"Madrassis are zealous guardians of Tamil culture which they regard as inherently superior to the hybridized cultures further north. They have, for instance, been among the most vociferous opponents of Hindi being made the national language, and Chennai is the film Center of Tamil Nadu - even the State Chief Minister, Jayalalita*, is an ex-movie star."
- Quoted from Lonely Planet, travel guide to India

Probably I can never forget Chennai, the reason that I had to spent half of the money in buying silk from there........I couldn't even say No as it was wanted by my girl friend in Poland. As a matter of fact Chennai is a gracious capital city of Tamil Nadu and the fourth largest metropolis in India. I thought it was the largest as it had so many tourist destination to explore. Located on a 17km stretch of the Coramandel coast, the city is trisected by the waterways of Cooum and Adyar and the Buckingham Canal. With a population of 6 million people, Chennai is a vibrant city ever growing, expanding and changing every year.

Interestingly, I came to know that Chennai is regarded as the "Gateway to the South"......for a simple reason that Chennai presents culture that is quite ethnic and is unique from that of northern India. Chennai is quite fond of Music, dance and all other art forms of the South. In fact it is cherished and nurtured in this city, that is industrialized at one part, but continues to be traditional and conventional in many ways.

I found Chennai, a convenient base to peep into the varied aspects of traditional south Indian culture and life styles that amalgamates with the modern city rich in five star hotels and restaurants- that offers a range of continental and typical, south Indian cuisine, long and uncrowded stretches of beaches, modern shopping centers which offer traditional handicrafts, textiles and much more unique to this segment of India.

The city also boost a number of tourist attraction, especially the Gateway of India and Victoria terminus. I visited almost all the tourist attraction that the city endorsed. Gateway of India is a great historical monument built during British rule. It is a monument built in Indo-Sarcenic style to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary to Bombay. Gateway of India was built at Apollo Bunder, a popular meeting place. The gateway of India was designed by the British architect George Wittet. It was opened for general public in 1924.

The Story So Far!

As I was on my trip to India, I covered almost all the famous cities that hold some importance in Indian tourism. Through research I came to know that Chennai in Tamil Nadu is a nice place to visit as it endorses some good tourist spots to explore.

Significantly, Chennai is the fourth largest city in India, after Calcutta, Bombay and Delhi. Unbelievably, it is the centre of South India's film industry, its skyline is ablaze with bright movie billboards advertising the latest celluloid fantasies. Fortunately or Unfortunately, I happened to watch one of the movies, ..........all out of curosity and I regret till date.

Chennai is connected to all major cities in India by air and its rail and road network make the tiniest village easily accessible by comfortable trains and deluxe buses. Fortunately, Chennai is linked by many international flights. These include: Air India, British Airways, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, Air Lanka and Malasia Airlines. Otherwise it is well connected to major interantional airport in Delhi, Bombay and Calcutta.

"Where will I stay?, will there be any good resorts" This was there in my mind before I landed on the exotic land. But soon all my anxiety vanished as I came to know that Chennai boost many hotels and resorts that up to the mark and cater to all international needs. There are deluxe five star hotels and one can choose hotels according to one's need.

After keeping my baggage, I opted for the sightseeing tour that enabled me to cover tourist spots like Theosphical society, Fort St George,Kanchipuram and many other places.