Chennai ( in Tamil), formerly known as Madras, is the capital of the state of Tamil Nadu and is India's fourth largest

city.[1] It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. With an estimated population of 8 million the 400year-old city is the 36th largest metropolitan area in the world. Chennai, originally known as "Madraspatnam" was located in the province of Tondaimandalam, an area lying between Pennar river of Nellore and the Pennar river of Cuddalore. Armenian and Portuguese traders were living in the San Thome area of what is now present-day Chennai before the arrival of the British in 1639. Madras was the shortened name of the fishing village Madraspatnam, where the British East India Company built a fort and factory (trading post) in 1639 40. The city is intersected by two languid streams, the Cooum and the Adyar. Cooum runs through the heart of the city and enters the sea in-between the university buildings and the Fort. St. George underneath the Napier Bridge, while the latter wends its way through the southern part of the city and enters the sea near Adyar. T The modern city of "Chennai" arose from the British settlement of Fort St. George and its subsequent expansion through merging numerous native villages and European settlements around Fort St. George into the city of Madras while the official centre of the present settlement was designated Fort St. George, the British applied the name Madras to a new large city which had grown up around the Fort including the "White Town" consisting principally of British settlers, and "Black Town" consisting of principally Catholic Europeans, Armenians, Jews, and allied Indian minorities. The Vijayanagar rulers appointed chieftain known as Nayaks who ruled over the different regions of the province almost independently.Damarla Venkatapathy Nayak, an influential chieftain under Venkata III, who was in-charge of the area of present Chennai city, gave the grant of a piece of

land lying between the river Cooum almost at the point it enters the sea and another river known as Egmore river to the English in 1639. On this piece of waste founded the Fort St. George exactly for land was business

considerations. In honour of Chennappa Nayak, father of Venkatapathy Nayak, who controlled the entire coastal country from Pulicat in the north to the Portuguese settlement of Santhome, the settlement which had grown up around Fort St. George was named after Chennapatanam. Firmans were issued by the Mughal Emperor granting the rights of English company in Chennai. In the later part of the seventeenth century, Chennai steadily progressed during the period of Agency and under many Governors. During the regime of Governor Elihi Yale (1687-92),the most important event was the formation of the institution of a mayor and Corporation for the city of Chennai. In 1693, a perwanna was received from the local Nawab granting the towns Tondiarpet, Purasawalkam and Egmore to the company. Thomas Pitt became the Governor of Chennai in 1698 and governed for eleven years. This period witnessed remarkable development of trade and increase in wealth.

Modern Chennai had its origins as a colonial city and its initial growth was closely tied to its importance as an artificial harbour and trading centre. When the Portuguese arrived in 1522, they built a port and named it So Tom, after the Christian apostle St. Thomas, who is believed to have preached there between the years 52 and 70. The region then passed into the hands of the Dutch, who established

themselves near Pulicat just north of the city in 1612. Both groups strived to grow their colonial populations and although their populations reached into 10,000 persons when the British arrived, they remained substantially outnumbered by the loca The development of a harbour in Madras led the city to become an important centre for trade between India and Europe in the eighteenth century. In 1788, Thomas Parry arrived in Madras as a free merchant and he set up one of the oldest mercantile companies in the city and one of the oldest in the country (EID Parry). John Binny came to Madras in 1797 and he established the textile company Binny & Co in 1814. Spencer's started as a small business in 1864 and went on to become the biggest department stores in Asia at the time. The original building which housed Spencer & Co. was burnt down in a fire in 1983 and the present structure houses one of the largest shopping malls in India, Spencer Plaza. Other prominent companies in the city included Gordon Woodroffe, Best & Crompton, Higginbotham's, Hoe & Co and P. Orr & Sons. School of Industrial Art was started in 1850, Civil Engineering College in 1834 and Madras Medical College in 1835,etc. The Madras University was started in September 1857. The Chennai High Court was created in June 1862. The Railway Company in Chennai was formed in July 1845. the first construction work began on 9th June 1853 and in 1858,South Indian Railway was formed having Chennai as the Railway Headquarters. Lord Hobart who was the Governor from 1872 to 1875 initiated Chennai Harbour project. The Congress party came to life during the period 1881-90. The Indian National Congress held its session in 1887 at Chennai. Since the 1980s Chennai has emerged as one of the leading medical centres of the country. This was a result of the proliferation of private specialty hospitals, especially those which provide treatment for cardiac and eye ailments. Among the leading medical facilities in the city are the Apollo Hospital, the Madras Medical Missions Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, the Sri Ramachandra University Hospital, the Heart Institute of Chennai, and the Shankara Nethralaya (Temple of the Eye), an eye hospital. Cultural institutions in Chennai include the Madras Music Academy, devoted to the encouragement of Karnatak music

the music of Karnataka, the historical region between the southern Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal and the Deccan plateau. The Kalakshetra is a centre of dance and music, and the Rasika Ranjini Sabha, in Mylapore, encourages the theatrical arts. The city has training centres for kuchipudi and bharata natyam<script src="http://adserver.adtechus.com/addyn/3.0/5308.1/1388674/ 0/170/ADTECH;target=_blank;grp=71;key=false;kvqsegs=D;kvt opicid=356057;misc=1310685627092"></script> (Indian classical dance forms). Kalakshetra and Sri Krishna Gana Sabha, a cultural institution, both host annual dance festivals. The suburban town of Kodambakkam, with its numerous film studios, is described as the Hollywood of southern India. Three theatresthe Childrens Theatre, the Annamalai Manram, and the Museum Theatreare popular. The Chennai Government Museum has exhibitions on the history and physical aspects of Tamil Nadu. There is a small collection of East India Company antiquities in the Fort Museum (within Fort St. George) and a collection of paintings in the National Art Gallery. Squash, cricket, tennis, and hockey are popular sports in Chennai and its surrounding region. The Madras Cricket Club (1848), located behind the Chepauk Palace, is host to major national sports tournaments. The city has many other clubs and associations including motor sports, chess, and equestrian events. Rowing and yachting have a small but loyal following at the Madras Boat Club (1867) and the Royal Madras Yacht Club (1911). Guindy National Park is a wildlife sanctuary situated in the heart of the city. Other places for recreation in and around Chennai are the Chennai Crocodile Bank, Pulicat Lake (a large saltwater lagoon), a bird sanctuary, and a zoological park. Chennai is well connected by road, rail, air, and sea. It has an international airport and seaport. Within the city a network of bus services and auto-rickshaws are common modes of transport. The historic town of Mamallapuram with its shore temple, about 37 miles (60 km) south of Chennai, is a popular tourist destination. LI