CLASSIC CHENNAI

FINAL WORD:
Here we discussed about many issues which states that chennai is a classic city.chennai is 300+yrs old and it maintains its culture and heritage.chennai has its own style and passion.

and now its the time to listen to the people who commented about chennai this are the top most comments made by them regarding this topic.

nithin said,
"I think that Chennai is a classic city. There are lots of reasons behind this which I am going to share with you like:

- It is an important centre for the Bharatanatyam, a classical dance form.
- It is India's second largest exporter of software, information technology (IT).
-Chennai hosts a large cultural event, the annual Madras Music Season, which includes performances by hundreds of artists"


raj said
"Part of Chennai definitely classical city. Though chennai has 400 yrs of history parts of Chennai especially Mylapore and Thiruvallikeni(triplicane) are older towns. the great tamil poet Thiruvalluvar said to be lived in mylapore. 2000+ years ago."

shankar said,
"chennai is classic city.its true.because it has some nice places such as ,St thomas , an direct apostle of Jesus said to be preaching christianity in mylapore area about 2000 yrs ago.

mylopore Kapaleeswarar temple exist since 7th Century

Thiruvanmyur Marudeeswarar temple also has long history"

martin said,

many people expressed their thoughts.they too saying about the standard of chennai.

CHENNAI ROCKZ..AND DEFINITELY ITS A CLASSIC CITY.......

BLUE CROSS:

Captain Sundaram
Founder of the Blue Cross of India

It all started one rainy day in 1959 when Captain Sundaram couldn't just walk away from the two pups struggling to stay afloat in the flooded roads of T Nagar. He took them home-and that gesture marked the beginning of Blue Cross, the animal shelter in his house which at one stage had 60 cats, dogs, goats, bandicoots and also a pair of baby mongooses!

The Blue Cross of India was established in 1959 and registered as a Society under the Societies Registration Act in 1964 to alleviate the suffering of animals. It has grown from small beginnings to become one of India's largest animal welfare organizations, running active animal welfare, animal rights and humane education programmes.

CENTERS:

GUINDY:

Mrs. USHA SUNDARAM, co-founder of the Blue Cross, and her family members have donated a Cattery to the Blue Cross shelters at Guindy. Covering 600 sq. feet, the Cattery is built around trees for the cats to play on and has a covered shelter for them.



Sriperumbudur:

Mr. Sujit L Joseph has generously donated 3.66 acres of land at Kunnam village near Sriperumbudur. This shelter has the unique distinction of being the first post research primate rehabilitation center in India. Monkeys rescued from laboratories are housed here, nursed back to health, and neutered. Later, they will be released into special forest reserves ear marked by the govt. for such animals. Horses from the King Institute which were not fit but were being used for making antivenom serum are also relishing their new found freedom at our shelter.

ARIGNAR ANNA ZOOLOGICAL PARK:

Arignar Anna Zoological Park is situated at Vandalur which is 32 Km away from the metropolitan city of Chennai on the GST Road. On the Eastern side of the road is the zoo over a sprawling area of 602 ha.

The Zoo maintains a viable population of threatened and endangered species of the Western and the Eastern Ghats. It has many threatened exotic species also. The Zoo plays the role of Species Bank and Gene Bank for a wide variety of flora and fauna. It is an Educational Centre and offers tremendous scope for Eco-awareness and conservation education to the public.

Arignar Anna Zoological Park has a large collection of endangered animals in its list of exhibits. Mammals 47 Species Birds 63 Species Repltiles 31 Species Amphibians 5 Species Fishes 25 Species Insects. 10 Species 46 endangered animals of Western ghats and the Indian subcontinent are protected and the zoo is involved in the captive breeding of this endangered species

chennai has many areas which is fully dedicated to business activities.some of the areas are t.nagar,parrys,mambalam.this are the major spots that plays vital role in chennais economy.

T.NAGAR:
Thyagaraya Nagar (also spelled Tyagaraya Nagar, and abbreviated T. Nagar) is a large, primarily commercial, locality in Chennai, India. It is situated in the middle of the city, south-west of the Anna Flyover. It is named after Sir P. Thyagaraya, whose Justice Party was in power when the settlement was laid out. The place is an important centre for shopping and entertainment, and also a major hub for the intra-city bus service.

Prominent Localities

Prominent Localities of Thyagaraya Nagar include

* Pondy Bazaar
* Panagal Park
* Ranganathan Street


* Pondy Bazaar, the main shopping area, stretches for around a kilometre on Thyagaraya Road. Pavement shops found in Pondy Bazaar sell a variety of items, including clothes, toys, and electronics, at cheap rates.

*The area around Panagal Park is known for its silk saree shops. Many prominent jewellery stores are also found here. The variety in shopping options makes T.Nagar one of the most crowded areas in Chennai during the festival seasons.


Culture:

T.Nagar offers a variety of entertainment options. It has recently grown to become a major hub for the Carnatic music festival-season, with a number of sabhas (such as Vani Mahal and Bharath Kalachar) hosting famous performers.

It also has a number of parks, cricket grounds, and other recreational facilities. The RKM cricket ground adjoining GN Chetty road hosts division IV and V city-league games.

Parry's Corner:

Parry's Corner is one of the central business district in Chennai, India. Often referred to as simply Parry's, it is situated near the Chennai Port, at the intersection of North Beach Road and NSC Bose Road. It is named after Thomas Parry, who set up the EID Parry Company in 1787. The corporate headquarters of the EID Parry Company stand on the corner. The place is an important center for commercial banking and trading, and also a major hub for the intracity bus service. Nowadays the place is so busy with heavy traffic, vendors and road side push cart food vendors.

BLOOD CIRCULATION:
By one estimate, India needs about 10 million units (1 unit = 450 ml) of blood for transfusion every year; considering that the USA uses up around 14 million units annually, the figure for India is possibly much higher.

Across Chennai, there are about 40 blood banks, government run and private, that together collect about a quarter of a million units of blood annually. Even allowing for weekends and bank holidays, that's roughly 25 units every day at each blood bank; in a city of about 7 million people, less than 5% donate blood in a year. With the demand for blood far outstripping supply, it is a challenge to encourage blood donation.


To make it easy for potential donors, several agencies have created mobile blood banks to go around the city, taking the message of blood donation to the people. The pattern is more or less the same - a multimedia show about how blood donation is useful and even healthy for the donor, register the volunteers, do a basic screen and collect a unit of blood. The vehicles must get each day's collection back to the bank, because they only have the collection and storage facilities on board. The high-tech work of screening and storing the blood still happens at centralised locations.



CHENNAI BOOK FAIR:

Chennai Book Fair or Madras Book Fair is an annual book fair organized in the Chennai, India by the Booksellers and Publishers Association of South India (BAPASI). The fair typically lasts for about 10 days during the New Year-Pongal season.

history:
The 1st Madras Book Fair was organized in Chennai between December 14 and December 24, 1977 by the Booksellers and Publishers Association of South India, an organization representing the major publishing companies of South India. The 1st Madras Book Fair had 22 stalls and was held at the Madrasa-i-Azam school. The first six book fairs were successful mainly due to the efforts of K. V. Mathew who was responsible for the growth of the book fair in its early years.



Features:
The Chennai Book Fair is considered to be one of the biggest events in the Chennai cultural calendar along with the Chennai music season. In addition to book stalls, there are food and refreshment stalls to serve the needs of hungry visitors. Regular debates, contests and speeches are held at the venue. In recent times, movie clippings of films of international renown are filmed at the venue of the fair. Annual awards to the best writer and the best publisher are given at the fair.

CHENNAI INDUSTRIAL AND TOURIST TRADE FAIR:

The annual Chennai Trade Fair that happens in Island Grounds is a popular tourist event. You get all round entertainment for the family here - some shopping, rides, booths and government department stalls, etc.
The exhibition presents a panorama of Tamil Nadu - all her places of touristinterest, her cultural wealth and economic progress.
people used to go their during pongal vacation.the site is divided into many blocks each block will represent a particular theme and information,projects based on that will be available there.it also contains many rides,shops,stalls,hotels and many other things.



TRADITIONAL PRACTICE:

kapaleeswara temple is one of the oldest temple in india.during every summer Panguni Thiruvizhaa is celebrated grandly.this is really a classic work in chennai.even though every thing changes but its followed strictly.

The 10 day Panguni Thiruvizha of the Karpagaambaal Kapaaleeswarar temple in Mylapore, Chennai was celebrated from March 26. On all 10 days, Vinaayakar, Kapaleeswarar-Karpagambal, Karpagambal, Murugar with Valli Deivayaanai and Chandikeswarar (Ainthirumenigal - 5 deities) were taken in procession around the 4 Maada veedhis on different vaahanams / vehicles on pallakkus, palanquins, chariots. As an opportunity for the asuras and demons to redeem themselves from their sins and bad actions, they are also used by the Lord as his vaahanams during this 10 day festival.

During the 10 day festival, Mylapore turns into a place of intense activity. Devotees young & old, teenagers having fun with their crowd, merry go rounds & giant wheels for the children to enjoy, vendors with their colourful wares (pottery, toys for children, plastic wares, utensils, accessories, coir items and many others are broungt from far & wide to be displayed & sold in Mylapore).




Devotees offer their prayers & worship by lighting camphor, applying beautiful kolams on the four main streets as a welcome to the Lord & his devotees, carrying kavadi & pulling tiny thaers.

Sport in Chennai:

THERE ARE VARIOUS NUMBER OF SPORTS ON TRACK IN CHENNAI.Cricket is the most popular sport in Chennai. The M.A. Chidambaram Stadium is one of the oldest cricket stadiums in India and has been the venue for many notable milestones in the history of Indian cricket. Tennis, hockey, football and racing are other popular sports. The city hosts as ATP tennis event, the Chennai Open. Chennai has a rich legacy in chess and has produced many well-known chess players, the most notable of them being Vishwanathan Anand, the current World Chess Champion.


CRICKET:

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 stadium is famous for its list of records, including the first ever test match victory that India recorded in 1951–52 when they defeated England, the second of only two tied tests between India and Australia in 1986 and Saeed Anwar's 194 in 1999 which is still the highest ODI score by a batsman.


M. A. Chidambaram Stadium

The Chemplast Cricket Ground in the IIT Madras campus is another important cricket venue, which hosts first class matches.
Prominent cricketers from Chennai include former Test-captains S. Venkataraghavan and Kris Srikkanth. The internationally renowned cricket bowling academy, the MRF Pace Foundation under the directorship of famous fast bowler Dennis Lillee is based in Chennai.

Chennai Super Kings:

Chennai Super Kings is the Chennai based franchise of the Indian Premier League. The team is led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, currently the captain of the Indian cricket team, and coached by Stephen Fleming. The M. A. Chidambaram Stadium (often referred to as Chepauk) is the Super Kings' home ground.


Chennai Superstars:

chennai superstars is one of the nine teams playing in the Indian Cricket League (ICL) founded in 2007. The team is based in Chennai, coached by Michael Bevan and captained by Stuart Law, both reputed Australian cricketers

Tennis:

Tennis is another popular game in Chennai. The city hosts an ATP event, the Chennai Open, at the SDAT Tennis Stadium in Nungambakkam. The stadium seats about 6,000 spectators and has five synthetic surface courts. The tournament was awarded the title of the best new event in its second year by the Association of Tennis Professionals. Indian tennis stars such as Ramanathan Krishnan, Vijay Amritraj, Ramesh Krishnan and Mahesh Bhupathi hail from Chennai. Leander Paes did his schooling and was trained in Chennai. One of India's top tennis training academies, the Britannia Amritraj Tennis Academy is based in Chennai.



SDAT Tennis Stadium in Nungambakkam
Hockey:

Chennai is home to a Premiere Hockey League team, the Chennai Veerans. The Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium, with a seating capacity of 4000, is the venue for hockey matches in the city. The stadium has twice hosted the Champions Trophy, featuring the top six teams in the world, in 1996 and 2005.

Athletics and swimming:

Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium

Football (soccer) and athletic competitions are held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, which seats 40,000. The complex also houses a multi-purpose indoor stadium with a seating capacity of 8,000 which hosts various competitions including volleyball, basketball, table tennis. The Velachery Aquatic Complex seats 4,000 and hosts various water sports. Chennai was the venue of the SAF Games in 1995.

Chess:

Vishwanathan Anand, the current World Chess Champion, hails from Chennai. Manuel Aaron, Krishnan Sasikiran and S. Vijayalakshmi are other chess players of repute from the city.

Viswanathan Anand :
(born 11 December 1969) is an Indian chess grandmaster and the current World Chess Champion.

Education in Chennai:

Chennai is home to many well known educational and research institutions. IIT Madras is ranked among the top centers of engineering education in India. Anna University and Guindy College of Engineering are other well known institutions for engineering studies. Medical colleges such as the Madras Medical College and Stanley Medical College are located in the city. Some of the schools in Chennai are recognised among the top schools in the nation.

Schools:

Schools in Chennai are either run publicly by the Tamil Nadu government, or run privately, some with financial aid from the government. The medium of education in private schools is English. Government run schools offer both English and Tamil medium education. Private schools are usually affiliated to the Tamil Nadu State Board or the TamilNadu Matriculation board. A few schools are affiliated to the national CBSE board, ICSE board, Anglo-Indian board and the Montessori system. A few schools also offer the International Baccalaureate and the American systems. Schooling begins at the age of three with two years of kindergarten, followed by ten years of primary and secondary education. Students then need to complete two years of higher secondary education in one of two streams: science or commerce, before being eligible for college education in a general or professional field of study.

some of the popular schools in chennai:

S.B.O.A Matric H.S School
Don Bosco Matriculation Hr. Sec. School, Egmore
Kendriya Vidyalay
Maharishi Vidya Mandir Senior Sec. School



Colleges:

there are many number of standard colleges in chennai.some of them are

Indian Institute of Technology Madras:
The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) is an elite engineering and technology school located in Chennai (formerly Madras) in southern India. It is officially recognized as an Institute of National Importance by the Government of India and is regarded as one of the finest engineering institutions in India.



Founded in 1959 with technical and financial assistance from the Government of the erstwhile West Germany, IIT Madras was third among currently thirteen Indian Institutes of Technology (including 6 new IITs started in 2008) established by the Government of India through an Act of Parliament, to provide world-class education and research facilities in engineering and technology.



Anna University:
Anna University was formed on September 4, 1978 as a unitary type of university. It integrated 4 well-known technical institutions in the city of Chennai (previously known as Madras), the oldest of which was the College of Engineering, Guindy, started in 1794. Perarignar Anna University of Technology (PAUT) was the original name used in 1978. In 1982 the current name of Anna University was coined removing the words "Perarignar" and "Technology". In December 2001, it was converted into an affiliating university, with almost all engineering colleges in the state of Tamil Nadu under its fold and also absorbing all the 6 government engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu as its constituent colleges.



Anna University Chennai conducted a series of “Training the Trainer” Programmes in collaboration with ELCOT and software companies such as Infosys, Wipro, CTS , TCS and Scope International under the scheme of “Enhancing the Employability of Students” from the Affiliated Colleges of Anna University Chennai. The objective of this programme was to train teachers to impart communication and soft skills to students more effectively. Nearly 250 teachers were benefited from this programme.


• Anna University Chennai introduced Medical Insurance Scheme to provide health care to all the students and employees of the University. Nearly 6000 students and 1500 staff members are being benefited through this scheme.

• Anna University Chennai is establishing tie-ups with Universities and organizations abroad in order to promote research in technical Education. More than 108 National and 69 International Memorandum of Understanding have been signed so far.

Madras Institute of Technology:

The Madras Institute of Technology (MIT) is an engineering institute located in Chromepet, Chennai, India. It is one of the four autonomous constituent colleges of the Anna University. It was started in 1949 by Mr.C. Rajam. The Institute was at that time a bold experiment in technical education, for it introduced for the first time totally new areas of specialization viz. Aeronautical Engineering, Automobile Engineering, Electronics Engineering and Instrumentation Technology.


Madras Medical College:

The Madras Medical College is a prominent educational institution located in Chennai, India. It was established on February 2, 1835 and is one of the oldest medical schools of the Indian subcontinent.

It is the oldest medical college in India, along with the Medical College Kolkata.

loyala college:

Loyola College is a Jesuit college in Chennai, India. It is among the elite colleges in India, presently ranked at no. 1 in the Arts and Sciences and at no. 2 in Commerce.



The College offers courses in the arts, social sciences, natural sciences, and commerce. It is autonomous, but affiliated with the University of Madras, which grants the degrees.


Dr. Ambedkar Government Law College, Chennai:

Ambedkar Government Law College, Chennai is a law college in Chennai, India that was established in 1891. It was renamed after Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, an Indian freedom fighter and fighter for rights of untouchables and Dalits. Dr. Ambedkar Govt Law College, Chennai, in short called as DAGLC, Chennai and is the oldest law school in India with 115 years of legacy.

Research Institutions

Chennai is home to well known research institutions. The world's largest organization for leather research, the Central Leather Research Institute, is located in Adyar. It is a constituent of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India and is the premier institution of education and research in the leather sector in India. The Central Electronics Engineering Research Institute, which is an important center for electronics research in India, has a branch in Chennai. The center focuses on advanced sensor technologies, process control instrumentation and automation and machine vision technologie

Economy of Chennai:

Chennai has a diversified economic base anchored by the automobile, software services, medical tourism, hardware manufacturing and financial services. Other important industries include petrochemicals, textiles and apparels. The Chennai Port and Ennore Port contribute greatly to its importance. The city has a fully computerised stock exchange called the Madras Stock Exchange. Chennai has the fourth largest Gross Metropolitan Product in India.


*Chennai’s economy is expected to increase to around $150 billion from the current $45 billion by 2025. Infrastructure would lead the growth, according to a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) stud*

*Chennai was recently rated as having the highest quality of life among Indian cities ahead of the other three metros and Bangalore, based on the "Location Ranking Survey" conducted by ECA International.*

*Chennai has improved its global ranking to 138 in 2006-07 from 179 in 2002-03. It is now ranked at 26th position in Asia in terms of livability, up from 31st rank in 2002-03.*

Software and Software Services:


Since the late 1990s, software development and business process outsourcing and more recently electronics manufacturing have emerged as major drivers of the city's economic growth. 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. Major software and software services companies like Accenture, Cognizant Technology Solutions, CSC, EDS, HCL, HP, IBM, Infosys, Satyam, Sun Microsystems, Symantec, TCS, Verizon, Wipro, and US Technology Resources have development centres in the city.
The city is now the second largest exporter of IT and IT enabled Services in the country behind Bangalore. The IT Corridor, on Old Mahabalipuram Road in the southeast of the city houses several technology parks, and, when completed, will provide employment to close to 300,000 people. Besides the existing Tidel Park, two more Tidel Parks are on the anvil in the IT corridor.


Tidel Park, one of the largest software parks in India.


Automobiles


Chennai has a market share of around 30% of India's automobile industry and 35% of its auto components industry. A large number of the automotive companies including several global automotive companies such as Hyundai, Ford, BMW, Mitsubishi, TVS, Ashok Leyland, Caterpillar, Royal Enfield, TI Cycles, TAFE, Dunlop, MRF have manufacturing plants in and around Chennai. Nissan-Renault and Apollo Tyres have plants under construction. The city is a major centre for the auto ancillary industry. Hyundai is in the process of setting up engine plant in the city. Ford is planning to invest $500 million dollars in Chennai plant.Several Petrochemical companies like Chennai Petro Chemicals Limited (Manali Refinery), Manali Petrochemicals, Petro Araldite and Orchid Pharmaceuticals are situated in the outskirts of Chennai.



Banking and Finance

Chennai is an important centre for banking and finance. At present it is home to three large national level commercial banks and many state level co-operative banks. Several large financial companies and insurance companies 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.


Aerospace Industry


Chennai Aero Park has been proposed and is intended to become the largest integrated aerospace ecosystem in the world. The project is a pioneering initiative to mark India's entry into the global aerospace industry. The aero park will enable global players to design, manufacture and maintain all types of aircraft for both civilian and defense needs. It is to be established as a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) entity.

Already the city is home to more than 20 companies in the aerospace field. The establishment of this park will make chennai, the Aero City of India



Aero Park Facilities

* Design/Development & Engineering Services complex
* Helipad and 3KM Landing Strip
* Manufacturing complex
* Software & IT complex
* International complex
* Corporate offices
* Pilots Aid complex
* MRO complex
* Central Approved Testing Facilitiy
* Warehouse complex
* Training/Simulators complex
* Aviation and Aerospace University
* AME/ARME Ground Crew School
* Aircrew Training School
* Residential and Other Supporting Facilities


chennai future:
Chennai set to become a world-class city-NDTV News:

Tamil cinema (also referred to as the Tamil film industry, or Chennai film industry) is the Chennai–based Tamil language filmmaking industry of the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is based in the Kodambakkam district of Chennai, where several Tamil language feature films are produced, which has led to a colloquial reference to it as Kollywood , a portmanteau of the words Kodambakkam and Hollywood.

Early exhibitors:

In Madras (now known as Chennai), the Electric Theatre was established for the screening of silent films. It was a favourite haunt of the British community in Madras.The theatre was shut down after a few years. This building is now part of a post office complex in Anna Salai. The Lyric Theatre was also built in the Mount Road area (now Anna Salai). This venue boasted a variety of events, including plays in English, Western classical music concerts, and ballroom dances. Silent films were also screened as an additional attraction. Samikannu Vincent, an employee of the South Indian Railways in Trichy, purchased a film projector and silent films from the Frenchman Du Pont and set up a business as film exhibitor. He erected tents for screening films.


Film studios

1916 marked the birth of Tamil cinema with the the first Madras production and South Indian film release Keechaka Vaadham (The Destruction of Keechaka). During the 1920s, silent Tamil-language movies were shot at makeshift locations in and around Chennai, and for technical processing, they were sent to Pune or Calcutta. Later some movies featuring MKT were shot in Pune and Calcutta. In the 1930s AVM set up its makeshift studio in the town of Karaikudi, and during the same decade, full-fledged Movie studios were built in Salem (Modern Theatres Studio) and Coimbatore (Central Studios, Neptune, and Pakshiraja).




By the mid 1940s, Chennai became the hub of Studio activity with two more movie Studios built in Chennai, Vijaya Vauhini Studios and Gemini Studios. Later, AVM Studios shifted its operations to Chennai. Thus, with the undivided Madras Presidency being the Capital to most of South India, Chennai became the center for Tamil- and notable Telugu-language movies. Also, most of the pre-independence era drama and stage actors joined the movie industry from the 1940s, and Chennai became the hub for South Indian–language film production and Sri Lankan cinema before independence.

Superstars:

At the beginning of the talkie era, Kollywood was dominated by P. U. Chinnappa and later M. K. Thyagaraja Bagavadhar during the 1940s. During the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, the two highly anticipated Tamil film stars were M. G. Ramachandran and later Sivaji Ganesan.


The 1980s, 1990s and 2000s saw the rise and consolidation of the markets of Kamal Hassan and later Rajinikanth. The films of both of these stars typically mop up regularly 20 per cent market share each of the total annual box office receipts. They received salaries of $2 million and $3 million respectively for their latest projects, Dasavatharam and Sivaji.

Some of the biggest names in the Indian film fraternity like Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Mani Ratnam and S. Shankar are based of Chennai.A. R. Rahman took Chennai to international fame by winning two Oscar awards in 2009 for the movie Slumdog Millionaire. Chennai's theaters stage many Tamil plays; political satire, slapstick comedy, history, mythology and drama are among the popular genres.

Chennai has a well developed transport infrastructure.

Roads.
For the proposed elevated expressways, see Chennai Elevated Expressways

Chennai's economic development has been closely tied to its port and transport infrastructure.

The city and metropolitan area are served by major arterial roads that run either in an east-west or north-south direction . Anna Salai — or Mount Road as it is more popularly called — is the city's most famous road.

It traverses most of central and south Chennai and leads on to the Grand Southern Trunk Road (National Highway 45) to Thiruchirapalli.
The road runs in a north-east to south-west direction. Other arterials include Kamaraj Salai (north-south), Poonamalee High Road (east-west), Radhakrishnan Salai (east-west), and Sardar Patel Road (east-west).


Chennai is also served by the Inner Ring Road that circled the metropolitan area when it was built. The proposed Outer Ring Road will further improve the traffic flow around the city. In addition, the recently constructed Chennai byepass road, that connects NH 45 to NH-4, and in future, NH-5 has allowed freight traffic to byepass part of the city, and provides a convenient alternative to the Inner Ring Road. Most of the arterial roads lead to the National Highways and State Highways.



Five major National Highways radiate outward from Chennai:

* Erukancheri High Road to the northwest, becoming National Highway 5 to Kolkata;
* Poonamallee High Road (Periyar Salai) to the west, becoming National Highway 4 to Mumbai(via Bangalore and Pune);
* Mount Road (Anna Salai) to the south-west, becoming National Highway 45 to Tiruchirapalli and the interior of Tamil Nadu;
* Madras-Tiruvallur High Road (MTH Road), built parallel to NH 4 to the west, leading to Tiruvallur;
* Beach Road to the south along the coast, becoming East Coast Road to Mahabalipuram, Pondicherry and beyond.

Public Transport:

The Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus (CMBT) foundation stone laid by Chief Minister M.Karunanidhi in 1999 and was opened in 2001 in Koyambedu in western Chennai by the then Chief Minister Ms. J. Jayalalitha. The CMBT is the largest bus station in Asia, and serves as the terminus for all intercity buses from Chennai. The CMBT is located on the Inner Ring Road, replacing the older terminus on the Esplanade in the city centre. State transport and private bus services to all major cities and towns in Tamil Nadu and neighbouring states start from here.





Most of Chennai's intra-city transport requirements are met by an extensive public transport system. The bus service, which is run by the government-owned Metropolitan Transport Corporation covers the city and its suburbs. Bus services are generally considered efficient, but buses on some routes can get very crowded at times. The bus service, which plies about 3084 buses on 626 routes, moves an estimated 4.03 million passengers each day.

*chennai is the only city to have govt buses.no private buses can be seen*

AC BUSES:

mtc also introduced ac buses in the city with many facilities.



The buses have many passenger friendly features including

- Tilting the bus on left or right side and increasing the height of the bus according to the requirements. (volvos need this to run on our roads :( )

- The suspension would also ensure jerk-free travel for commuters

- Physically-challenged and elders can board the buses with their wheel chairs.

- provision for wheel chairs to be fastened with the seats.

- LED scrolling boards will also be in place in the front, rear and sides of the vehicle for route information.

- Automatic doors in the front and rear with sensors, provision for laptop connection and mobile phone charger, channel music system and public announcement (PA) system to give information to passengers will be the other attractions

In addition to the bus service, private metered call taxis and fixed-rate tourist taxis are available at all entry points to the city like airport, mofussil bus terminus and central railway station.

Metered/unmetered autos ply across the city and are extensively used. In the case of autos though, drivers often demand flat rates especially for short distances(say 1-2 km) and certainly need some bargaining.

RAILWAY NETWORK:
in addition to the road,chennai has a complex rail network.
Suburban System

The Chennai suburban railway system can be broken down into five sections:

* Chennai Central — Tiruvallur — Arakkonam — Tiruttani
* Chennai Central — Ennore — Gummidipoondi — Sullurpet
* Chennai Beach — Tambaram — Chengalpattu — Kanchipuram — Tirumalpur
* Chennai Beach — Royapuram — Washermanpet — Korukkupet — Ennore — Gummidipoondi
* Chennai Beach — Royapuram — Washermanpet — Perambur — Arakkonam


The system uses broad gauge. The section from Washermanpet to Beach handles predominantly freight traffic from Chennai Port, and is not geared well to serve passengers.

MRTS System

* Chennai Beach — Velachery
* Velachery — St. Thomas Mount (under construction)
* Thiruvanmiyur — Mamallapuram (proposed)

The MRTS system is planned to meet with the Tambaram branch of the existing suburban network at St. Thomas Mount. The plan envisages the MRTS line to proceed north from St. Thomas Mount, forming a ring around the city and ending at the northbound Central-Gummidipoondi line.

Smart Card:

The Smart Card looks similar to a debit card, issued by the suburban railway at ticket counters for Rs.100 currently. This Rs.100 includes Rs.50 refundable deposit, and Rs.50 travel value. The travel value can be used to purchase platform and travel tickets for the Chennai suburban trains. The smart card is valid for 6 months from the date of purchase and the extra amounts of travel value can be recharged whenever needed. It is found that very few people are using this smart card.

Smart Card is very beneficial in terms of avoiding standing in long queues saving precious time, and also keeping track of the money spending on the trains travel. The touch screen ticket vending kiosks are provided in many stations, for using the smart card services. The kiosk has a multilanguage interface, featuring Tamil, English and Hindi. The user has to place the smart card, select destination zone, destination station, number of adults, number of children, one way or return ticket and via stations. The ticket is printed for the user.

Main Railway Terminal Stations:

There are two main railway terminals, the Chennai Central station, which is the city's largest railway station with trains to major cities and towns in India, and Chennai Egmore, with trains to cities and towns within Tamil Nadu.

chennai central:

Chennai Central, formerly known as Madras Central is the main railway terminus in Chennai. It is home to the Southern Railways and the most important rail hub in South India. Trains from here connect the city to other states of India, while trains to other parts of Tamil Nadu (excluding Tiruchirapalli, Madurai and Tirunelveli) are catered to by the Chennai Egmore station. Chennai Central is the main hub for the Chennai suburban railway. The building of the railway station, one of the landmarks of Chennai, was designed by the architect Henry Irwin.



Chennai Central serves as a symbolic landmark for people in South India as this served as the main gateway for all people who travelled to South India during British times. Chennai Central has been greatly instrumental in earning Chennai the famous sobriquet "Gateway of the South"


chennai egmore:

Chennai Egmore is a railway station in Egmore, Chennai, South India. The station acts as the arrival and departure point for trains connecting Chennai and southern, central Tamil Nadu and Kerala.This is one of the two main railway terminals in the city along with Chennai Central, which serves the north and west bound trains from the city.



water transport:

chennai port:
Chennai Port is the second largest port of India, behind the Mumbai Port. It is over 125 years old. This was a major travel port before becoming a major container port. It is a substantial reason for the economic growth of Tamil Nadu, especially for the manufacturing boom in South India. Its container traffic crossed 1 million TEUs for the first time in 2008. Though much smaller than ports such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Shenzhen, it is expanding in the coming years.



AIRWAYS:

Chennai International Airport

Chennai International Airportis located in Meenambakkam, 7 km (4.3 mi) south of Chennai, India. It is the third largest international gateway into the country and the third busiest airport in India after Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport and Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport, and the main air hub for South India, handling around 12 million passengers in 2007 and serving more than 50 different airlines. It is also a hub for Jet Airways, Kingfisher Red, Air India and Paramount Airways. It is also an important cargo terminus for the country, after
Mumbai.



Facts and Figures:

Currently, Chennai airport handles about 25 aircraft movements every hour, which will be saturated by the year 2014-15. However, peak hour traffic handling capability will be exhausted much earlier than that. Anna International Terminal handled 3,410,253 passengers in 2007-08 and has the capacity of handling 3M passengers annually, Already it has surpassed the passenger handling capacity. Similarly, Kamaraj Domestic Terminal, which handled 7,249,501 passengers in 2007-08, has the capacity to handle 6 million passengers annually. Here again the terminal demand far exceeds the capacity. In all Chennai airport handled a capacity of 10,659,754 passengers in 2007 - 08. The airport handled cargo of a total of 270,608 tonnes in 2007 - 08.

Chennai architecture and monuments:

Chennai architecture is a confluence of many architectural styles. From ancient Dravidian temples built by the Pallavas, to the Indo-Saracenic style (pioneered in Madras) of the colonial era, to 20th century steel and chrome of skyscrapers. Chennai has a colonial core in the port area, surrounded by progressively newer areas as one travels away from the port, punctuated with old temples, churches and mosques.

Styles of architecture:

The Government Museum, Egmore, in the Indo-Saracenic style.

Indo-Saracenic and colonial style

In the city, one can notice the British influence in the form of old Cathedrals and the mix of Hindu, Islamic and Gothic revival styles that resulted in the Indo-Saracenic style of architecture. Many of the colonial era buildings are designed in this Indo-Saracenic style. The colonial legacy of Chennai is most apparent in the vicinity of the Chennai port. South of the port is Fort St George. The stretch between the Fort and the port is occupied mostly by the High Court buildings and several clubs, some of which have existed since the British era. A little south of the Fort, across the Cooum River, is the Chepauk cricket stadium, another British staple, dating from 1916. North and west of the port is George Town, where dockyard workers and other manual labourers used to live. George Town is now a bustling commercial centre, but its architecture is significantly different from areas closer to the Fort, with narrower roads and tightly packed buildings. Most of the colonial style buildings are concentrated in the area around the Chennai port and Fort St George. The remaining parts of the city consist of primarily modern architecture in concrete, glass and steel.



Tamil style

Some residential areas like Tiruvallikeni (Triplicane) and Mylapore have several houses dating from the early 20th century, especially those far removed from arterial roads. Many of them were built in the traditional Tamil style, with four wings surrounding a square courtyard, and tiled sloping roofs. In sharp contrast, the apartment buildings along the larger roads in the same areas were built in 1990 or later

Ripon building:

Ripon Building is the seat of the Chennai Corporation in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. This is a fine example of Indo-Saracenic style of architecture, a combination of three types of architectural styles - Gothic, Ionic and Corinthian.

The Ripon Building is white in colour and is located near the Central station in Chennai. Commissioned in 1913, it was built by a builder named Loganatha Mudaliar. the Building took four years to build at a cost of 750,000 Rupees. Ripon building was named after Lord Ripon, Governor-General of British India and the Father of local self-government. Earl of Minto, the then Viceroy and Governor General of India laid the foundation on December 12, 1909.

Madras high court:
The Madras High Court, one of the landmarks of the metropolis of Chennai, India, and believed to be the second largest judicial complex in the world[citation needed], is located near the beach, one of the important central business districts of Chennai.


Valluvar Kottam

The Valluvar Kottam, constructed in 1976, is an auditorium in memory of the poet-saint Thiruvalluvar. All 1330 verses of the poet's epic - the Thirukkural, are inscribed on the granite pillars that surround the auditorium. There is a 101-feet high temple chariot structure with a life-size image of the poet in it. The base of the chariot shows in bas-relief the 133 chapters of the Thirukkural.



Other interesting buildings:

The Government Museum (designed by Henry Irwin and completed in 1896), the Senate House of the Madras University and the College of Engineering, Guindy are some more examples of the Indo-Saracenic style of architecture.

Other buildings of architectural significance are the Presidency College, built in 1840, the Ripon Building (now housing the Chennai Corporation) dating from 1913, The War Memorial, Vivekanandar Illam, The Museum Theatre and the Ramakrishna Math temple. Adjoining the Governor's residence (Raj Bhavan) at Guindy, there are five mandapams (or memorials) dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi, the first Indian Governor General C Rajagopalachari, former Chief Ministers of the state Kamaraj and Bhaktavatsalam and one to Martyrs in general.

Among the Churches are the 'Cathedral', 'St. Andrew's Church' (referred to as "the Kirk"), St. Thomas Mount Church.

religious monuments:

St. Thomas Mount Church:
According to legend, St. Thomas was one of the first Christians to reach India and to preach Christianity. He is believed to have reached South India in AD 52, and spent the last years of his life in a cave on this hill. Tradition states that Thomas was assassinated by a shot of an arrow in AD 72, by persons hostile to him. Thus, the hillock acquired the name St. Thomas Mount



A small relic-filled Church built in 1523 by the Portuguese stands at the summit of the 300 foot high St. Thomas Mount. The place was visited by Pope John Paul II during his visit to India on 5 February 1986. The Indian Army operates an Officers training Academy (OTA) on the mount. The South line of the Chennai suburban railway has a station named after St. Thomas Mount here.

chennai classic homes:


War Memorials:

A visit to the War Memorials of Chennai is the best way to discover the heroic past of India. The memorials are dedicated to those soldiers who laid their lives for the welfare of the nation as well as those who died as martyrs, serving their nation. These war memorials have been built to pay homage to those great souls. Some of these War Memorials are located within the boundaries of the city, while some are located at the outskirts. Two most famous and visited memorials in and around Madras are given below

Victory War Memorial:
The Victory War Memorial is located to the south of Fort St. George. This memorial is also known as 'Cupid's Bow'. A circular rock and marble structure have been built here, in the memory of those who sacrificed and lost their lives for the country's honor, during World War I. It is situated on Beach Road of Chennai, near Island Grounds.

Rajiv Gandhi Memorial:
Rajiv Gandhi Memorial is another must visit spot on your tour to Madras. It is located at a distance of about 40 km from the main city. The memorial is precisely situated at Sriperumbudur and is dedicated to the former Prime Minster of India, Raiiv Gandhi. He was assassinated in the year 1991 by a human bomb.

central prison:

The historic Madras Central Prison that was constructed in the year 1837 and was operational until a few years ago will soon be reduced to rubbles.The sprawling nine-acre campus situated in the heart of the city, which is also one of the last few heritage sites, has housed several prominent personalities like former chief ministers C. K. Annadurai, Jayalalithaa, M. Karunanidhi.

The prison, which was originally used as a transit point to house criminals and freedom fighters before they were eventually transferred to the central prison in Andaman, has even housed pre-Independence era personalities like Hindu nationalist leader Veer Savarakar, who spent a few days here before he was sent to Andaman.

According to prison officials, the prison is expected to become a part of the government general hospital.

Chennai celebrates a number of festivals. Pongal, celebrated in the month of January, is the most important festival of and is celebrated over a period of five days. Tamil New Year's day signifying the beginning of the Tamil calendar usually falls on April 14 and is celebrated widely. Being a cosmopolitan city, almost all major religious festivals like Divali, Eid and Christmas are celebrated here.

PONGAL:

Pongal is one of the major festivals celebrated in the Chennai city of India. It is basically a rural-based festival, but is also celebrated in the cities with great enthusiasm. Pongal marks the end of the south east monsoon and the harvest season in South India. It is celebrated in the Tamil month of Thai, which is considered quite sacred. The festival involves the worship of Sun God, Mother Earth and the Cattle for bearing a good harvest. In Tamil Nadu, it is celebrated continuously for four days.



Moreover, there are many legends associated with the Pongal festival. According to the folklore, the first day of Pongal is celebrated to pay homage to Lord Krishna, as he lifted the Govardhan Parvat (mountain) to save his people from the incessant rain. In relation with the third day of the Pongal, it is said that Lord Shiva sent his divine vehicle Nandi - the bull, on the earth, to give the message to the people that they must have an oil bath everyday, while they must eat only once in a month.


DIWALI:

This festival of lights is usually celebrated in Oct, Nov. It generates an atmosphere of gaiety, friendliness and excitement. Diwali is celebrated with new clothes, spectacular firecrackers and a variety of sweets in the company of family and friends. Dhanatrayodashi; Narakchaturdashi, Amavasya (Laxmi poojan), Balipratipada and Yamadvitiya (Bhaubeej) are the five days which comprise Diwali, and each day has a peculiar religious significance.



some other festivals are:

Vinayaka Chathurthi
Navarathiri
Karthigai Deepam

Chennai Sangamam:

The only Festival of India that belongs to people of all religions, as well as to the non-believers. The harvest fest of Tamil antiquity - The Pongal re-discovering itself as urban thanksgiving. It's Chennai Sangamam. More than 2000 performers will ignite the spirit of Chennai for seven days with around 4000 performances. All in parks, streets and beaches. From January 10-16, 2009. Welcome to the longest and biggest Open Festival of India, presented by Tamil Maiyam & Dept. of Tourism and Culture, Govt of Tamil Nadu.

The most important point is that the event is open for all and happening in the public places.so each and every citizen of chennai can able to enjoy this.

History

The idea of organizing a festival during Pongal showcasing the culture of Tamil Nadu was conceived by Kanimozhi, Member of Parliament from Tamil Nadu and daughter of M Karunanidhi and Fr. Jegath Gaspar Raj, founder of Tamil Maiyam, in September 2006[3]. The festival was rolled out in 2007, with patronization of the Government of Tamil Nadu

places where events takes place:

Nageswara Rao Park, Mylapore
Anna Park, Royapuram
ELLIOTS Beach, Besant Nagar
Tower Park- ANNA NAGAR
Lady Wellington School
ECR Road – Palavakkam

"chennai sangamam 2009";

The Chennai Sangamam 2009, which inaugurated on 10the January exists at many places around Chennai, stimulates the festival mood. In welcoming Pongal – the harvesting festival that falls on January 14th, this celebration gives a feel of nearly in traditional way. What this arts turn to be only temple festivals special in villages, which seen rarely in today’s world, this truly aware the need and significance of our unique arts. The idea comes out in supporting and raising the declining artists, and helps in discovering certain norms in public. Year by year I could think its popularity and we all began to look forward this festival around. In my view it has a bright future not alone being celebrated, and to make our existing arts to keep in active and some more in spreading to other districts, could certainly witness a growth.



Karagattam was familiarly known by most, as they take places first and more in festivals and cultural programs. Karagam is mean to decorated vessel. So as one have to perform dance movements, placing them on head without let to fall the vessel. It’s uneasy to see how stable the vessel on head, to only active the body more or less towards music. Have seen this kind of dance in movies alone, and the one ever get out of mind is famous Tamil movie Karagattakaran (karagam dancer). The current song is Mankuyile poongkuyile... from Karagattakaran, do check for the karagattam.



Poikkal Kudirai Attam (Dummy horse dance) is a skill trained performance. It’s wonderful to see someone standing and balancing on two pieces of wooden legs, and caring a dummy horse on hip to move up and down to band music. Wearing colorful cloths hiding there legs, and wooden legs to hoof. It is unheard in the raised band music; called Naiyandi melam.



Kavadi attam is a devotional dance dedicated mostly to lord muruga. Unlike those carried on shoulders balanced by a stick and something curved like with fixed feathers on each end, what I see last evening was a stool like thing carried on head with a cone like decorated, as they roll, it revolves colorfully.

CHENNAI CULTURE:

CHENNAI is Popularly called the "Gateway to the South", Chennai culture is distinctly different from that of any other city in India. Being a cosmopolitan city, the culture of the city reflects its diverse population which has resulted in a unique blend. Though a modern city, it continues to be traditional and conventional in certain ways. Traditional music, dance and all other art forms of Tamil Nadu are very popular in the city. One can find a unique blend of culture from traditional foods to fast foods, from ancient temple architecture to modern high-rises and from classical music and dance to the growing nightlife in the city.

MUSIC:

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.




DANCE AND DRAMA:

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




Chennai has a 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. Prominent theatre personalities include Pammal Sambanda Mudaliar, K.S. Nagarajan, Cho Ramaswamy, Indira Parthasarathy, R.S. Manohar, N. Muthuswamy, Crazy Mohan, S. Ve. Sekhar and Y. Gee. Mahendran. English theatre is also popular in Chennai.

Kollywood:

Chennai is the base for the large Tamil movie industry, dubbed Kollywood after the locality of Kodambakkam where most of the movie studios are located. The industry makes about 300 Tamil movies a year, and its film soundtracks dominate the music scene in the city.


Art:

Chennai has played a vital role in the evolution of traditional and contemporary art in India.

Lalit Kala Akademi, at Greams Road conducts regular exhibitions of works by established and emerging artists.

The Cholamandal Artists' Village is a unique centre of art and craft where artists and sculptors work in their own studios to supplement their income from the sale of paintings or sculptures. A permanent gallery attracts visitors throughout the year.

Chennai has produced some of the finest artists in India like KCS Panicker, K.M.Adimoolam, A.V.Ilango, R.B.Bhaskaran, R.M.Palaniappan.

There are also couple of emerging artists like Aparajith, Benita Perciyal, Sivabalan, cheenu pillai, Sheela Maradi, Ramasuresh who have made a mark for themselves.

FOOD IN CHENNAI:

TRADITIONAL ITEMS:

Digs at South Indian eating habits have long since stopped being funny and many a Tamilian is known to have taken umbrage at being referred to as an idle-sambhar specimen, a rice eating sloth whose languour is attributed to his food habits. Why not poke fun (clean wholesome fun) at our channa bhature-dal-roti brothers? I still remember vividly my acute embarrassment at the dining table as a young bride. My in-laws after years of residence in the north, plainly scoffed at the eating habits of the south. Se how she loves her rice was the open remark and imagine enjoying it with dollops of sambhar and ghee to go with it! I remember blushing with shame, and valiantly trying to much chapattis to gain their approval. Fortunately I was as thin as a beanpole and my frame gave scant evidence to my partiality to rice!




Rice, of course is the staple food of the south Indian. Excepting very cosmopolitan families, its presence is felt in some form or the other in every meal. In south India, after the rice is cooked the water or conjee is drained. Packed with nourishment, the working class downs it with a pinch of salt-a real filler to stave off those premature hunger pangs. Warmed and poured over the legs, rice conjee is supposed to alleviate pain in the legs. Lightly soaked and ground to a powder rice flour has infinite uses. Steamed and mixed with sugar and a little ghee, it makes rice puttu for tiffin. A small amount added to gram flour paste, it helps make crisp bajjis or pakoras. Ground rice flour paste can be utilized to create varieties of dosas and of course with the fright proportions of ground lentils, it lends itself to the making of the standard idli and dosas after fermentation. Rice is used also for payasam, a thick sweet soup specially concocted during festivals.




non-vegetarian

The non-vegetarian Tamils have their regular vegetarian days- Saturdays, a day for Venkatesh Perumal(Balaji), Thursdays for Baba and so on. Meat is usually not prepared on kirthigai or Amavasai- certain phases of the moon. I know that even today, certain families fact during eclipse and either mop or wash the house after it is over. The pregnant woman lies still during the eclipse with the curtains drawn, for superstition holds that she begets a malformed child if she indulges in activity.



The unforgettable flavours of Chennai: