chennai,tamil nadu, india

7/30/2019 Chennai,Tamil Nadu, India

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How to Reach Chennai

Air: The Kamaraj National and Anna International Airports are situated at Tirusulam about 20 kms fromthe city.

Rail: If you intend to travel any where from within India, Chennai is connected by rail with all major towns and cities in India. Get down at the main railheads - Central and Egmore.

Road: You can also travel by your own transport since Chennai connected by a good road network withall other parts of India as well as important places in Tamil Nadu.

Travel Within Chennai

Compared to the other major metros of India, it is far less congested and polluted. The city also offersreasonably efficient public services, public buses and you will never find commuter trains maddening.But it's safer and more practical to travel by taxis. For, you cannot help but notice these monsters racingacross Mount Road with human beings hanging out of it, clinging to its rusted doors. The bus is always

tilted at extreme angles and you, may marvel at probabilities of survival.

Coordinates: 13.08389N 80.27E

Climate

Chennai is hot and humid for most of the year, with day temperatures frequently exceeding 40C duringsummer. The city gets most of its rain from the North-East monsoon in the months of September-December. Chennai has a tropical climate, specifically a tropical wet and dry climate.

Geography

Chennai, sometimes referred to as the "Gateway to South India" ,[35] is located on the south eastern coast of India in the north eastern part of Tamil Nadu on a flat coastal plain known as theEastern Coastal Plains. Its average elevation is around 6.7 metres (22 ft) ,[36] and its highest pointis 60 m (200 ft) .[37] The Marina Beach runs for 6 km (3.7 mi) along the shoreline of the city andis the second longest urban beach in the world .[38] Two rivers meander through Chennai, theCooum River (or Koovam ) through the centre and the Adyar River to the south. A third river, theKortalaiyar, flows through the northern fringes of the city before draining into the sea at Ennore.Adyar and Cooum rivers are heavily polluted with effluents and waste from domestic andcommercial sources

Sites

Fort St. George: Travel back into time to the Fort St. George- that burgeoned into an empire .Itwas from this focal point viz. Clives's Corner, where Robert Clive, the founder of the BritishEmpire began his empire building process. The fort is still one of the finest specimens of India'sBritish military construction. Get a glimpse too of the oldest Protestant Church in the East- St.Mary's Church, consecrated in 1680. The Wellesley House within, also housed Wellesley on his
http://toolserver.org/~geohack/geohack.php?pagename=Chennai&params=13_5_2_N_80_16_12_E_type:city%284681087%29_region:IN-TNhttp://toolserver.org/~geohack/geohack.php?pagename=Chennai&params=13_5_2_N_80_16_12_E_type:city%284681087%29_region:IN-TNhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_climatehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_savanna_climatehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chennai#cite_note-35http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chennai#cite_note-35http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chennai#cite_note-35http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Coastal_Plainshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chennai#cite_note-36http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chennai#cite_note-36http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chennai#cite_note-36http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chennai#cite_note-highest-point-37http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chennai#cite_note-highest-point-37http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chennai#cite_note-highest-point-37http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marina_Beachhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chennai#cite_note-38http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chennai#cite_note-38http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chennai#cite_note-38http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooum_Riverhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adyar_Riverhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosasthalaiyar_Riverhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosasthalaiyar_Riverhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adyar_Riverhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooum_Riverhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chennai#cite_note-38http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marina_Beachhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chennai#cite_note-highest-point-37http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chennai#cite_note-36http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Coastal_Plainshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chennai#cite_note-35http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_savanna_climatehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_climatehttp://toolserver.org/~geohack/geohack.php?pagename=Chennai&params=13_5_2_N_80_16_12_E_type:city%284681087%29_region:IN-TN


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first active military duty. Today, the Legislature and Secretariat of the Tamil Nadu governmentare built around the Fort House, erstwhile home of the first governors of the early Madras.

High Court Complex: The original Fort St. George's first Indian town also houses the splendidIndo-Saracenic buildings that are High Court and the Law College. The maritime origins are still

evident building in the city's second lighthouse tower Near the High Court. The highest point inthe Court building once housed the third lighthouse.

George Town: Fort St. George has grown into that typically Indian cityscape of narrow, criss-crossing streets . The commercial heart of the city, throbs with life from dawn to dusk, and it'sdifficult to find even a toe space in the streets packed with traders, buyers and their employees. Itstill is the last outpost of the imperial city. Rajaji Salai (North Beach Road) separates GeorgeTown from the Harbour and along one side of it, Imperial architecture flourishes. Beginning withthe earliest British commercial house, Parry's, you can savor much of the major commercialinstitutions in Madras. Bentinck's Building, the Collectorate was once the home of the city's firstSupreme Court. George Town is bounded in the north by Old Jail Road and Clive Battery.

Corporation Complex: Ripon Building, home of the oldest municipality in India - the MadrasCorporation -was built in 1913. Another pale inspiration from the Taj, the domed vision in whitealso spreads into a large municipal complex where you can find parks and gardens, NehruStadium, Victoria Public Hall, a public meeting place out of the gaslight era, and Moore market -the latter a fascinating shopper's paradise.

Government Museum(Pantheon Road): Established in 1857, one of the country's finestmuseums takes you to a journey into the past. Witness authentic relics from 2nd century ADBuddhist site of Amaravati and the prehistoric antiques of South India. Exquisite carvings of theHindu, Buddhist and Jain faiths are displayed in the sculpture gallery .You can also see an

interesting collection of wood carvings from processional temple chariots and a fine collection of South Indian musical instruments and jewellery. Superb ancient icons and modern bronzes,including the famous bronze Natraja and the beautiful set of Rama, Sita, Lakshmana andHanuman jostle for space in the Bronze section.

National Art Gallery: Immerse yourself in some of the finest collection of old paintings.Delight in the 10th and 13th century bronzes, 16th-18th century Rajasthani and Mughal

paintings, 17th century Deccani paintings and 11th and 12th century Indian handicrafts.

Kalakshetra: All year round, Kalakshetra, an internationally renowned teaching institute,reverberates with classical music and dance. Founded by Rukmini Devi Arundale, its dancedramas are spectacular and eager students learn music, dance and handicrafts too. Its KalaMandir Auditorium is of unique traditional architecture. Not far away is Cholamandalam, acooperative artists' colony where modern art and open air theatre thrive.

San Thome Basilica - South India's links with Christianity go back almost to the times of Jesus.According to a legend one of Jesus' Disciples, Thomas Dydimus (`Doubting Thomas'), preachedin south Indian coasts. Thomas apparently used to walk from here to the beach at San Thomedaily to preach and was buried on the beach. He was later reinterred on a little inland, the site of


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the San Thome Basilica, that also holds some relics of the saint. On the spot near Mylaporewhere he used to walk, the Portuguese later built Descanco Church.

Theosophical Society: The font of Indian spiritual revival , the World Headquarters of theTheosophical movement founded by Madame Blavatsky and Col. Olcott lies in Adyar. The

Headquarters Building is a superb old mansion with a vast hall where silence is revered. You canstill mediate under the huge old Banyan Tree, believed to be the second largest in India and visitwithin the shrines of all faiths, a serene Garden of Remembrance and a fine Library with asuperb collection of old Eastern manuscripts.

Hallowed Shrines: Ptolemy talks about great port of Maillarpha-the ancient Mylapore, is alsorenowned for the famed Kapaleeswarar Temple. The present temple has been famous for at least300 years and is adorned with one of the most beautiful gopurams (towers). Visit too theVaishnava Parthasarathy Temple nearby. In George Town, are the earliest temples of the MadrasEra - the twin Chenna Kesava - Chenna Mallikeswarar Temples are the first temples of themodern city, and not much newer are the Kandaswamy Temple, the Kapaleeswarar Temple and

the Ekambareswarar Temple nearby. More modern Hindu shrines include the VadapalaniAndavar Temple and the temples of Mambalam.

Guindy National Park: The country's only wild life sanctuary within a city's limits, it is bounded by the Raj Bhavan, the governor's mansion on the one end, and the beautiful forest-girtcampus of Madras's famous Indian Institute of Technology, at the other. You can also find thefamous Cancer Institute, a Children's Park with its own mini-zoo and mini-railway, a Snake Park rich in reptiles, and Memorials to Gandhiji, Rajagopalachari the first Indian Governor-General,and Kamaraj, a major Tamil national leader as you travel end to end. Not far away are the playgrounds of the rich and famous-the Race-courses.

The Marina Beach: The world's second largest beach stretches two long miles of sand-strewncharm- from the mouth of the Cooum River south of the Fort, till the Portuguese town of SanThome. A promenade, well-kept gardens and a wide beach lies to the east of the road. The northend of the beach is known as Anna Square, where lies Dr C N Annadurai, who fought for theglory of Tamil and the Tamils.. At the other end of the beach is the new lighthouse. In betweenlie several statues of Tamil scholars and two splendid bits of sculpture - the Victory of Labour and Mahatma Gandhi. You can also marvel at Marina Beach. Cross the road to visit theUniversity campus in Indo-Saracenic style of the 1930s blending with perhaps one of thecountry's finest buildings in this hybrid style, Senate House. The Chepauk Palace, once the homeof the Nawabs of the Carnatic, still reflect Nawabi splendor while housing government offices..Vivekananda House, once a storehouse for imported ice -became then home for SwamiVivekananda when he visited Madras.

Kapaleeswarar Temple In Mylapore, there is an 8th Century Pallava Temple. The temple Gopuram or tower is made in the characteristic Dravidian style of architecture. Dedicatedof Lord Shiva, this temple has some beautiful sculptures, among which the bronze idols of 63 Saivaite Saints or the Nayanmars. They adorn the outer courtyard. Also in the courtyardunder the old Punnai tree is a small shrine depicting Goddess Parvathi in the form of apeacock, worshipping Lord Shiva. It is from this legend that Mylapore derives its


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name Mayil meaning peacock in Tamil and Oor meaning town. Mylapore is the hub of theArubathumoovar festival dedicated to the 63 Nayanmars held in March-April every year.

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