Tamil nadu

Chennai (Madras) : In 1639, a tiny fishing hamlet, Madraspatnam, was given to the East India Company by the Raja of Chandragiri for establishing a trading post. Soon a fort started coming up there, attracting weavers to the area. The locality came to be known as Chennapatnam. Along with the growing fortunes of the East India Company, Chennapatnam also grew, and today it stands as Chennai, the fourth largest city in India and the capital of Tamil Nadu. Though a modern metropolis with a population of close to five and a half million, Chennai has a very open and spacious feel to it. The city has grown more outward than upward. An efficient transport system, supplemented by the commissioning of India's first elevated railway in 1995, adds to the relaxed atmosphere.

Chennai has a very big film industry, aided in no small measure by the Vijay Vahini Studios, Asia's largest. Cinema halls continue to draw large crowds despite the onslaught of television with its myriad channels. However, the advent of cinema and television has not dimmed the people's abiding interest in classical dance and music. Chennai hosts a very popular month-long Music and Dance Festival from mid-December every year where the best known exponents of classical dance and music participate. The city's early growth and long association with the British are seen in the broad tree-lined avenues, buildings in the Indo-Saracenic style, and, ofcourse. Fort St. George around which the city grew. The fort now houses the State Legislature and Secretariat. The Fort Museum has exhibits from the days of the East India Company. Also in the fort is St. Mary's Church, the oldest Anglican church in Asia, consecrated in 1680, and still an important place of worship.