ABOUT CHENNAI

Chennai:

Popularly regarded as "The Gateway to the South", Chennai is the fourth largest city in India and the capital of Tamil Nadu state. With a vast population of about six million people, Chennai is a city that is growing, expanding and changing vigorously.

History 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 was the first British major settlement in India and it was here that many who went on to build the Empire first learnt their trade. As a consequence, the city is replete with much that is of significance in British Indian history. But the much older settlements have stories to tell too, and so the city is an amalgam of ancient and more modern history. Everywhere one goes in Chennai, one can find history written in every name.

City of Chennai:

Chennai, previously called Madras, is comparatively a new city, about 350 years old. The erstwhile villages of Mylapore, Triplicane, Ezhambur (Egmore), etc., all now a part of Chennai, have a recorded historical past centuries older than Chennai.

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 a tour of Tamil Nadu and South India.

Music, dance and all other art forms of South India are cherished and nurtured in this city. Although the city has long been an important center of textile manufacturing, a great deal of industrial expansion has taken place in recent years.

Location:

Chennai has the Bay of Bengal bordering its east, while the state of Andhra Pradesh is on its northwest. It has the Kanchipuram on its south and the states of Kerala and Karnataka on its western side.

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