South India · Tamil Nadu
Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Sources: open-meteo, wikimedia
About Chennai
- Coastal
Where it is
Chennai, formerly Madras, is the capital of Tamil Nadu, stretching along the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal in south-eastern India, with the Cooum and Adyar rivers flowing through it to the sea.
History
Chennai grew from a strip of coast granted to the English East India Company in 1639, where it built Fort St George, the first British fortress in India. The town of Madras spread around the fort, absorbing far older temple towns such as Mylapore and Triplicane, and became the capital of the Madras Presidency. The city was officially renamed Chennai in 1996.
People
Tamil is the main language, and Telugu, Urdu, Hindi and Malayalam are also spoken among the city's many communities, with English widely used. Chennai is a stronghold of Carnatic music and Bharatanatyam, and celebrates Pongal and the great festivals of its temples.
Known for
- Marina Beach
- Fort St George
- The Kapaleeshwarar Temple in Mylapore
- The December music and dance season
- The Tamil film industry
Did you know?
The Madras Music Season, started by the Madras Music Academy in 1927, fills the city's halls with Carnatic music and dance concerts every December.
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