Chennai wakes up to hi-tech electronics

Chennai wakes up to hi-tech electronics," says a Nokia advertisement calling for young people to work at its manufacturing facility to come up in Sriperumbudur near Chennai. The Rs 650-crore investment will create about 2,000 jobs.
Similarly, Flextronics, a global electronics manufacturing services provider, investing Rs 350-450 crore in the same area will create another 2,000 jobs in the first 18 months of starting work on the plant.

And, according to the Union Minister of Information Technology, Dayanidhi Maran, more telecom giants are likely to come to Chennai.

Are there enough people in the market to meet the requirement of these giants? Yes. But, the issue is availability of talent with English speaking capabilities and expertise in niche skills, say officials of recruitment agencies.

The ability to speak and understand English language is critical for all roles. This is an area of concern among the fresh talent pool in Tamil Nadu. "Students aspiring for jobs in trans-national manufacturing brands should actively pursue their English skills by taking up specific coaching programmes," he said.

Nokia advertised for diagnostics technicians, SMT (surface mount technology) technicians and final assembly/packing area technicians and test technicians.

Fresh graduates or those with a few years of experience are available in the required numbers. However, these multinationals look for niche skills not common in Indian industry, says Balaji.

For example, SMT will involve extensive robotics with limited human interface. Such machines take a printed circuit board at one end and bring out a handset at the other in a couple of minutes. There are few Indian manufacturers using such technology. While there are enough people with the required qualification, exposure to SMT is rare to find, he said.

There is now good potential for diploma engineers to work with some of these multinationals. Around 700 jobs are available for diploma engineers (electronics, communications or electrical), and the requirement could grow at 20 per cent, annually. The salary ranges between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 1.5 lakh a year for diploma engineers, said Balaji.

However, the candidates would require training in soft skills and communication skills. In a majority of institutions located in sub-urban or even heartland Tamil Nadu, the quality of English is very poor, she said.

Whether these diploma holders would choose a technical career as compared to selling/ ITES (information technology-enabled services) is not evident. Quite a few experienced diploma holders, especially in upstream oil businesses, get highly remunerative jobs overseas.

For instance, automobile technicians in West Asia earn between Rs 15,000 and Rs 60,000 a month, she said.

Diploma holders at entry level can attract salaries ranging between Rs 1,500 and Rs 4,500. With experience, their salaries can go up to Rs 10,000. Some of them with good communication/selling skills also choose a career in sales.

About 40 per cent of diploma holders do go the sales route since the salaries would be better than in technical jobs.

Nowadays, diploma holders who possess a few years work experience have also moved up the communication skills grid and obtain positions in ITES companies as well, she said.

Resources - Link Exchange

Theme parks in Chennai

Theme Parks around Chennai

MGM Dizzee World:
M.G.M Dizzee World is situated 36 kms from Chennai and is probably the best theme park in chennai. It is on the scenic East Coast Road, at Muttukadu. M.G.M Dizzee
World is accessible by bus and from various parts of the city.


QueensLand:
Queens Land amusement park was established in 2003. Spread over a large area of 70 acres, it is located on the Chennai - Bangalore Trunk road. The well-planned layout and comfortable ambience attract plenty of visitors. The amusement park has rides for the whole family. The longest cable car is the main attraction here. This cable car covers a distance of 1.5 km in 30 minutes. There are nearly 80 twin compartments.


Little Folks:
Located 46 kms towards Mahabalipuram. A great amusement complex for children. It has a Giant-Piano. Toy Train, Rainbow Fountain, Slide-into-pool, Cartoon show & Paddle-Pool.


Kishkinta:
It is located at 10km from tambaram in chennai. This is a 120-acre theme park with an artificially created waterfall. Shady trees, sunken water holes and the abundant greenery are a real treat to the eyes. One can relax and unwind very easily in such surroundings. Kishkinta is a theme park with specially landscaped hills and lakes. The design philosophy behind this green clad leisure center is simple - new and wholesome family entertainment.


Prime Time:
Located at Annanagar, extravagant indoor amusement park, especially for children packed with bumper car rides, play pens and all sorts of new games.


Dolphin City
Dolphin City & Little Folks are situated on the East Coast (New Mahabalipuram Road) and is 46 km from Chennai - Tamil Nadu. The landmark being 10 km before Mahabalipuram and 4 km after the Crocodile Bank. You can enjoy American Sea Lion performance that is first of its kind in India. The other activities to keep you and your family busy are Under Water View, Leisure Boating, Slide Swimming pool, Open Air Theatre for variety entertainment, Chuck Wagon, Disco Scooter, Tea Cup, Space Ship, Dragon Ride, Chuck Chuck, and Animal Simulator etc. It is open on Weekdays & Holidays - from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The Multi-Cuisine Restaurant caters to a variety of tastes and the eating outlets stock - Popcorn, Ice Creams, Confectioneries & Soft Drinks. The complex houses shops where you can buy batteries, cameras, gift articles, toys, games, sun glasses, caps, swimwear, etc. Coaches (Bus) can be arranged on request at affordable rates.


Dash-N-Splash
Located 30 kms from Central Station. It is South India's exclusive water park. Go for wave spiral and free fall slides and flumes from height of 12ft to 35ft.
Spread over 21 acres of land located on the banks of the Telugu Ganga Project Canal, in Mevallur Kuppam Village, South India's first ever exclusive water park is spread over three acres of land with beautiful landscape and lots of shaded sitting area.It is another place in Chennai to enjoy a day amidst fun and frolic. Situated 30 kms from Chennai on the Chennai Bangalore highway, just 3 kms before Hyundai Car Factory and 12 kms prior to Rajiv Gandhi Memorial, Sriperambadur, Dash 'N' Splash has some thing to offer to all age groups. Go for the Exciting Wave, Free-Fall, Sprial. The slides park is exclusively for children. It is open from 10 a.m. till dark (365 days) and free bus services on all Sundays. The other highlights of the resort are well-equipped pure vegetarian cafeteria. Separate change rooms with deposit lockers. Souvenior shops selling costumes, toiletries, eatables, etc.


VGP Golden Beach:
30 kms from Chennai. A popular beach resort and amusement park filled with children's games, parks and seaside restaurant.


VGP Golden Beach Resort
Located on the East Coast Road, VGP Golden Beach Resort is perhaps the only Beach Resort within City. A short 20-minute drive from Chennai City, it offers a serene and relaxing atmosphere in today's stress-driven world. A trailblazer in the field of fun, frolic and entertainment, it has a charm of its own with cool breeze and beautiful pathways flanked by shady trees amidst green lawns. Children can have fun at the rides like super trooper, giant wheel, aero-ship, jumping frog, children's merry go round, super jet, break-dance, dragons belly and many more. The Spectacular Go-kart, Dashing Car and Water Chute comprise the premium rides. Regular cultural shows, folk and contemporary dances organized add to the special cultural touch. Special additions for sight seeing such as Jurassic Park and Aquarium offer education with fun. The Rain Forest" restaurant, is a Multi-cuisine Eatery and "The Golden Bar", is the licensed Permit Room. Room Service facilities are available round the clock for In-Room Dining. It has one of the best traditional meals & Tandoori items. Ecstasy Land is an integrated complex offering Banquet and Conferencing facilities, Dance Floor for Discotheques, Stage with open-air seating, Bar and an almost private beach.

Its Raining in Chennai.

There has been a heavy downpour of rain in the last few day. The latest rain in Chennai's catchment has gladdened the city water managers as this has resulted in the much need flow into the reservoirs, though in a modest way. Consequently, the combined storage of the reservoirs catering to the city needs went up by 30 million cubic feet.
The authorities are confident of maintaining the present level of 640 million liters a day(MLD) in the coming months as Krishna water is also expected to be available next month.

So it is anticipated that there would not be any drinking water problem in Chennai for the next 1 year

Chennai police

With the appointment of three new women officers as Deputy Commissioners of Police, the city, now for the first time, has a total of five women DCPs.

The city police, under Commissioner Letika Saran, has two Additional Commissioners, three Joint Commissioners and 12 Deputy Commissioner of Police. .

The three new women officers are Vijayakumari, posted as DCP, Kilpauk, Kamini, DCP, Washermenpet and Lakshmi DCP, T. Nagar.

Recently M. V. Jayagowri was posted as DCP, Anna Nagar. The city traffic wing has a woman DCP Lakshmi.

Tourist spots in Chennai

* Connemara Library, Pantheon Road, Egmore [9]
* Elliots Beach, is in the Besant Nagar suburb of Chennai. Sometimes called Besant Nagar beach, after the area it is located in. It popular a place to cool off from the city heat. It is a very nice beach, safe and good place for picnicking.
* Breezy Beach is located in the quiet neighbourhood of Valmiki Nagar. It is smaller and less popular than the Elliots beach. This beach is not as commercialized as the Elliots beach, and is hence more quiet and peaceful.
* Ennore Port,and Ennore foundaries
* Fort St. George, built in 1653 by the English Company of the Eastern Indies (CAIO), houses the Secretariat and the legislative Parliament of Nadu Tamil. There is a museum presenting of the objects of the time of the domination of the CAIO, and a banquetting suite going back to 1802 where the portraits of the governors of the fort are hung. The fort comprises also the oldest church Anglican of India, the church of St Mary.
* Government Museum, or National Art Gallery on Pantheon Road, comprises an interesting archaeological collection and a room holding a significant and superb collection of Chola bronzes. One building has modern works, while the other has historical works in chennai.
* Guindy National Park, The smallest national park in India and one of the few located in a metro. The park is an extension of the grounds surrounding the official residence of the governors of Tamilnadu.
* Guindy Snake Park, next to the Guindy National Park. See the deadly King Cobra, pythons and vipers as well as other reptiles. There is a Childern's Park adjacent with collections of animals and birds.
* Marina Beach, one of the worlds longest beaches is 13 km long. The tsunami on December 26, 2004, caused massive death and destruction along the beach in chennai. It has been difficult to recover, but the community is working hard to make the area attractive to tourists and vacationers once again.
* Integral Coach Factory- The Railway Coach manufacturing unit of Indian Railways, which has a Rail Museum.
* National Shrine of St.Thomas Basilica Christians believe that one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ came to India in A.D.52 and died in A.D.72. His body was buried in Mylapore and the national Shrine of St.Thomas basilica, Santhome, Mylapore is built over the tomb of the Apostle.
* St. Thomas Mount The hill where it is said St. Thomas died.
* Valluvar Kottam, Nungambakkam An auditorium built in memory of the poet Thiruvalluvar. All of the verses of the poet's 'The Thirukkural' are inscribed on the pillars around the auditorium.

Temples and churches in Chennai

* Aarupadaiveedu Temple, Besant Nagar (Kalakshetra Colony)
* Ananthaa Padmanabha Swaamy Temple, Adayar
* Annai Velankani Church, Besant Nagar
* Ashtalakshmi Temple, Besant Nagar (Kalakshetra Colony) The temple is dedicated to Goddess Lakshmi. It looks different then other South Indian temples as it is of modern construction, less then 20 years old.
* Ayya Vaikundar Nizhal Thangal, Manali Pudunagar
* CSI Church House Of Prayer, Adayar
* CSI Church, Near Gemini fly over
* CSI Wesley Church, Royapettah
* Guruvayurappan Temple, Nanganallur
* ISKCON (Hare Rama Hare Krishna) Temple, Injambakkam
* ISKCON Temple, Perumbur
* Jain Temple, Kutchery Road, Mylapore
* Kaalikaambaal Temple, Parrys
* Kapaleeshwara Temple, Mylapore
* Kaaraneeswarar Temple, Saidapet
* Luz Anjaneyaar Temple, Mylapore
* Madhya Kailash Temple, Adyar
* Mary's Church, Built in 1680 it is the oldest Anglican Church in India. Robert Clive and Governor Elihu Yale (who later formed Yale University in the USA, were married here.)
* Marundeeshwar temple, Thiruvanmiyur
* Mundakaneeyaman Temple, Mylapore
* Nizhal Thangal, Oragadam
* Parthasarathy Temple, Triplicane
* Periaapaalayath Amman Temple, Adayar
* Puttaparthi Sairam Temple Sundaram, Chamiers Road
* Qurasani Mosque, Adayar (near new bus terminus)
* Ragavendhra Temple, Triplicane
* Ratnagirishwarar Temple, Besant Nagar (near RBI)
* Santhome Cathedral Basilica,Mylapore, Santhome, where the Apostle St.Thomas is buried according to christian tradition [10]
* Shirdi Sai Temple, Mylapore Tank
* Shiva Vishnu Temple, T.Nagar
* Sringeri Saradha Peetam Temple, Venkatnarayana Road, T.Nagar
* Sri Santhana Srinivasa Perumal Temple-Mogappair
* St. Thomas Orthodox Cathedral, Stringer's St, Broadway, Chennai-600108
* St. Peters & St. Paul Orthodox Chapel, Koyambedu, Near Anna Nagar, Chennai-600107
* Thirumalai Thirupathi Devasthanam Temple, Venkatnarayana Road, T.Nagar
* Thousand Lights Mosque, Anna Salai
* Vadapalani Murugan Temple, Vadapalani
* Varasidi vinayakar Temple, Besant Nagar (near bus terminus)
* Visvaroopa Baktha Anjaneyaar Temple, Ramnagar, Nanganallur (The idol is 32ft. in height)

Talk

Almost all the people speak Tamil, and picking up some knowledge of the language is useful to get by in Chennai. Hindi is spoken by some, but in general, it is better to avoid speaking in the language, as you might encounter some hostility. Other South Indian languages like Malayalam and Telugu are also widely spoken here. English education is widespread in Chennai, thanks to an excellent network of well-known schools throughout the city. Most educated people in Chennai can speak English. In most schools, the medium of instruction and communication is English.

Get around chennai

Getting around in Chennai often takes a long time, due to traffic and heavy congestion; plan accordingly. Travel within Chennai is expensive by Indian standards, but still extremely cheap by typical Western standards.

By train
Chennai has a suburban train [4] network. There are four routes - Chennai Central - Arakkonam, Chennai Beach - Tambaram and Chengalpet, Chennai Beach - Thiruvanmyur, Chennai Central - Gummidipoondi . There are plans to link the last line to the Tambaram line. The suburban trains are generally reliable and fast. However, tourists are strongly advised to take first class (it is not expensive to the average tourist) as second class suburban trains are notorious for overcrowding and having passengers hang off the edge of the train while it is moving.

By bus
Metropolitan Transport Corporation [5] buses ply throughout the city. These are government-run and extremely cheap. You can buy bus tickets online at redBus [6] or realIndia [7] or RathiMeena [8]. Extreme caution is advised in using these buses as they are often out of shape, will begin moving before passengers are fully boarded, and are, like second class suburban trains, notorious for passengers having to hang off the edge or outside of the bus while in motion.

By auto-rickshaw
Auto-rickshaw drivers in Chennai are notorious for overcharging, rigged meters, and general harrassment of foreign passengers, although they are ubiquitous and possibly the easiest form of transportation to locate. Use Auto-rickshaw's only for short distances (If you know exactly how far you are going).

If you do want to travel by the auto, stick to these rules

* Don't go by the meter (if they have one), the meter is rigged to show a higher fare.
* Negotiate a rate with the driver beforehand. Try to stick to the agreed price, though the driver may attempt to ask for more. Consult local friends beforehand to find out reasonable market prices for the distance you intend to go.
* Try to hail individual rickshaws in traffic which are heading in the general direction of your destination and avoid those parked in groups as they may try to gang-up on you.
* Make sure you hold on tight and keep all parts of your body inside the vehicle. If you have asthma, allergies to smoke, or generally do not fair well under traffic pollution, it is highly unrecommended to take an auto-rickshaw.

As a general rule, expect to pay about Rs.10 for every kilometre you travel. Some auto-rickshaws will also try to tell you that you have to pay for the return trip. You don't have to pay for any return trips.

The call taxis are better regulated and can be ordered air-conditioned, although unlike auto-rickshaws, advance reservations are needed and they cannot usually be flagged on the street.

Visit this link for an idea of pre-paid auto fares from Chennai Central to various parts of the City.

* http://www.hindu.com/nic/centralprepaidauto.pdf

By taxi

Taxis (locally called "call-taxis" since they must be pre-arranged) are available by phone. They are mostly reliable, can be ordered air-conditioned, and have digital fare meters, although time-based hire is also possible with some companies.

* Bharati Call Taxi, +91 44 2814 2233
* Chennai Call Taxi, +91 44 2598 4455
* Fast Track, +91 44 2473 2020
* Rajesh Call Taxi, +91 98408 15058
* Sruthi Call Taxi, +91 44 4211 0044

There are several other call taxi companies operating in Chennai, which send taxis to your place, on a phone call. They charge by the distance. The minimun fare is Rs. 100/-, which is for 5 km and for every subsequent km they charge Rs. 10/-. It is advisable to book your taxi a few hours in advance and call shortly before your trip to confirm, if your trip is time-sensitive.

The only places where taxis can be hired directly on the street are Chennai Central Railway Station and Chennai Airport.

Tourist Cabs - Are the best choice in case you want to tour the city all day or visit nearby places like Mahabalipuram etc. Costs about INR 10/-Rs per KM and 50 Rs per hour as hire charges. Also generally there is special price if you need to go Chennai Central or Chennai Airport.

* Bala Tourist, +91 44 2822 4444
* Tiruvalluvar Travels, +91 44 2474 5807
* Sharmila Tours and travels, +91 44 2827 4177

By car
Driving in Chennai is even more of a nightmare than the average Indian city because the two-wheelers and autos have no fear of death and no knowledge of rules. It is a common sight to see an auto-rickshaw go in the wrong direction on highways, large trucks making dangerous double-passes on narrow streets at high speeds, motorcycles with four people, and pedestrians across when you least expect them. That said, the roads are better maintained than the average Indian road. The main highway is Anna Salai also known as Mount road. Driving is highly unrecommended for tourists unless you come from a country with similar traffic nightmares!

Car rental

* Hertz, Counter at the Petrol Bunk (Gas Filling station) next to Spencers Plaza

Acting Driver Service - If you have a vehicle, but are not sure about how to get around the city, you can avail the service of an acting driver. Charges are about Rs.150/- for an 8 hour shift, if you use the services beyond 8 hours, you are charged Rs.25/- per additional hour.

* Manpower Services, +91 44 2825 2526

By Share Auto

This has emerged in the recent years as an alternative mode of transport in Chennai. They are three or four wheelers running on diesel and charge slightly more than the bus. Travelling in them is quite a risky thing, as they often overload.

Reach chennai by car

Chennai is very well connected and to other parts of India by road. Five major national highways radiate outward towards Kolkata, Bangalore, Tiruchy/Madurai, Tiruvallur, and Pondicherry. With the progress of the Golden Quadrilateral project, driving down from Bangalore is actually an option, but driving in India is still dangerous if you are a foreigner unused to the idea that rules are to be ignored.

Reach chennai by bus

Chennai has one of Asia's largest bus stations, CMBT. Seven different state owned corporations ply buses to and from various destinations within South India. There are hourly buses for places like Tirupati, Pondicherry, Coimbatore. You will get the option of A/C or Non-A/C coaches for cities like Bangalore, Trivandrum, Hyderabad.

Several private players also operate buses between most southern destinations. During the weekends most buses are fully occupied and it's better to reserve a ticket in advance. All buses terminate near Koyambedu but there are different stands for state owned(CMBT), and private buses (Omni bus terminus). Both these terminuses are near each other, and it is better to tell your exact destination to the taxi/autorickshaw driver. Buses usually drop passengers at various points in the city before reaching the terminus. So feel free to ask the driver or fellow passengers the closest drop-off point to your destination.

* CMBT Enquiry : +91 44 2479 5547.

How can you come to chennai - By train

Chennai is also reachable by train, run by Indian Railways[3] from other Indian cities. Chennai Central and Egmore stations are the main hubs for all long-distance trains. There are daily trains from/to Bangalore, Bombay, Delhi and all other Indian cities. For train timings and on-line reservations (within India) visit the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation's website. For Railway enquiries call 131 or 132

For local travel there is a broadgauge suburban railway - from Chennai Beach, and Chennai Central. The frequency of these trains is about 10 minutes. The metre gauge section from Tambaram to South has temporarily been closed for Gauge conversion.

If you happen to arrive at the Central Station, you'll have to hand over your journey tickets to the Ticket Collector waiting at the exit. You'll have a tough time warding off all the touts and taxi drivers soliciting passengers the moment your are out of the concourse. Make your way through this crowd and reach the 'pre-paid' autorickshaw / Taxi stand.

How can you come to chennai - By plane

Chennai has an international airport and is the transport hub of South India. All international flights arrive at the Anna Terminal while the domestic flights arrive at the Kamraj terminal. The airport is served by 17 International and five Indian carriers (Air India, Indian Airlines, Jet Airways, Air Sahara and Air Deccan). Most large European airlines such as Lufthansa(Frankfurt),Air France(Paris) and British Airways(London-Heathrow) and many Asian airlines such as Singapore Airlines, Malaysian and Thai Airways serve Chennai.

Chennai is well connected to Bangkok, Colombo,Dubai, Fujairah, Kuala Lumpur, Kuwait, Muscat, Ra's al Khaimah, Sharjah and Singapore by Indian Airlines. For flight timings visit the Indian Airlines website.

Oman and Gulf Air have daily flights from Muscat and Bahrain. Srilankan Airlines connects Chennai to Colombo with multiple daily flights. Singapore airlines flies daily between Chennai and Singapore.

Indian (formerly known as "Indian Airlines"), Jet Airways , Air Sahara, Air Deccan, Kingfisher Airlines, Go Air, SpiceJet and Paramount Airways connect Chennai with daily flights to most other Indian cities. Important numbers are:

* E Travel Planet ( Travel Agency Specialises in Domestic,International Air Tickets, Visas and Travel Insurance ) Also can arrange Domestic Tours and Overseas Tours, Hotel Reservations, Airline Reconfirmations and other Travel Arrangments - +91 44 28211853 /+91 44 2826 0100 /+91 44 2827 0100 email : sales@etravelplanet.com

* Indian Airlines General Enquiry 140
* Indian Airlines Arrivals and Departures (Recorded) 142
* Indian Airlines Reservations 141/+91 44 22561971
* Jet Airways +91 44 2841 4141
* Air Sahara +91 44 5211 0202/ +91 44 2498 0688
* Air Deccan +91 9840377008

Use the pre-paid taxi to get to the city. The fares are different for the domestic and international terminals though both the terminals are next to each other. You can either choose the standard Taxis (Black with Yellow tops) which are usually the ancient Ambassador cars or the private call-taxi ( which can come in any model and in any color). It's better to keep small change in hand as the counter staff very often don't seem to have change! Note the taxi number written on your charge slip (one copy is for the passenger and the other is for the driver to collect the fare from the counter). Once out of the terminal you'll have a tough time warding off all the touts and taxi drivers soliciting passengers. Make your way through this crowd and across the drive to the taxi stand. Now its up to you to locate your taxi. You can ask the other drivers (clothed in khaki shirts and trousers) to help you locate the vehicle which usually is parked out of view right at the back of the line of cars. Drivers will offer to tow your luggage cart or help you put them in the dickey (trunk) but do it yourself to avoid missing luggage.

Climate and Water

It is jokingly said that Chennai has two seasons - a hot and humid season, and then summer, when it gets hotter and even more humid. It does not enjoy the South-west monsoon, but gets its bountiful rains from the North-east monsoon from October through December, thus amounting to about 125-150 cm of rainfall annually. December and January are the mildest months temperature-wise.
Historically Chennai has the problem of drinking water as no big river flows through it. Almost all the families ranging from lower middle class to higher class and all the offices buy the drinking water. Big players like Kinley and Aquafina suffice the need of bigger organizations and affordable families and small players like Aquafresh etc is ideal for middle class families. Chennai is on the top of the list of cities where lot of ground water is used. In recent years due to some heavy and consistent rains water issues have come down a lot, but still drinking water continues to be a bigger issue.

Chennai Newspaper

The Hindu, is the city's most popular English-language newspaper. Other english dailies include the New Indian Express and Deccan Chronicle. According to the National Readership Survey (2006) seven out of ten people in Tamil Nadu who read an English language newspaper read The Hindu. Based on the same survey, The Hindu is the second most widely read English language newspaper in India; the New Indian Express is at number six. The relatively new entrant in Chennai, the Deccan Chronicle, has built a circulation of almost 300,000 copies everyday in Tamil Nadu and has the fourth biggest readership nationally.

There are over 10 newspapers in Tamil, the widely circulated being Dina Malar. Dina Thanthi, Dinakaran, Dinamani are some of the Tamil dailies. There are many weeklies and monthlies published in Tamil. Kumudam, Ananda Vikatan, Kunkumam are some of the most famous weeklies in Tamil.

Culture and attitudes of Chennai

A visitor might justifiably think that inside this metropolis is the heart of a small town struggling to get out, but he would be wrong. It is not parochialism that characterizes Chennai; it is self-assurance. Its citizens are keenly aware of being successors to the Dravidian civilization and they take great pains to distinguish it from, and put it on par with, North Indian (Aryan) civilization.

The city has a thriving Tamil film industry, rivalling Hindi Film Industry in scale and surpassing it in opulence - and once again, while most other regional language film industries are heavily influenced by the Bombay industry, the Tamil one not only marches to its own beat, but also occasionally manages to make the Bombay Industry dance to it. There were many successful Tamils films, that have been remade in other Indian languages. While Chennai is not the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu - that honour belongs to either or to Thanjavur for the classical music and dance or to Madurai for the language, classical dance and music flow in the city's blood - for more, see the "Do" section.

Chennai is one of the undercelebrated successes of software development in India. It has also, in the past few years, become a car-manufacturing hub, drawing inevitable comparisons with Detroit.

A breif introduction about chennai

Chennai,[1] also known as Madras, is the capital of the southern state of Tamil Nadu in India, and is the country's fourth-largest city. Chennai is located on the Coromandel coast of the Bay of Bengal. With an estimated population of 7.45 million (2005), the 367 year old city is the 41st largest metropolitan area in the world.
Chennai was one of the first outposts of British East India Company. Colonel William Lambton, superintendent of the great Trigonometrical Survey of India, started his journey of triangulating India from St. Thomas Mount. Chennai was founded in 1639 when the company was granted land to build a trading settlement by the local Indian administrators. The British built Fort St. George (today the legislative and administrative seat of the state). George Town then developed becoming the modern city of Chennai, absorbing several nearby boroughs. Thomas, one of the twelve apostles is associated with Chennai. He is said to have come to India as an evangelist and died in what is now Chennai. Two suburbs, Santhome and St. Thomas Mount, are named in his memory.
Madras is derived from Madraspatnam, a name given to the area when the British negotiated settling there. The origin of the name is uncertain. Tradition suggests that a fishing village near to the location of the British settlement was called Madraspatnam. Others think early Portuguese may have called the area Madre de Sois after an early settler, or Madre de Deus after an early church (of St. Mary).
Chennai is derived from Chennapatnam, a name with almost equally uncertain origins. Tradition has it that Chennapatnam was the name of a fishing village near to the location of Madraspatnam. However it is not clear if the village was there beforehand or grew up around the British Madraspatnam settlement. There are some suggestions that the name was given to the developing Indian settlement honor a local Indian administrator.

Under the British, the city of Madras(Chennai) grew to be a major city, It was the capital of the Madras presidency, a province that covered the parts of Southern India that were not governed by any of the other princely states. After independence, it became the capital of Madras state, and when the states were reorganized on a linguistic basis, it narrowly escaped becoming the capital of Andhra Pradesh and became the capital of Tamil Nadu. Since then, it has had an uneventful history, except that in the 60s, it was the centre of the "Anti-Hindi" agitation against the Central government's attempts to impose Hindi on the state.