Chennai- Welcome Back To Homeland

When the Netravati express screeched to a halt, I craned my neck for a better view of the place of my birth. Memories old and new flashed across my mind. Cobbled streets, narrow lanes of the village, ringing temple bells, hymns of religious chanting, thatched roof houses, beautiful coral-coloured flowers worn as a natural adornment by women of South huh! The list just goes on.

Chennai infamously known for its water problem and sweltering heat with temperature soaring above the 40-degree mark. Much to my surprise and thanks to some providential interference, I found the air to be welcoming and comforting. The metro as well as its dwellers seemed to have embraced the new wave of modernisation and globalisation opening its arm to technology and the current fad.

People making their debut visit to this city should be pleased with this transition. Thus it becomes enlivening to experience the new with the dash of the old. While the remnants of the erstwhile British George town still look down upon you from it's serene heights, aloft the red brick mansion, the sprawling shopping malls and glass done plush corporate houses brings you back to the 21 st century. Public transport is a safe bet, moreover the auto rickshaws provided you don't make a pass on their system and leave it best to the colourful Dravidian political characters of the state while you enjoy the visual pleasures the city offers to you.

Chennai the capital of Tamilnadu, with the second largest beach in the world was the one to open its door to the Britishers to set their base here in the early 16 th century with the East India Company. Chennai is also the commercial hub and the lifeline of this state with an entrenched and well-connected road, rail and air transport. Sitting on the sands in Marina and gaping at the beach holds you captivated and stunned with its sheer size and everlasting seashore line. Though you have the posh Elliot's beach, it is the Marina that is the spirit of the city.

An ancient monument like the fort St.George houses the secretariat and the main admin offices of the state government. Other than the above you also have ancient edifices like the war memorial, theosophical society, Holy Cathedral and more to boot. The ancient culture of the city also reflects amply in the convivial and friendly demeanour of the locals here. They willingly extend their helping hand on being approached.

Coming to food next, well travelling from Chettinad to Madurai to Chennai or any other city in this state can be a richly rewarding culinary experience. Sapad as the local's term here for food is something to look forward to. Modern coffee, shops and highborn restaurants all produce an excellent ambience for you to enjoy food.

In and around the city you also find a lot of interesting places to visit worth its salt. Place like mammalapuram offering theme parks and wildlife sanctuaries, Chidamabaram abode of Nataraja, Madurai and the famed Meenakshi temple and above all the countless visual treats like the beach temples, little fishing villages, catamarans and many more. Not lurching behind in the modern race, the city also flaunts its upmarket shopping malls and supermarkets much pleasing to the eye of the tourist promising to slake their shopping thirst.