Chennai, also known as Madras, the capital of TamilNadu, is the country's fourth largest city. Compared to the other major metros of India, it is far less congested and polluted. Chennai has more than 5 million people. It is not a very large city since the radius is about 20km only. The traffic is busy and maybe the only sign of that Chennai is actually a huge city. Public transportation is well organised with suburban trains and frequent bus services everywhere in the city.

On an organisational level, the city boasts of reasonably efficient public services, public buses, and commuter trains run smoothly. A great deal of industrial expansion has taken place in Chennai recently, with the mushrooming of engineering plants, car-assembly plants, educational institutions, and textile manufacturing units. Though there are no major attractions as such, it does have the second biggest beach in the world, the Marina Beach. Though a popular tourist spot, the beach is not really a favourite with swimmers, as the sea is known to house a sizeable population of sharks. Chennai is a vibrant city that has managed to strike a beautiful balance between the modern and the traditional, a metropolis with a distinct old - world charm.

Chennai is a very colourful city with lots of happy beautiful faces. You will find Hindu temples in most corners but there are also lots of religious minorities including quite large communities of Christians and Muslims. The different religions are living side by side peacefully. Religion is very important in South India, but there is also much respect for the differences. There is much less poverty than in the northern parts of India, though there are slum areas and beggars here too.

Chennai is a very traditional city, maybe more Indian than Delhi or Mumbai. Most women dress in traditional clothes like Sari or Salvar Kamesh. Quite a few of the men you see in the streets will use a dhothty or a lungi. However in business the men mostly dress in western clothes.

The weather

You will often be told that there are three seasons in Madras: The hot, the hotter and the hottest. Actually it's not that bad. The closeness to the equator and the sea makes the difference in temperatures over the year very small. The table below is showing approximate temperatures and weather types, and the variations from year to year are normally very small. Unlike in most North European countries the weather is quite predictable.