Tamilnadu - Places in Tamilnadu - Chennai

Chennai

Chennai சென்னை formerly known as Madras.ogg Madras is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the fifth most populous city in India. Located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal, Chennai city had a population of 4.34 million in the 2001 census within its municipal corporation. The urban agglomeration of metropolitan Chennai has an estimated population over 8 million people.

The city was established in the 17th century by the British, who developed it into a major urban centre and naval base. By the 20th century, it had become an important administrative centre, as the capital of the Madras Presidency.

This metropolis is often called the cultural capital of India for its deep-rooted traditions and long heritage. Chennai is a city younger than its image. More than any other city in India, it is a true reflection of this country’s diversity.  In a time span of just over 350 years, Chennai has blossomed into a charming city that has a large heart and is very welcoming. It is city that encourages all forms of development, both modern technology and the traditional arts and crafts, and it embraces a series of paradoxes. It was in 1639 that Francis Day and Andrew Cogan, agents for the English East India Company, acquired a strip of land on lease from the Vijayanagar King.  They built the Fort St.George, which remains of the city’s important landmarks and serves as the Government Secretariat today.  It was built to set up a factory that served as a nucleus for British settlements that began to be formed.  Surrounding villages like Triplicane, Purasawalkam, Egmore and Chetput slowly merged with the new developments, to form Chennapatnam, as it was known.  The city was called Madras till 1996 and then renamed Chennai.  Today this buoyant metropolis is a blend of the old and the new, the traditional and the modern.

Spread over 200 square kilometres with the Bay of Bengal on the east, the city is the gateway to the rest of South India. There are verdant green patches found amidst the high-tech, high-rise buildings.

With a population of around six million, it is India’s fourth largest city.  From before days of Independence to present , the people of Chennai have played an important role in shaping the country’s political destiny.

Chennai’s Pride Chennai’s newest pride is the Tidel Park, the home for the Information Technology Industry. It is spread over 1.28 million sq.ft. of built up area. The Tidel Park is an architectural marvel and houses several large national and international software companies in its premises. The City of Grace And Peace.

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