandy beaches, parks,
historic landmarks and tourist infrastructural facilities which make it a convenient
entry point or base to start your tour of Tamil Nadu and South India.
Chennai, the gracious capital city of Tamil Nadu is the fourth largest
metropolis in India. Located on a 17km stretch of the Coramandel coast, the
city is trisected by the waterways of Cooum and Adyar and the Buckingham Canal.
With a population of 6 million people, Chennai is a vibrant city ever growing,
expanding and changing every year. Popularly regarded as the "Gateway to the
South", Chennai presents culture that is distinctly different from that of northern
India. Music, dance and all other art forms of the South are cherished and
nurtured in this city which, though industrialized, continues to be traditional
and conventional in many ways.
The region of Chennai was called Tondaimandalm in those days and had its military
headquarters at Puzhal, which is now a small and rather insignificant village
on the outskirts of the city.
Modern Chennai grew out of a small village when in 1639 a fishing hamlet called
Madraspatnam was selected by early English merchants of the East India Company
as a site for the settlement.
Chennai is a gracious city that has a clear skyline, long sandy beaches, parks,
historic landmarks and tourist infrastructural facilities which make it a convenient
entry point or base to start your tour of Tamil Nadu and South India.
Where religion is concerned, history has certainly left its mark on this city
which is believed to have been the place of St. Thomas, in the outskirt of the
city. There are a number of churches in Chennai that are connected with the
life and times of this apostle.
There are also several ancient temples around Chennai, and, within the city
itself are two magnificent temples - a temple in Triplicane and another in Mylapore.
