Chennai (Madras)

Pop: 6 million Area Code: 044

Chennai has been renamed from it former name of Madras to its Tamil name. It is the capital of Tamil Nadu and the fourth largest city in India. It is a fairly pleasant city to visit. There is not much to see in Chennai, and the main reason travelers come here is to make travel and business arrangements.

There are two monsoon seasons here, June to August and October to November to early December. It is hot all year around here. The end of December to March is the best time to visit.

History
The city of Chennai was founded in 1639 by Francis Day of the British East India Company. It was the site of their first settlement in India. The East India Company started building Fort St George in 1640. A town grew up around the fort, which was called George Town. The Mylapore, Triplicane, and Tiru­vottiyur areas of Chennai, where the Parthasarathi and Kapaleeswara Temples are located, are ancient.

The British and French fought over the city in the 18th century. In 1746 the French captured it and most of it was destroyed, but it was returned to the British two years later. The city was rebuilt, but by this time Calcutta had started to become the main city of British India.

Madras lost some of its importance, but it remained the most important city in South India. It became the capital of the Madras Presidency in the 19th century.

Robert Clive arrived in Madras in 1743 and worked as a clerk. He was captured when the French took the city in 1746. After he escaped, he became an officer in the East India Company’s army and later he became the governor of Madras at the age of 30.

Orientation
Chennai extends for more than 15km north to south along the Bay of Bengal. There are three main areas of town that most travelers visit.
Near Periyar EVR High Rd are the two railway stations: Central and Egmore. From Egmore, trains depart mostly to cities in Tamil Nadu. From Central, trains depart to places mainly out of state.
In the northeast area of town is George Town, which is the old part of the city. There you’ll find cheaper hotels, bazaars, and restaurants in this area. The bus stations are also located here. NSC Bose Rd is the main east-west road in George Town. Parry’s Corner, at the intersection of Prakasam Rd (Popham’s Broadway) and NSC Bose Rd, is one of the main areas in George Town.

South of Periyar EVR High Rd, is Anna Salai (Mount Rd), which is where the banks, airlines offices, bookshops, tourist offices, restaurants, and high-class hotels are mainly located. South of this area are some interesting old temples.
South of the Anna Salai area is the Mylapore area, where the Kapaleeswara temple and San Thome Cathedral are located, and further south is Guindy National Park and St Thomas Mount.

Street Name Changes

Old Name- New Name
Mount Road - Anna Salai
Triplicane High Rd - Quaide Milleth Salai
North Beach Rd - Rajaji Salai
South Beach Rd - Kamaraj Salai
Popham’s Broadway - Prakasam Rd
Poonamalee High Rd - Periyar EVR High Rd
Mowbray’s Rd - TTK Rd
Adam’s Rd - Swami Sivananda Salai
Edward Elliot’s Rd - Dr Radhakrishan Salai Pycroft’s Rd - Bharati Salai

Information
The useful Government of India Tourist Office (852-4295), 154 Anna Salai, books tours and hotels, arrange an approved guide (Rs 300 for half a day), and rents cars. Open Mon to Fri 9.30 am to 5 pm; Sat and bank holidays 9.30 am to 1 pm. They give out the monthly Hallo Chennai! They can give a computer printout on major places. Buses #11 and #18 from Central station or Parry’s Corner come here. There is also a tourist counter at the airport, but it is not as useful.

The India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC, 827-8884), 29 Victoria Crescent, at the intersection with C-in-C Rd, is open weekdays 6 am to 7 pm and Sat and Sun 6 am to 2 pm. They arrange city tours and can book ITDC hotels in other cities.

The Tamil Nadu Tourist Office (TTDC) (830-3390), 143 Anna Salai, arranges tours and travel (weekdays 10 am to 5 pm). They also have counters at the Central railway station and at the Thiruvalluvar Transport Corporation (TTC) bus stand. You can book TTDC hotels at the Hotel Tamil Nadu (582-916).

Other state tourist offices—Kerala, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Himachal Pradesh—are at 28 C-in-C Rd and are open Mon to Fri 10 am to 5 pm. The Orissa Tourist Office is at Gee Gee Building, 2nd Fl (near Anna Theatre), and the West Bengal Office is at 787 Anna Salai.
Automobile Association of South India (852-4601) is in the American Express Building, 187 Anna Salai.

Hallo Chennai! and Aside are two widely available publications that have good information about what’s happening in Chennai.

Tours
The ITDC Chennai tour (daily, 1.30 to 6 pm, Rs 75) goes to Fort Saint George, the museum, St Mary’s Church, the Government Museum, Kapaleeswara Temple, Valluvar Kottam, and the Snake Park. It begins at their office at 29 Victoria Crescent, C-in-C Rd. ITDC tours can be booked at their counters at 154 Anna Salai from 6 am to 7 pm, and other ITDC counters around the city.

The TTDC half-day Chennai tour (7.30 am to 1.30 pm and 1.30 to 6.30 pm, Rs 80) goes to Fort Saint George, the Government Museum, Kapaleeswara Temple, Marina Beach, Elliot’s Beach, and the Snake Park. It begins at 143 Anna Salai and then goes to the Express bus stand in George Town to pick up more passengers.

There is a daily tour to Tirupati (Tirumala) run by the Tamil Nadu Tourist Development Corporation and by ITDC. The tour takes at least 15 hours, much of it spent traveling to and from Tirupati. The tour allows for a two-hour wait for special dar-shan, but on weekends and other special days it can be much more. So even though the tour is scheduled from 6 am to 9 pm, the bus may sometimes return after midnight. The fare includes breakfast, lunch and the Rs 30 “special darshan” fee.

There are also tours operated by both ITDC and TTDC to Kanchipuram, Thirukkazhukundram and Mamalla­puram. It departs at 7.30 am and returns at 6 pm. It also goes to the Crocodile Bank. This is a very rushed tour, as both Kanchipuram and Mamallapuram can easily take a day each just to see the sites, but if you are in a hurry it is a good tour.

There is a seven-day tour that goes to Bangalore, Sravanabelagola, Belur, Halebid, Mysore, Srirangapatnam, and other places.

There is another seven-day tour conducted by the TTDC. It includes Tiruchirappalli, Srirangam, Kodaikanal, Madurai, Kanyakumari, Suchindram, Tiruchendur, Rameswaram, Thanjavur, and back to Chennai. It starts at 7 am on Saturday and ends around 6.30 pm on Friday.

Money
Thomas Cook (827-4941) has an office in the Eldorado Building, 112 Nungambakkam High Rd, that changes travelers checks quickly and efficiently. Open Mon to Fri 9.30 am to 1 pm and 2 to 4 pm. They charge an extra fee to change non-Thomas Cook travelers cheques. They also have offices in Egmore (825-8417), 45 Ceebros Centres, Montieth Rd; George Town (534-0994), 20 Rajaji Salai; and at the International airport (open 24 hr).

American Express (852-3638) is at G-17 Spencer Plaza, 769 Anna Salai (10 am to 6.30 pm).

There are branches of the State Bank of India on Rajaji Salai in George Town and on Anna Salai. They also have branches at the International (24 hr) and Domestic (5 am to 8 pm) airport terminals. Central Bank of India, Montieth Rd, in the Egmore area, gives advances on Visa cards.
There is a branch of Bank of America (852-5285) at 748 Anna Salai; Citibank (852-2151) at 766 Mount Rd; and a Grindlays Bank at 768 Anna Salai.

Post, Phone & Internet
There is a poste restante service at the Anna Salai Post Office in the Egmore area, at the northern end of Anna Salai. The address is Poste Restante, Anna Salai Post Office, Anna Salai, Chennai, 600002. Open for poste restante: Mon to Sat 10 am to 6 pm. The post office is open Mon to Sat 8 am to 8.30 pm and Sun 10 to 5 pm. This post office is a good place to post packages. There is an efficient packing service outside. The GPO is on Rajaji Salai in George Town.

There is a 24-hour telegraph office at the GPO and Anna Salai post offices.

At Prakash Services (534-0214; fax 534-1022), 146 Thambu Chetty St, in George Town, you can send and receive faxes and e-mail at a cheaper price than most other places in town. They are open 24 hours for phone calls and for e-mail, weekdays 9 am to 7 pm. Their e-mail address is MDSAAAS53@giasd01.vsnl.net.in.
In the Egmore area you can send a fax from Worldwide Technologies (852-4289), 704 Spencer Plaza, 769 Anna Salai.

Some courier services are DHL (825-41020), 44/45 Pantheon Rd, Egmore; Skypak (427-237), 19 Rutland; and DHL Express (583-548), 13 Sunkurama Chetty St.

You can send and receive e-mail at the Net Cafe (826-3779; e-mail: netcafe@india.com), 101/1 Kanakasri Nagar, Cathedral Rd, near the Music Academy. You can also browse the internet. They charge Rs 60 for 30 minutes. Open daily 8 am to 10 pm. Web Surf (825 4908), Hotel Imperial Complex, 6 Gandhi Irwin Rd has internet access for Rs 60 per hour.

Also to use the internet is Enternet, which has two branches, one at 36/3 Taylors Estate, Station View Rd, in Kodambakkam and the at 225, SI Plaza, 2nd floor, 129 GN Chetty Rd, near the Anna Flyover. It costs Rs 1 per minutes. Open daily 8 am to 10 pm.

Photography and Others
For film developing there is Photo Emporium, 46 Anna Salai; GK Vale, 107 Anna Salai, and Konica, 3 Nungambakkam High Rd.
You can get a good view of the city from on top of Tarapore Tower.

Non-guest can use the pool at the Ambassador Hotel. The YMCA pool at Saidapet and some pools along Marina Beach are open to the public.

Visa Extensions, Permits, and Tax Clearance
The Foreigners’ Registration Office (827-8210), Shashtri Bhavan Annex, 26 Haddows Rd, usually takes a few days to issue a visa extension. You must have four identical passport photos. Open 9.30 am to 1.30 pm and 2 to 6 pm. Buses #27J and #27RR from the Connemara Hotel take you there.

If you are going to the Andaman Islands by boat you need to get a permit. You get the form from the Directorate of Shipping Services (522-6873), 6 Rajaji Salai in George Town. You then hand in this form at the Foreigners’ Registration Office with two photos and you will usually get the permit within a day. If you are going to the Andaman Islands by air you can get the permit when you arrive at Port Blair.

You get an income tax clearance certificate at the Foreign Section, Office of the Commissioner of Income Taxes (827-2011, ext 4004), 121 Uttamar Gandhi Rd. This takes about an hour.

Shopping
The city’s main shopping areas include Parry’s Corner, Anna Salai (Mount Road), Panagal Park, and Pondy Bazaar. There are many shops on Anna Salai, which include handicraft shops, government emporiums, and modern shops.
Spencer’s Plaza, 769 Anna Salai, and Alsa Mall, Montieth, near the Government Museum, are indoor shopping malls. Spencer’s Department Store, 769 Anna Salai, is an Indian attempt at a department store. You can get clothes, utensils, handicrafts, imported food, etc.

The Central Cottage Industries Emporium, Temple Towers, 476 Anna Salai, Nandanam, has an excellent selection of high quality handicrafts.
Victoria Technical Institute (VTI) (852-3141), 765 Anna Salai, has high quality sculptures, paintings, wood carvings, brassware, hand-embroidered linen, pottery, wall hangings, clothing, and greeting cards.

Poompuhar Sales and Show Room, 818 Anna Salai, is a Tamil Nadu government emporium, which has a good selection of expensive handicrafts, sculptures and textiles.

You can get Kanchipuram cottons at the Tamil Nadu Handloom Weavers’ Co-Operative. Two good stores to get jewelry at are Bapalal, 24/1 Cathedral Road, and Vummidi Bangaru, 603 Anna Salai Road.

Handloom House, 7 Rattan Bazaar, George Town, has high quality cottons and silks. India Silk House, 846 Anna Salai, has very high quality silks. Cottage Industries Exposition, opposite the Taj Coromandel, has very high quality clothes and textiles. Khadi Gramodyag Bhavan, 844 Anna Salai, has hadmade cotton khadi material and other items.

Radha Silk House, (RASI) (494-0528), 1 Sannadhi St, Mylapore, near the Kapaleeswara temple, has high quality silk items, and is a popular place with foreign tourists. It has many excellent silk items, including saris, scarves and ties. In the basement are many gift items, which include sculptures, brassware, carved wooden boxes, and paintings.

Musee Musical (849-380), 67 Anna Salai, sells sitars, drums and flutes. AR Dawood & Sons, 286 Quaide Milleth Salai (Triplicane High Rd), is a good source of musical instruments.

Bookshops
Higginbothams, 814 Anna Salai (Mount) Rd, is a good book store with one of the best selection of spiritual and travel books I have seen. They have stalls in the domestic airport and Central station.

The Bookshop in Spencer Plaza is good.
Landmark Books, in the basement of Apex Plaza, 3 Nungambakkam High Rd, has an excellent selection and is one of the best bookshops in India. Giggles Book Shop, in the Connemara Hotel is good. Giggles & Scribbles, Wellingdon Estate, 24 C-in-C Rd, has a good selection of books, including hard to find books on India. Fountainhead (826-310), 27 Dr Radha-krishnan Salai, and Odyssey, (412-933), 15 1st Main Rd, both have a good selection of books. Karnatic Music Book Centre, 14 Sripuram First St, Royapettah, has books on Carnatic classical music and classical Indian dance.

Libraries
The American Center Library (827-3040), at the US Consulate is open daily except Sun 9.30 am to 6 pm. A daily membership is Rs 30 a day. The British Council Library (852-5412), 737 Anna Salai, is open Tue to Sat 11 am to 7 pm. To visit you can take out a temporary one month membership for Rs 100.

Alliance Francaise (827-2650), 3/4A College Rd, Nungambakkam, is open Mon to Fri 9 am to 1 pm and 3.30 to 6.30 pm and Sat in the morning. It has French books, movies and classes. Max Mueller Bhavan (826-1314), 13 Khadar Nawaz Khan Rd.

Foreign Consulates Include:
France 
16 Haddows Rd (827-0469)
Germany 
22 C-in-C Rd (827-1747)
Japan 
60 Spur Tank Rd, Cheput (826-5594)
Malaysia 
6 Sri Ram Nagar, Alwarpet (434-3048)
Netherlands 
64 Armenian St
Singapore 
2nd Floor Apex Plaza, 3 Nungambakkam High Rd (827-3795)
Sri Lanka 
9-D Nawab Habibullah Rd, near Anderson Rd (827-2270)
Russia 
14 San Thome High Rd
UK 
24 Anderson, Nungambakkam (827-3136)
USA 
Gemini Circle, 220 Anna Salai (827-3040)

Travel Agencies
American Express (825-3628), G-17 Spencer Plaza, Anna Salai; and Thomas Cook (827-4941), 112/G/4 Nungambakkam High Rd and at Ceebros Centre, Montieth Rd, Egmore, (855-3276), are both very good.

Sita World Travel (827-8861), 26 C-in-C Rd; Trade Wings (864-961), 752 Anna Salai; and Travel Corporation India (868-813), 734 Anna Salai, are reputable travel agencies.

Hospitals
Apollo Hospital (827-7447), 21 Greams Rd, is a good private hospital open 24 hours for emergencies. Malar Hospital (491-2581), 52 1st Main Rd, near Adyar Bridge, is a good place with good lab facilities and good specialists (open 24 hr). Chennai Kaliappa Hospital (493-6390), 43 2nd Main Rd, Roja Anna Malai Puram, is a good place. It has 24-hour emergency service.
For eye test and glasses there is Lawrence and Mayo, 68 Anna Salai.

Fort Saint George
The fort was begun around 1640 and was finished on Saint George’s Day, April 23. It was huge. It is located in George Town, about half a km south of Parry’s Corner. Fort St George is an interesting place with old ruins and a scale model of how the fort used to look. It was the first major structure built by the British in Chennai. Many of the fort’s buildings are now being used as government offices, such as the Legislative Assembly and Tamil Nadu Secretariat. At places the fort’s walls are 6m (20 ft) high.

Many of the fort’s original buildings were destroyed by French attacks. Still remaining is the house of Robert Clive, which is now used as offices. One room is open to the public, but there is not much to see. The house of Arthur Wellesley is about 100m away, but is now in ruins. Also here is the house of Elihu Yale, the former Governor of Madras and the founder of Yale University in the USA.

The Fort Museum, in the Exchange Building, has a good collection of items dating to the British Raj including a weapon display, a good stamp collection, paintings of Fort St George’s governors and other British personalities, uniforms, and items belonging to Robert Clive. The signatures in the visitors’ book of King George V and Queen Mary, who visited in 1906, can be seen. Open daily except Fri 9 am to 5 pm. Admission free.

Saint Mary’s Church, South Asia’s oldest Anglican English church, was built in 1680. It is south of the Fort Museum, past the State Legislature. It is the oldest British building still standing in India. The walls of the church are 1.3m (5 ft) thick and are bombproof. In this church there is a copy of Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper. Clive was married in this church in 1753. There is a pure silver plaque in the church presented by Elihu Yale. Open daily 9 am to 5 pm.

George Town
Located north of Fort St George is the old city, which was used by the British. Located in George Town is an assortment of British administrative building, 18th and 19th centuries church, and old mansions. Praksam Rd (Popham’s Broadway) was the main commercial street in Chennai until the beginning of the 20th century. At the present time this area is crowded and fairly dirty. There are interesting bazaars here, including Evening Bazaar and Burma Bazaar, which has many western goods.

The High Court Building (1892), on the south border of George Town, is a red sandstone Indo-Saracenic building at Parry’s Corner. The central tower is 50m (165 ft) high. It is said to be the second largest court building in the world, next to the one in London. You can walk around inside and see the building. Court No 13 has the most interesting design. There is a guided tour Mon to Sat at 10.30 am and 2.30 pm.

West of the High Court is the Law College. The Head Post Office is an Indo-Saracenic building built in 1884, located on Rajaji Salai, in the east part of George Town. The beautiful Armenian Church, on Armenia St, east of Popham’s Broadway, was built in the 18th century. North of the Armenian Church is the Catholic St Mary of the Angels, which was built in 1675.

The Old Lighthouse (1844) is located north of the fort near the High Court Building.

Government Museum
This museum, established in 1857, is on Pantheon Rd, south of Egmore Station. It has an excellent Archaeological section (stone sculptures), an art gallery, and a bronze gallery, which has the largest collection of South Indian bronze statues in the country. It has an impressive set of large standing deities of Rama, Sita, and Laksman. On one side of the bronze gallery the deities are related to Lord Vishnu and on the other to Lord Siva. There are many sculptures of Nataraja (dancing Lord Siva), and there is an excellent 11th century bronze sculpture of Nataraja. There are early Buddhist sculptures from the ruins of Amaravati and other places.

There is an Art Gallery, which has Mughal miniatures, portraits of famous British personalities and ivory carvings. The Art Gallery is located in one of the finest example of Indo-Saracenic architecture in India. There is also a Children’s Museum. The museum is open daily except Friday 9.30 am to 5 pm; admission Rs 5, camera Rs 10, video Rs 50. There are free tours at 10 am, noon, 2 pm and 4 pm.

St Andrew’s Church (Kirk)
It was finished in 1821 in the classical style. From the top of the 55m (180 ft) steeple you can get an excellent view of the city. It has a circular seating pattern and a grand large blue dome with gold stars. The church has an active congregation. It is just northeast of Egmore railway station. Services on Sunday are 9 am and 6 pm.

St George’s Cathedral
Located south of Anna Salai, this white Anglican church was built in 1816. It has a 40m (132 ft) tower. There is an interesting colonial graveyard northeast of the cathedral. It is open 8 am to 6 pm and is located on Cathedral Rd, near the US Consulate.

Sri Parthasarathi Temple
The Parthasarathi Temple, dedicated to Lord Vishnu, was built in the 8th century by the Pallava kings. Additions were made by the Chola kings and later by the Vijayanagar kings in the 16th century. This temple is one of the 108 main Vishnu Divya Desam temples. The impressive vimana (tower) over the central shrine is partially covered with gold and is called Ananda Vimana.
The presiding deity, Parthasarathi, is a form of Lord Krishna. During the battle of Kurukshetra, when the Bhagavad-gita was spoken, Lord Krishna became the chariot driver (sarathi) of Arjuna (Partha). The deity here is named after that form of Krishna. There is a separate shrine for Sri Ranganatha (Lord Vishnu), who is lying on Adi Sesa, with Lord Brahma on a lotus coming out from his naval. There are shrines dedicated to Lord Rama, Sri Varaha, Sri Narasimha and Sri Andal.

There is a festival called Teppam in Feb/March at the Karveni temple tank during which the deities are seated on a beautifully decorated illuminated teppan (boat) and taken round the temple tank.

Non-Hindus are not allowed in the temple, but converted Hindus may be able to enter. Waiting in line to see the deity takes about a half hour on a normal day. You can, however, buy a special darshan ticket for Rs 10 to bypass the line. This temple has good maha-prasada. Open 6 am to 12 noon and 4 to 10 pm.

The temple is located in the Triplicane area of town. It’s a little hard to find. Most people know where it is, but even three blocks away they cannot easily explain how to get there. It is on Peter’s Rd, about three blocks east of Triplicane High Rd, near Besant Rd.

ISKCON Temple
It is located on Burkit Road, T Nagar (434-3266). The Deities here are Rukmini-Krishna. Satyabhama, one of the eight main wives of Krishna, is also on the altar. There are also Deities of Jagannath, Baladeva and Subhadra, and Gaura-Nitai. It is a small place with no overnight guest facilities. There is a Sunday feast program for the public.

To get to the ISKCON temple you can take the #11A bus from Mount Road or any bus to Nagar Terminal in the south-central part of the city. The temple is a ten-minute walk from the bus station. Once you are in the area most people know where the Hare Krishna temple is located. It is near the Sharadha Vidyalaya Girls School.

Marine Beach
The north end of Marine Beach starts at Fort Saint George and extends south for 12km to San Thome Cathedral. It is one of the largest city beaches in the world. It is a good place to walk around in the morning or early evening. Swimming and sunbathing are not usually done here. Across from the beach are many interesting British-built colonial buildings.

There is a poorly maintained Aquarium on the seafront, near the junction of Kamarajar Salai and Bharathi Salai. South of the aquarium is the Ice House, where ice was stored after being brought from North America. There is a Sunday Market on the beach.

Birla Planetarium
It is located in Kotturpuram (416-7511). It has English programs at 10.30 am, 1 pm and 3.45 pm; admission Rs 10. It is closed on Monday.

Kapaleeswara Temple
Kapaleeswara Temple is an ancient Siva temple in the Mylapore area with an intricately carved gopuram, towering 37m (120 ft) high. The temple has a large Siva-linga and a deity of Subrahmanya (Kartikeya). There are also bronze images of the 63 Shaivite Nayanmar saints. Two of them are from Mylapore.

In the courtyard of the temple is a shrine dedicated to Parvati, the consort of Lord Siva, in the form of a peahen worshipping a linga. This commemorates when Parvati allowed her attention to be distracted from Siva when she saw a peacock beautifully dancing at a distance. Siva became angry because of this and cursed her to become a peahen. Parvati became a peahen (mayil) and came to Kapali-nagar (present day Mylapore) and started to do rigorous austerities to please Lord Siva. After many years she became successful and rejoined Lord Siva. Thereafter this area became known as Mayilapore or Mylapore.

In 1566 the Portuguese destroyed the original temple. The present temple was built in the 16th century by the Vijayanagar kings.

Non-Hindus are not allowed in the inner sanctum. Important festivals are the boat festival called Tai Pusham (Jan/Feb), when deities of Siva and Parvati go around the temple tank in a decorated boat; and Brahmotsava (March/April), which celebrates the marriage of Siva and Parvati. On the eighth day of the festival the 63 bronze images of the Nayanmar saints are taken in procession onto the streets to meet the deities of Siva and Parvati. During the Vasantha Festival (May/June) there are musical concerts.

The temple is open 4 am to noon and 4 to 8 pm. It is located in the southern suburb of Chennai off Kutchery Rd in the Mylapore area. Bus #21 from Anna Salai or the High Court comes here.

San Thome Cathedral Basilica
This church (1504) is built over the tomb of the apostle St Thomas. It is believed that St Thomas came to India in 52 AD and that he died in 78 AD, 26 years later. At this time his body was buried near the sea. About 1,000 years later, his remains were moved to a site further inland and a church was built. In 1606 the church was renovated and made into a cathedral. It was rebuilt as a basilica in 1896 in the neo-Gothic style. This cathedral has a 55m (180 ft) steeple. Pope John Paul II said a mass here in 1986 to celebrate the 90th anniversary of San Thome’s status as a basilica.

It is located at the southern end of the Marina on Kamarajar Salai (South Beach Rd) in the Mylapore area. Open daily 7 am to 7 pm. The small museum here has a 16th century map of South Asia and is usually open Mon to Fri 9 am to noon and 3 to 6 pm.

Little Mount and Saint Thomas Mount (Great Mount)
Little Mount is a complex of caves and two churches located 6km southwest of the southern edge of the Marina, 8km south of the center of the city. It is believed that the impressions in the rock-cave here are Saint Thomas’s handprints. There is a church here built by the Portuguese in 1551 and a newer church built in 1971 called Our Lady of Health. Behind this church is a holy water spring, which is said to have been created when St Thomas hit the rock, so that the people who had come to hear him could drink some water. You can get here by the commuter train (get off at Saidapet).

About 5km south of Little Mount, is Saint Thomas Mount (Great Mount), which is where St Thomas is said to have been killed. Our Lady of Expectation Church, reached by walking up over 100 steps (90m), was built by the Portuguese in 1523. The altar is said to mark the exact spot where St Thomas died. It was constructed over a site that had a church built by Armenian traders a thousand years before. There is a painting over the altar that is said to have been painted by St Luke. The cross made of stone, which is said to have been hand-carved by St Luke, is said to have bled in 1558. When the Portuguese rebuilt the church they found what is believed to be the tomb of St Thomas, which contained a few bones, a lance head and a pot which had bloodstained dirt in it. These relics can be viewed on request. You can get here by commuter train.

South Chennai

Guindy National Park, 1km south of Little Mount, has deer, chital, black buck and monkeys. There is also a Snake Park (open daily except Tues 9 am to 5 pm; admission Rs 3, camera Rs 5, video Rs 100), which has over 500 species of snakes and monitor lizards, alligators, and chameleons. You can get here by the commuter train. It is not a very interesting park.

Valluvar Kottam, south of the Nungambakkam district, 5km south of Little Mount, is a memorial to the poet Thiruvalluvar. Located here is a huge 33m high stone temple chariot, which weights 2,700 tons. There are engraved verses from Thirukkural by Thiruvalluvar, which is considered to be a Tamil classic. Next to the memorial is an auditorium that can hold 4,000 people. Open daily 9 am to 7 pm.

The Theosophical Society Headquarters (413-528), Besant Ave, near Elliot’s Beach, has several shrines and a library which contains many religious and philosophical books (open daily 8 to 10 am and 2 to 4 pm, Sat 8 to 11 am). It is a peaceful place and it has a gigantic 400-year-old banyan tree, which is one of the largest in the world. The Theosophical Society, established in 1875 by Colonel Olcott and Madame Petrovna Balavatsky, preaches the equality of all religions. Its headquarters moved to Chennai in 1882. It is also known as Besant Gardens.

Music and Dance
Chennai is known for its Bharat Natyam dance performances. The Government of India Tourist Office (852-4785) has a list of cultural events. In the Hindu Express newspaper, on page 3, there is a list of events and their Friday edition has a list of the events for the following week. The Indian Express also list events.

During the Carnatic Music & Dance Festival, performances by famous dancers and musicians are held in various venues in Chennai from mid-December to mid-January. You can contact the Government of India Tourist Office for information about the festival.

The Music Academy (827-5619), Dr Radhakrishnan Salai and TTK Rd, has many Bharata Natyam Dance and classical Carnatic music performances. A good seat is around Rs 200. The Daily Hindu or the tourist office lists what events are happening here. There are many performances here during the 3-week Music Festival starting in mid-December.

Kalakshetra (Temple of Art) has dance and music performances. It is a school dedicated to dance, music, weaving and traditional crafts, which takes up a large 100-acre campus in south Chennai in the Tiruvanmiyur area. Students live here and study under a guru using traditional methods.

There is bunk class for Rs 1100, but foreigners are usually not allowed to take this class. There is 2nd class (four to six-berth) for Rs 2600, 1st class (two or four-berth) for Rs 3000, and deluxe (two-berth) for 3600. Meals on board cost about Rs 120 a day.

Copyright ©2001 John Howley and Spiritual Guides