Senate House

In Chennai the historical place that any visitors should travel is the famous Senate House. The Senate House is situated on the Chennai University Campus near Marina. It is a popular university all-over the metro city so travelling to the Madras Senate house is not much of a problem. If you are staying nearby then you can either hire an auto rickshaw or cycle rickshaw and visit the place. The Senate house in Chennai was built under the direction of the skilled architect of 19th century Robert Fellowes Chisholm. The structure of the building is a live example of the Indo-Saracenic style with a harmonious blend of Byzantine architectural features.

The Senate House in Chennai comprises of a central hall with corridors, which is on the ground floor. These corridors stand on six firm pillars standing on either side. Also the four sky-touching towers standing at each of the corners of the building are heaped with an exquisitely shaped vibrantly -colored domes gives a dazzling look to any outsider traveling to Chennai. The Senate House in Chennai has seen for over 125 years many meetings, functions and also convocations. The convocations were held in the central hall under the bright illuminated lamps and the pedestal fan standing everywhere after every inch. These convocations were held in the central hall of the Senate house till 1965 and later on shifted to Centenary Convocation Auditorium. The senate house also had some offices of the Vice-Chancellor and the Registrar and the University Departments of study and Research. Though this glorious piece of architecture is not quite used now but still it has maintained its unmatched stature.

Fascinating monument!

Fort St. George:

The British East India Company under the direct supervision of Francis Day and Andrew Cogon built it in 1640 AD. This place achieved its name from Saint George, the patron saint of England. The fort houses Saint Mary's Church and fort museum. Saint Mary's Church the oldest Anglican Church built in 1680 and the tombstones in its courtyard are the oldest British tombstones in India. It presently house the Secretariat and Legislative Assembly. The 46 m high flagstaff at the front is a mast salvaged from the 17th century shipwreck. The Fort Museum has a fascinating collection of memorabilia from the British and French East India companies as well as the Raj and Muslim period.

Chennai Airport

Chennai International Airport is located in Meenambakkam, 7 km south of Chennai, India. It is the third largest international gateway into the country and the third busiest airport in India after Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (Mumbai) and Indira Gandhi International Airport (Delhi), and the main air hub for South India, handling over 10 million passengers (domestic and international combined) in 2007 and serving more than 50 different airlines. It is also an important cargo terminus for the country, after Mumbai. Chennai is also a hub airport for Jet Airways, Deccan and Air India.

The airport at Meenambakkam has been slated for modernisation and expansion. The works are to be carried out by the Airports Authority of India and include the creation of a parallel runway, taxiways, aprons and new passenger handling buildings.

Happy Bda Chennai!!

Fast turning out to be the Detroit of India, for its rapid expansion of automobile manufacturing units and growing reputation of being the cultural capital of the south, Chennai, the erstwhile Madras, turned 369 on Friday.

Befitting the historic occasion, Chennaities have drawn up a week-long birthday bash to celebrate the event.

On this day in 1639, British Administrator Francis Day is believed to have received the grant for construction of Madraspatam as it was referred then by the British. The deal was struck by Francis Day, his 'dubash' Beri Thimmappa and their superior Andrew Cogan, with the local Nayak rulers.
  

                    So here goes my wish............. HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHENNAI!!!!

Chennai Connemara Library

In 1861, Chennai saw a new landmark - The Connemara library, a treasure trove of books, periodicals and newspapers. This library was named after the then Governor of Madras Lord Connemara. Boasting a collection of over 600000 books, the Connemara Library houses a hall for periodicals, reference room, IAS study centre, books in Indian languages and a Braille library.


Chennai Connemara Library holds pride of place as one of India's four national depository libraries. The Connemara Library was conceived on the lines of the British Museum Library. With its stained glass panels and ornate wooden carvings, this building stands testimony to old British architecture.


Some of the historical collections of the library include The Bible (1608), The German Copy of 'Anthony and Cleopatra' and many more. Old volumes are painstakingly covered with chiffon cloth. The library automation is under progress and would be ready for use.


Any person above 17 years and a resident of Chennai or its immediate vicinity can become a member of the Connemara library. The library lends a maximum of six books by depositing Rs.50 per book. In addition, an annual subscription of Rs.50 is collected for each financial year. The following procedures are to be followed by the applicant to be a member of the library:

Duly filled application form provided by the library.

Attach a Xerox copy of the applicant's photo identification proof.

The form must be attested by level A or B grade officer of the Government of Tamil Nadu / India.

Kapaleeswarar Temple

'Where the ancient coexists with the modern' would be the best phrase to describe the manner in which the Kapaleeswarar Temple (Tirumayilai Shivastalam) fits into the life of Chennai, the sprawling meteropolis. The recently built Rapid Transport System, proudly bears the name Tirumayilai, on its station at Mylapore. A well known landmark in the heart of Mylapore, Chennai this temple is visited by thousands, especially during the famed 'Arupattu Moovar' festival in the month of Pisces.This is the 24th of the 32 Tevara Stalams in the Tondai region of South India.


The current temple is a modern structure, built based on the descriptions in the Puranams and the Tevaram; the huge temple tank is the site of the popular Teppam festival in the month of Thai (Capricorn). The Karpakambal shrine in this temple attracts huge crowds on Fridays and on all special occasions.


Six worship services are offered each day here. In terms of a tradition of festivals and celebrations, Tirumayilai is second to none. More will be said about the Kapaleeswarar temple in a Templenet special feature on Temple festivals.

Run Chennai Run!!!

The stage is set for the GiveLife Chennai Marathon, organized for the benefit of underpriviledged children. The marathon, to be held on August 31st, 2008, will be flagged off from War Memorial, Island Grounds.

Since the marathon was announced on June 4th 2008, many prominent citizens of Chennai have extended their support and consented to participate in this event. It is time that all of us joined this effort and make a difference to society. Each and every one can participate in this run.

Let us all join this 'Human Race' - a race for hope, a race for change, a race for new beginnings, a race for a better future!

For registration and all other information, log on to www.givelife-chennaimarathon.com or call 24994344, 24990201.