Chennai is a popular district and the capital of Tamil Nadu. Though being smallest of all districts, it has highest population. It is a city district with no district headquarters and covers most of the city regions. There are five Taluks, namely

Egmore-Nungambakam
Fort Tondiarpet
Mambalam-Guindy
Mylapore-Triplicane
Perambur-Purasawalkkam.

 Chennai was previously known as Madras or Madraspatinam and located on the coastal region of Bay of Bengal. It is one of the most populous cities in Tamil Nadu and ranked fourth metropolitan and sixth city of highest population. The industrial base of Chennai economy is broad especially in automobile, computer, technology, manufacturing, hardware and healthcare industries. It is the second largest exporter of software; IT and IT enabled services in India. Chennai is expressed as Detroit of Asia as the major portion of automobile manufacturing industry is in and around the city. It also holds the title Gateway of South India as it is an important port city and played a vital role in development of South India.

Besides being a busy commercial hub, Chennai is one of the important centers for Carnatic music and hosts several cultural events and annual Madras Music Season which provides the stage for more than hundred artists to perform. It is also important center for Bharata Natyam, a classical dance form and has a vibrant theater scene. The second largest film industry in India is Tamil Film Industry is also in Chennai.

Chennai History

From 1st century, the Chennai region was considered more important.  It served as an essential administrative, economic, military center. According to archeological survey, Pallavarm was found to be a megalithic cultural establishment. Before the end of Treaty of Madras, the city was threatened by Mysore in 1769. During 18th century, most of the Tamil Nadu region and northern parts at presently the state of Karnataka and Andra Pradesh were conquered by British and Madras Presidency was established with Madras as capital. In British period, it was well developed into a majestic urban center and naval base.

During 19th century, with the advent of railways, the bustling city was connected with other major cities like Bombay and Calcutta which eventually heightened the trade and communication in the city.The only Indian city got attacked during World War I is Madras. The shipping lanes in Indian Ocean are raided and disrupted the shipping when an oil depot was shelled on 22 September 1914, by the German light cruiser. After independence in the year of 1947, the city was continued to be the capital of Madras state and  it was renamed as Tamil Nadu in 1969. The political dynamics of the city has undergone a major shift marked by the violent agitation against Hindi language. In 2004, December 26, the shores of Chennai were lashed out weird Tsunami from Indian Ocean. It was another historical hit which killed several people and altered the coastline permanently.

Chennai Climate

General y Chennai has a tropical wet and dry climate. It lies on the thermal equator and located on the coastal region which makes no extreme variation in seasonal temperature. Most of the year, the weather is hot and humid. May to early June is the hottest months when temperature can shoots up to 35-40 C. The coolest months are December to January and temperature can go as minimum as 15-22 C. The recorded minimum and maximum temperatures are 13.8 C and 45 C. Most of the rainfall is between mid-October to mid-December from north-east monsoon winds and the average rainfall is 140 cm. The southeasterly wind is prevailing between April and October. During rest of the year, the wind is northeasterly. The city hit by the cyclones in Bay of Bengal sometimes.

Chennai Culture

Chennai is one of the important centers for culture, art and music in India. The city is noted for classical dance and temples. In the month of December, there is a grand five weeks of music season is celebrated for establishment of Madras Music Academy in 1927. More than hundred artists are performing traditional Carnatic music throughout this music season. Chennai Sangamam is another art festival, celebrated in January of every year which showcases, the traditional arts of various parts of Tamil Nadu. Kalakshetra is an important cultural center of the city. Chennai is also the proud home of choirs, who cheers the people across the city by charming carol performances during Christmas season.

The Tamil movie industry has its strong base in Chennai. The theaters of Chennai stage several Tamil drams, plays, slapsticks, political satire, mythology and history in languages, mainly Tamil and English. Pongal festival is among the popular carnival, celebrated for about five days in the month of January. Many other famous festivals like Deepavali, Christmas and Eid are also celebrated with much show. The cuisine of Chennai is also very interesting which includes both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes.