About Chennai
Chennai is a significant city in the Southern part of India, presenting the history and culture of Dravidian Civilisation. The beautiful beaches with long coconut trees, exotic temples, monuments, green fields, national parks, and other modern amenities make this city a perfect tourist destination. The economy of this city is growing with several industries, such as automobiles, IT, hardware manufacturing, petrochemicals, and textiles. This city consists of the largest IT park in Asia, which houses several software companies' headquarters. Chennai is also famous for its classical dance, music, and arts. This city is a renowned hub of Bharatnatyam, one of the oldest classical dance forms of India.
Places to visit in Chennai
- National Art Gallery: The National Art Gallery of Chennai is located within the Government Museum complex. The gallery was built with red stones sourced from Andhra Pradesh. Designed with Indo-Saracenic architectural style, it exhibits paintings from different regions of India, including Rajasthan, Deccan areas, Kangra, and Thanjavur. It preserves several Mughal paintings, Tanjore paintings, sandalwood sculptures, Rajput paintings, ivory objects, and some rare paintings from eminent artist Raja Ravi Varma. The Contemporary Art Section houses paintings from artists like Jamni Roy, Nandlal Bose, and D.P Roy Chowdhury. Also, the museum features the portraits of the British Governors of India - Lord William Bentinck, Lord Connemara, and more. There are several miniature paintings about the battle scenes and courts.
- St. Mary's Church: The St. Mary's Church is located within the Fort St. George complex of Chennai. The church is decorated with teakwood pews and cane nets. Inside the church, there are some excellent sculptures created by John Flaxman, Edward Richardson, and other eminent British artists. The centre aisle hosts two significant memorials for Sir Samuel Hood and Drury. Another attraction of this church is the painting of Jesus Christ's Last Supper. The painting was made by George Willison in the 18th century.
- Vivekananda House: Vivekananda House or Vivekananda Illam is an important historic landmark in Chennai. Swamiji stayed in this house for nine days after returning from Chicago in 1897. This house features several incidents of Swami Vivekananda's life and work. Now, this house has a hi-tech museum named 'Experience Vivekananda'. The museum allows exploring Swamiji's work, life, and messages through modern 3D/4D effects, virtual, augmented reality, and Son et Lumiere elements. Moreover, it includes Vivekananda Digital Photo Gallery, an art gallery of Indian culture through his eyes, and a gallery about his childhood. The Vivekananda Park associated with this house exhibits his messages for people.
- Victory War Memorial: The Victory War Memorial is located nearer to Fort St. George. The memorial is dedicated to the soldiers who died in the World Wars. The monument is also called 'Cupid Bow'. At first, it served as a memorial as a tribute to the victory of Allied nations in World War I. Later, a marble structure was added to commemorate the soldiers who lost their lives in World Wars. Also, after the World Wars, the marble structures were added to inscribe the Indo-Pak war, the Kargil war, and the Kashmir Aggression in 1948.
- Connemara Public Library: Being one of the four national repositories, the Connemara Public Library archives millions of old and rare books, magazines, newspapers, and other publications throughout the world. The library was constructed in the Indo-Sarasenic style. The bookshelves of this library were built with teak wood. Some of the rare books in this library are 'The Bible', 'The Revolt in Hindustan', and 'Hortus Indicus Malabaricus'. It preserves the iconic news magazine 'The Illustrated Weekly of India', which is the only news magazine covering the whole country.
About Chennai Airport
Chennai International Airport is located about 20 km away from the city of Chennai in Tirusalem. MAA is the IATA code for this airport, and the official address of the airport is GST Rd, Meenambakkam, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600027, India. You will find multiple transport options such as bus, train, taxi, metro, and rental car from this airport to travel within the city.
