Sightseeing in Chennai

Text and pix by Natasha Fernandopulle

A rock-cut temple

Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal and is the capital of the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is India's fourth largest metropolitan city and is the third largest commercial and industrial centre in India. The estimated population in Chennai is 6.98 million (2006), the city is 368-years-old and is the 34th largest metropolitan area in the world. In addition, within the city limits of Chennai lies the Guindy National Park, therefore pollution in this city is lower than in most cities in India.
The name Madras came from Madraspatnam and it was the site chosen by the British East India Company for a permanent settlement in 1639. South of this was a small town, Chennapatnam, the two towns were merged, and the term Madras was used as it was favoured by the British. In fact, Madras was said to be of Portuguese origin. The locals however, referred to it as Chennapatnam or Chennapuri so in August 1996, the city was renamed Chennai.

The Portuguese arrived in Chennai in 1522 and a port was built called São Tomé, after the Christian apostle St. Thomas, one of Jesus' 12 apostles, who was said to have preached in Chennai between 52 and 72 AD.

On August 22, 1639, Francis Day of the British East India Company obtained a small piece of land to build a factory and warehouse for trading activities. A year later, Fort St. George, was built and it was the centre of which the colonial city grew.

Today, St. Mary's Church, an Anglican Church, can be seen on the premises of the fort. The large church organ, the Prayer Chapel (a place where those of all faiths are welcome to spend a few moments in prayer) and a number of tombs both outside and inside the church, are some of the interesting aspects of the church.

St. Mary’s Church

Elihu Yale was the governor of Fort St. George at the time, and he gave his name to the Yale University in the United States. Interestingly he has the first marriage entry in the church marriage register!

Another church of interest is the Roman Catholic cathedral, the Santhome Cathedral Basilica, built in the 16th Century by Portuguese explorers. It's supposed to have been built over the tomb of St. Thomas.

One of the oldest areas in Chennai is Mylapore, here you can see the Kapaleeswarar Temple, with its beautiful temple tank. The temple had been built in the 8th Century by the Pallavas.

Legend has it that the Goddess Parvathi, (said to be the divine consort of Lord Shiva), had done penance at Mylapore by taking the form of a pea-hen so she could wed him. The name 'Mylapore' is derived from this legend, where the word, 'Myil' in Tamil means peacock.

Mahabalipuram is a town in Kancheepuram which was a 7th Century port city of the South Indian dynasty of the Pallavas. It was named after the Pallava king Mamalla. There are a number monuments built in the area and is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The monuments were done between the 7th and 9th Century and are rock-cut . What can be seen here is very similar to the many rock monuments in the ancient capitals of Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Yapahuwa etc.

There are cave temples, monolithic rathas (chariots), sculpted reliefs and structural temples. This area is known for its granite and it is believed by some that this area served as a school for young sculptors. The structures found here are:
* Descent of the Ganges, a giant open-air bas relief, * Arjuna's Penance, a relief sculpture which presents an episode from The Mahabharata,
* The Pancha Ratha (Five Chariots), five monolithic pyramidal structures named after the Pandavas (Arjuna, Bhima, Yudhishtra, Nakula and Sahadeva) and Draupadi,
* A small rock-cut temple called the Varaha Cave Temple dating back to the 7th Century, and,
* The final structure is the Shore Temple situated along the Bay of Bengal, with the entrance from the western side away from the sea. There were said to been a few other temples in the area but they have been lost to the sea.