CHENNAI - SOME INFO.....

Chennai, Tamil Nadu's capital, is the fourth largest city in India, after Calcutta, Bombay and Delhi. This coastal centre of trade has drawn traffic from all over the world for centuries and maintains a cosmopolitan quality as well as a Tamil air. The centre of South India's film industry, its skyline is ablaze with bright movie billboards advertising the latest celluloid fantasies.

Chennai, also known as Madras, is the capital of Tamilnadu State. The city sprawls over more than 70 square km. The population of Chennai is 5.9 million. Many of the indian languages are spoken in Chennai, though the main language of Chennai is Tamil. For travelers with an interest in the colonial history of India, Chennai has much worth exploring and abundant transport operations make other parts of the country readily accessible.

History :- For more than 2000 years the area has been popular with seafarers, spice traders and cloth merchants. The 16th century saw the arrival of the Portuguese, followed by the Dutch. In 1693, the British East India Company established a settlement in the fishing village of Madraspatnam. For St. George was constructed over a period of 15 years and finally completed in 1653. Georgetown grew in the area of the fort and was granted its first municipal charter in 1688 by James II, making it the oldest municipality in India. During the 18th and 19th centuries, French and British traders competed for supremacy in India. In the 19th century, the city became the seat of the Madras presidency, one of the four divisions of British imperial India.

After independence, it continued to grow into what is now a significant southern gateway.

The city which can proudly claim to have access to the following features:

- One international and one domestic airport.
- One all-weather seaport and one more shaping up just 25 kms away. Reliable and efficient telecom network
- Guaranteed Adequate power supply by State Electricity Board.
- Three Electrical and Electronic Estates.
- Well connected Air Road and Rail network that includes MRTS, providing more connectivity from and to the city.
- Around 240 engineering colleges in the State, 19 universities, and the world renowned Indian Institute of Technology
- Schools which have produced the Ramanujams and Abdul Kalams, apart from special schools like American School and the Japanese school.
- Cosmopolitan life - style - the private beach houses and numerous beach resorts along the coast of the bay of Bengal, including a five star resort, stand as a testimony.
- Hundreds of restaurants and a host of three and five star hotels offer multiple cuisines, including Chinese , Japanese, Mexican, Continental, western fast food and the varied Indian treats.
- Some of the best medical facilities in Asia - the Madras Medical Mission,Apollo, Vijaya and Malar hospitals, to name a few.
- Foreign and Nationalized Banks at almost all the nooks and corners - American Express , Standard Chartered Grindlays Bank, Citibank, Bank of America, Honk Kong Bank, State Bank of India, Indian Bank, Bank of Baroda etc.
- Financial Institutions like ICICI, IDBI and HDFC to accelerate industrial and economic growth.
- An environment which has attracted investments from Ford, Hyundai, and Alcatel.
- An array of plush shopping malls displaying everything under the sun.
- Exclusive clubs, Sabhas, golf courses, tennis courts, billiards , snooker rooms and a host of other recreational facilities available for the executives to wind off after a hard days work.