ABOUT CHENNAI

 Chennai, formerly known as Madras, is the capital of the State of Tamil Nadu and is India's fourth largest metropolitan city. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. With an estimated population of 7.60 million (2006), the 368-year-old city is the 36th largest metropolitan area in the world. 

The city is a large commercial and industrial centre, and is known for its cultural heritage and temple architecture. Chennai is the automobile capital of India, with a major percentage of the automobile industry having a base there and with a major portion of the nation's vehicles being produced there. Chennai is also referred to as the Detroit of South Asia. It has become a major center for outsourced jobs from the Western world. The 12-kilometre long Marina Beach forms the city's east coast and is one of the longest beaches in the world. The city is known for its sport venues and hosts India's only ATP tennis event, the Chennai Open.

 Name 

The name Madras is derived from Madraspatnam, the site chosen by the British East India Company for a permanent settlement in 1639. Another small town, Chennapatnam, lay to the south of it. In due course the two towns were merged, and the term Madras was favoured by the British. However locals used to refer to it as Chennapatnam or Chennapuri. The word "Chennu" is a South-Central Dravidian word of Telugu origin, meaning "Beautiful" and there�fore Chennapuri or Chennapatnam meant "Beautiful City". The city was renamed Chennai in August 1996 as the name Madras was perceived to be of Portuguese origin. The languages of Chennai are Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi and English

 History

         The East India Company developed Chennai as one of the major trading centres in India. Chennai has a blend of Dravidian and Gothic architecture in its buildings. The city might have grown but it has never lost its traditional grace and charm. With a population of over 7.6 million people, Chennai is a vibrant city ever growing, expanding and changing every year.

             Music, dance and all other art forms of the South are cherished and attract sizeable patronage. Chennai is the epitome of tradition, culture and life-style of Southern India. But like the rest of India, Chennai has over the years, developed its share of urban style and modernity.

             The city is known for its classical music shows. Every December, Chennai holds a five week-long music season, which has been described as one of the world�s largest cultural events. The Music Season encompasses performances (kutcheries) of traditional Carnatic music by hundreds of artists in and around the city. This happens during the Tamil season of Margazhi and this period is a festive and joyous time in Chennai. The mercury lies in the low twenties and the music rendered by the great musicians is soul-stirring and sensational. Carnatic music makes the December season a must-experience for visitors to Chennai.

             Chennai is also known for the classical Indian dance, the Bharatanatyam, which is also the official dance of Tamil Nadu. An important culture centre for Bharatanatyam is Kalakshetra (Sanskrit for �place of the arts�), located on the beach in the south of the city.

            Chennai has vibrant theatre scene, with a large number of Tamil plays being performed. Political satire, slapstick comedy, history, mythology and drama are some of the popular genres of Tamil plays. 

Economy

          Tidel Park, the largest software park in Chennai has a diversified economic base. The main industries are automobile, software services, hardware manufacturing and financial services. Other important industries include petro�chemicals, textiles and apparels. The Chennai Port and Ennore Port contribute greatly to its importance.

 Chennai is famous for its filter coffee, and many shops in this trade grind fresh coffee powder. Since the late 1990s, software development and business process outsourcing and more recently manufacturing have emerged as major areas in the city's economy. Chennai has been rated as the most attractive Indian city for offshoring services according to A T Kearney's Indian City Services Attractiveness Index 2005. Software services giants like Infosys, TCS, Wipro, Satyam, EDS, Accenture, Sun Microsystems and HP have development centres in the city and BPO companies like Sutherland global services. The IT Corridor, on Old Mahabalipuram Road in the southeast of the city houses several technology parks. The Mahindra World City, a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) with one of the world's largest information technol�ogy parks, is situated in the outskirts of Chennai. Multinational corporations like Dell, Nokia, Motorola, Siemens, Flextronics and Foxconn have or are in the process of setting up electronics manufacturing plants in the Sriperumbudur electronics SEZ. Ericsson and Alcatel have research and development facilities in the city while Texas Instruments' R&D facility is in the pipeline. The city has two main biotechnology parks, TICEL bio-tech park and Golden Jubilee bio-tech park at Siruseri that house bio technology companies and laboratories.

 Chennai is the base for around 45 per cent of India's auto components industry and 27 per cent of the vehicle industry. A large number of the automotive companies in India are based in Chennai. Several global automotive compa�nies such as Hyundai, Ford, Mitsubishi, TVS, Ashok Leyland, Caterpillar, Royal Enfield, TI Cycles, TAFE, Dunlop, MRF have manufacturing plants in and around Chennai while BMW, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Apollo Tyres have plants under construction in and around Chennai. The city is a major centre for the auto ancillary industry. Hyundai is in the process of setting up engine plant in the city. Naza Auto has firmed up plans to invest $259 million in its proposed Chennai plant.

 The Heavy Vehicles Factory at Avadi produces military vehicles, including India's main battle tank: Arjun. The Railway Coach building factory of the Indian Railways, the Integral Coach Factory manufactures railway coaches and locomotives.

 Chennai Trade Centre is an important centre for banking and finance. At present it is home to three large national banks commercial banks and many state level co-operative banks. Several large financial companies and insurance com�panies are headquartered in Chennai. Many Indian banks, multi-national banks and the World Bank have located their back office operations in the city. The city serves as a major back up centre for operations of many banks and financial companies in India.

 Other major manufacturing facilities range from small scale manufacturing to large scale heavy industrial manu�facturing, petrochemicals and auto ancillary plants. Chennai is a textile industry hub with a large number of apparel industries located in the Ambattur-Padi industrial zone in the northern suburbs of the city. The city also has a large leather apparel and accessory industry. SEZ's for apparel manufacture and footwear are under construction in the southern suburbs of the city. Madras Export Processing Zone (MEPZ) is the land mark for development of export.

 The city is home to the Tamil entertainment (motion pictures, television, and recorded music) industry which is the second largest in Indian entertainment industries. The city is also known for its classical music and dance performances.

 Education

 The University of Madras (1857), which has three campuses in the city, offers a range of programs in liberal arts, science and commerce. A large majority of city colleges are affiliated to the university and offer programs in medicine, law, science, Arts and commerce. Some such older institutions are the Madras Christian College (1837), Presidency College (1840), Pachaiyappa's College (1842), the Madras Medical College (1835), Stanley Medical College (1938) and Vivekananda College (1948), all of which affiliated themselves to the University of Madras on its formation. Other autonomous educational establishments include Women's Christian College (1915), Loyola College, Chennai (1925), the National Institute of Fashion Technology (1995), Asian College of Journalism (2000) and the Madras School of Social Work (1952).

 The prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras (1959), is located in the south of the city and is internationally renowned for its engineering program. Located nearby, is the main campus of Anna University (1978), which formed from a merger of the College of Engineering, Guindy (1794), the Madras Institute of Technology (1949), the Alagappa College of Technology (1944), and the School of Architecture and Planning (1957). Almost all colleges in Tamil Nadu that offer programs in engineering, technology and architecture are affiliated to Anna University. The remaining colleges are autonomous deemed universities.

 The Dr. Ambedkar Government Law College, Chennai, a prominent law college in Tamil Nadu was founded in 1891. Madras Medical College, established in 1835, is one of the oldest educational institutions to offer medical educa�tion in the Indian subcontinent. Stanley Medical College, Kilpauk Medical College and Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute are the other notable medical colleges in the city. Madras Veterinary College established in 1903 is the first institution of its kind in India.

 The Connemara Public Library built in 1890 is one of the four National Depository Centres in India. These centres receive a copy of all newspapers and books published in India. It also is a declared UNESCO information centre. Other important libraries include the Archaeological Survey of India library at the Fort St. George, The Ramakrishna Math Library and The Krishnamurti Foundation library in the premises of the Krishnamurti Foundation world head�quarters.

 Tourists Attractions

             Mahabalipuram, a 7th century port city with historic monuments, is situated 60 km south from the city of Chennai. Built in 8th century B.C., Parthasarathi Temple is in the heart of Chennai city. Silk-Saree fame Kancheepuram is located 70 km south-west from Chennai. It is also rich with temples lasting for centuries. Dakshina Chitra, located 25 km south of Chennai,  is a centre for the living traditions of art, fold performing arts, craft and architecture of India with an emphasis on the traditions of South India.

 Sports

 Cricket is the most popular sport in Chennai. The M.A. Chidambaram Stadium (formerly known as Madras Cricket Club ground or Chepauk Stadium) in Chepauk and popularly called the MAC, is one of the oldest cricket stadiums in India built in 1916, It seats more than 50,000 and is home to the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association. The Chemplast Cricket Ground in the IIT Madras campus is another important cricket venue.

 Tennis is another popular game in Chennai. The SDAT Tennis Stadium in Nungambakkam seats about 6,000 spectators and has five synthetic surface courts. The stadium also hosts India's only ATP event, the Chennai Open. The tournament was awarded the title of the best new event in its second year by the Association of Tennis Professionals. Indian tennis professionals such as Vijay Amritraj, Ramanathan Krishnan, Ramesh Krishnan and Mahesh Bhupathi hail from Chennai.

 Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium is the venue for hockey matches and seats 4,000. The Chennai Veerans, a Premiere Hockey League team is based in Chennai. The stadium has hosted the Champions Trophy (featuring the 6 best teams in the world) twice, most recently in 2005.

 The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium seats 40,000 and hosts football (soccer), and athletic competitions. The complex also houses a multi purpose indoor stadium with a seating capacity of 8,000 which hosts various competitions including volleyball, basket ball, table tennis. The Velachery Aquatic Complex seats 4,000 and hosts different kinds of water sports. Chennai has also hosted the South Asian Federation (SAF) Games 1995.

 The Guindy Race Course for horse racing was set up in 1777. Motor racing events are held at the Sriperumbudur (Thirupperumbudur) track for cars, and the Sholavaram track for motorcycles. The Madras Boat Club was set up in 1867 at the Basin Bridge and hosts rowing races. The city has two 18-hole golf courses: the Cosmopolitan Club and the Gymkhana Club golf course, both of which were established in the late 19th century.