TAMIL NADU

CHENNAI (formerly known as Madras), the cultural center of South India and urbs prima of the modern state of Tamil Nadu, is a fascinating jumble of old and new. The original palm-fringed skyline, out along sandbars on the Bay of Bengal, is now pierced with glittering high-rise emporia and corporate buildings. Cinema and politics are the major beats on the streets. But look between the psychedelic flashes and you'll glimpse the sepia-toned charm of colonial history. More, you'll hear the splendid strains of classical music and sniff a heady compound of jasmines and spices living traditions that are still savored from Chennai' ancient past. Historically, Chennai has formidable credentials, going back 2000 years, when its old temple quarter, Mylapore was a port on the fabled Coromandel Coast, busily trading with the Chinese, the Phoenicians, the Greeks, Romans, and later, the French, Portuguese, Armenians and Arabs. St. Thomas, Christ's own Apostle, landed here in 58 A.D. and was martyred in 72 A.D. on an inland hillock (hard by the present International Airport). Nearly three and a half centuries later, Chennai, the modern city, now sprawls over 174 sq.km and is home to nearly 4,000,000 people! For today's visitor, Chennai offers a laidback Indian experience, unpressured by any frantic must-do's, nevertheless full of secret charms and quaint ways that may intrigue an observer of people and culture. The city of Chennai offers excellent hotels and transport, a terrific range of food and some serious shopping for silks, cottons and handicrafts plus fun-buys like colonial bric-a-brac. And of course, magnificent old Hindu temples that offer more than just a fabulous photo opt to the discerning! Savor Chennai, for a true feel of private India, enticingly different from the tourist tracks of the Delhi-Agra-Jaipur triangle.

Madurai, situated in southern Tamil Nadu, is a district with its headquarters in Madurai city, on the banks of Vaigai river. Madurai is the second largest city in Tamil Nadu. It is more than 2,500 years old and is an important cultural and commercial centre. Madurai, once the seat of Tamil learning and still the place where Tamil language is spoken in its purest form, is an ancient city. The ancient structure was planned in the shape of a lotus. Legend has it that Lord India installed a lingam in a shrine and informed king Kulasekhara, who had the forest cleared and a lotus-shaped city built around it. On the day this Pandian monarch was to name his new city, Lord Shiva appeared to bless the people and nectar flowed from his matted locks. So it was called 'Madhurapuri' and later it became Madurai. The last of the three Tamil academies (Sangams) flourished here nearly two thousand years ago . The Pandyas, great patrons of Tamil learning, art and architecture, were succeeded by the Nayakas who preserved the work of earlier kingdoms and enriched their traditions. Modern Madurai is a burgeoning industrial center, even though the vast stretches of lush paddy fields, dusty roads and crowded bazaars make it seem almost like an overgrown village.