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Chennai
In
the early 17th century, the Cooum and Adyar rivers flowed
towards the Coromandel
Coast and into the Bay of Bangal with
only a few fishermen to witness their progress. Today
the area between the two estuaries is the center of
India's fourth-largest city and the capital of
Tamil Nadu, Compared with India's other major cities,
Chennai is a quiet backwater, conservative in its ways,
with considerable importance placed on old-fashioned
values and traditions. For all this Chennai is
a clean and efficient city . It has an excellent public
transport system and its airport is modern and
well planned. Fort St Georage , which
now houses the Tamil Nadu State
Legislature and
Secretariat , is an excellent
museum . Next to the fort is St
Mary's , consecrated in 1680 , India's
oldest Anglican church . The Parthasarathy
Temple at Triplicane , dedicated to
Krishna , was built in the 18th century by one of the
Pallava King , with later additions by the rajas of
Vijayanagar in the 16th century. Close to the bank of
the Adyar River is the headquarters of the Theosophical
Society , estd in 1882 seven years after
the Theosophical movement was founded in New York .
Guindy National Park
is a large open area designed for relaxation. It includes
a Children's Park
and Deer Park
, but the most interesting section is the Snake
Park.The Government
Art Museum , on Pantheon Road
,has section devoted to anthropology and natural history.
The one gallery not to be missed is that devoted
to the museum's
fine bronze collection.
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