Information about Chennai ‘The Detroit of Asia’, ‘Gateway of the South’
Chennai is located in the north-eastern part of Tamil Nadu state of India and it is the capital city. It is India’s sixth most populous city and fourth most populous metropolitan area in India. 4.68 million of population resides in the area administered by the municipal corporation and more nine million of population are metropolitan. The Marina Beach of the city is the second largest beach in the world. Two rivers such as Cooum River and Adyar River meander through Chennai and third river Kortalaiyar which drains into the sea at Ennore flows through the northern fringes of the city. It is divided into four regions such as North, Central, South and West.
Forbes magazine has declared Chennai as one of the fastest developing cities in the world. Many Automobile, computer technology, hardware manufacturing and healthcare industries are established in the city. It exports large number of Software, information technology and information-technology-enabled services in India. The city is also called as ‘The Detroit of Asia’ because large numbers of India’s automobile manufacturing industries are based in Chennai and in its nearby area.
The annual Madras Music Season, a cultural event is organised in the city at large scale and hundreds of artists participates in it. The city is an important centre for Carnatic music. There are centres to teach Bharata Natyam, a classical dance form and vibrant theatre scene is also available in the city. Film industry of Tamil film is based in Chennai and it is the second largest film making industry in India.
Earlier the city was called as Madras but later in 1996 it was named as Chennai.
Since the first century it has served as an important administrative, military and economic centre. Some remarks of stone age has been found in the city. Different South Indian rulers such as Pallava, Chera, Pandya, Chola and Vijaynagar etc. have ruled over the city and later on it went into the control of British East India Company. Purtuguese arrived in and around Chennai in 1522 and built a port called Sao Tome. The Dutch set up themselves in the north of the city in 1612.
British East India Company came to this area and bought a small piece of land on the Coromandel Coast in 1639 and later on by the late 18th century, they conquered most of region around Tamil Nadu and established Madras residency. The city grew into a major urban centre and naval base during British rule.
Once the city was connected with other cities of India through railways in the late 19th century, communication and trade were increased.
During World War I, Madras was attacked by the Central Powers.
After India got independence in 1947, the city was made the capital of Madras State and later on its state named changed to Tamil Nadu in 1969.
The city was also hit by Tsunami in 2004 and many people were killed in it.
Different sizes lakes exist on the western fringes of the city. Its weather is hot and humid for most of the year and it has a tropical wet and dry climate.
Corporation of Chennai consisting 155 councillors governs the city. Mostly people in Chennai uses Tamil language and English is used as the second language but Telugu, Marwaris, Oriyans, Malayalis and Punjabis migrant population use their own language.
There are many Hindu temples built in the city and it is the main centre for art and culture in India. Classical dance shows of the city are very famous.
Many important festivals such as Pongal, Deepavali, Eid and Christmas are celebrated in the city.
Chennai is well connected from other major cities of India via Air, Rail and roads.
Many school, colleges and universities are established in the city to provide good education to the children.
There are many interesting places in Chennai which tourists would love to see. It has many crafted temples, museums, monuments, beaches and picnic spots which attracts visitors from all over the world.