Chennai, also known as Madras, the capital of Tamil Nadu, is the country's fourth largest city. Compared to the other major metros of India, it is far less congested and polluted. Chennai was the site of the first settlement of the East India Company. It was founded in 1639, on a piece of land given by the Raja of Chandragiri, the last representative of the Vijayanagar rulers of Hampi.

On an organisational level, the city boasts of reasonably efficient public services, public buses, and commuter trains run smoothly. A great deal of industrial expansion has taken place in Chennai recently, with the mushrooming of engineering plants, car-assembly plants, educational institutions, and textile manufacturing units. Though there are no major attractions as such, it does have the second biggest beach in the world, the Marina Beach. Though a popular tourist spot, the beach is not really a favourite with swimmers, as the sea is known to house a sizeable population of sharks.

Chennai is a vibrant city that has managed to strike a beautiful balance between the modern and the traditional, a metropolis with a distinct old - world charm.

However, though the English legacy is undeniable, Chennai has continued to be a centre which has blended the foreign influence with the traditional Tamil-Hindu culture. As a city it continues to maintain the best of south Indian traditions. This is not surprising because the region was an important centre of Pallavan culture long before the British came here and the traces of which are to be found in the numerous old temple.

Thus, the unwary visitor will find Chennai more than just a gateway of South India. He shall find it a convenient base to peep into the varied aspects of traditional south Indian culture and life styles which inter- mingle with the modern city complete with its plush hotels and restaurants- offering a range of continental and typical, south Indian cuisine, long and uncrowded stretches of beaches, modern shopping centres which offer traditional handicrafts, textiles and much more peculiar to this part of India.

Besides the modern city itself, there are several interesting towns like Mamallapuram and Kanchipuram, each with a rich collection of ancient temples and an array of traditional handicrafts which are very much their own.

What to See

Built in 1640 AD, the Fort St. George once served as the very first bastion of the East India Company. Now, it houses the Secretariat and the Legislative Assembly. The 46 metre - high flagstaff, that adorns the front of the structure, is actually a mast salvaged from a 17th century shipwreck. The Fort Museum has a remarkable collection of memorabilia, dating back to the days of the Raj. Within the Fort complex, is also the oldest Anglican Church in India, St Mary's Church, built in 1678-1680. It also happens to be the oldest surviving British construction.

Chennai, the largest city in southern India located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal, developed after 1639 when the British East India Company established a fort and trading post at the small fishing village of Chennai.

Over the past three and a half centuries, the small fishing village has grown into a bustling metropolis which is especially known for its spaciousness which is lacking in other Indian cities, This characteristic is exemplified by the long esplanade called the Marina and which is lined by impressive buildings which remind the casual visitor of the long and inseparable association the city has had with the British.

Even elsewhere in the city, one cannot fail to notice the dominant British influences in the form of old cathedrals, buildings in the Indo-Saracenic style of architecture, wide tree lined avenues.