Wednesday, December 06, 2006

mapping my "Chennai"

for my organization's internal magazine, I was asked write about my hometown. hope this(below) would gives good intro to the city.

mapping my "Chennai"
Madras, which recently reverted to its historical name Chennai, is the capital of the Southern Indian State of Tamil Nadu. It is the fourth largest metropolis of India, located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal where the sea is a rhapsodist blue, hugging the second largest beach in the world.

The city grew up around the English settlement of Fort Saint George and gradually absorbed the surrounding towns and villages. Despite the strong British influence, Chennai has retained its traditional culture and effectively blended it with the foreign influence. Even after almost 60years of free India, one cannot fail to notice the dominant British influences in the form of old cathedrals and buildings. However, though the English legacy is undeniable, Chennai has continued to be a centre, which has blended the foreign influence with the traditional Tamil-Hindu culture. Chennai's culture reflects its diverse population estimated close to 7 million. The city is also famous for its classical dance (Bharatanatyam) shows. It hosts five week-long Music season during Nov-Dec every year, which has been described as one of the world's largest cultural events.

Chennai has many monuments and temples exemplyfying the contributions of the ancient dynasties of Dravidian civilization. Mahabalipuram, Kanchipuram and Thanjavur are good examples of temple towns where within the temple fortifications grew a multi layered society that preached faith and grew from social harmony. Kanchipuram, also called Kanjeevaram, is famous throughout the country as the center where lustrous silk sarees are woven. Likewise Thanjavur is an important center for bronze figure casting. Mahabalipuram, with its wealth of sculptures, is located by the seaside and has excellent resorts.

Particularly charming features of Chennai are its allegiance to ancient traditions, no matter how modernized it has become, and its willingness to spread out further rather than develop into a multi-storey concrete jungle. The result is a widespread city still open to skies; green, airy city with several vestiges of its rural past; a city that adheres to the leisurely tempo of life of a world of yesterday; a city whose values of another day still survive midst of the humdrum bustle of today; a city that still retains the charm, culture and courtesies of the ages, a city which will always remain close to my heart, a city which had seen my youth and most certainly, which will see my old days as well.


Deepa said...

Warms the cockles of my heart to read about Chennai this way. BtW, why is concrete jungle so despicable? There can still be room for trees in it.

Yuva said...

no just for trees.. but to sitdown anywhere (special in the beach) to see sky filling with stars,.. with silence,.. to think about confusions, happiness, sorrows, friends & family,.. purpose, reasons, and sometime about nothing..

hometown is always great place.

thx for stopping by..