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The
Conference and the Training Program will be held at the KOODAL
Hall of the Institute for Ocean Management, Anna University, Chennai.
A View of the Chennai City:
Chennai
is located near the 13th north parallel and 80 degree longitude. The
city stretches its 19 km length along the Coromandel Coast. Now officially
referred to by its Tamil name, Chennai is India's fourth largest city,
and the capital of Tamil Nadu state.By
its key position in the global routes air or sea, the city serves
as a gateway for South India. It is a city with an ancient civilization
and rich heritage exemplified by its many monuments, temples, churches
and mosques. The famous Marina, the World's second largest beach running
to nearly 6 km is the major attraction of the city. Except
for four pleasant months, November to February, the weather is uniformly
hot and humid. December and January are the coolest months with a
mean temperature of 24°C. Particularly charming features of Madras
are its allegiance to ancient traditions, no matter how modernized
it has become.
CHENNAI
- THE GATEWAY TO SOUTHERN INDIA
Popularly regarded as "The Gateway to
the South", Chennai is the fourth largest city in India and the capital
of Tamil Nadu state. With a vast population of about six million people,
Chennai is a city that is growing, expanding and changing vigorously
Location of Chennai
Chennai has the Bay of Bengal bordering
its east, while the state of Andhra Pradesh is on its northwest. It
has the Kanchipuram on its south and the states of Kerala and Karnataka
on its western side.
Chennai, previously called Madras, is
comparatively a new city, about 350 years old. The erstwhile villages
of Mylapore, Triplicane, Ezhambur (Egmore), etc., all now a part of
Chennai, have a recorded historical past centuries older than Chennai.
Chennai is a gracious city that has a clear skyline, long sandy beaches,
parks, historic landmarks and tourist infrastructural facilities which
make it a convenient entry point or base to start a tour of Tamil
Nadu and South India.
Below
you can find some past and present glimpses of Chennai City and its
coast
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PRIME ATTRACTIONS
Marina Beach -
Golden
sand, good surf and a shimmering clean blue sea; this in a nutshell
is Marina beach. This beach is counted among one of the longest beaches
in Asia
Theosophical Society - On a vast expanse of over 250 acres
on the banks of the Adyar estuary lies the more-than-a-century-old
Theosophical Society, amidst the woods, marshes, gardens and waters.
Kapaleeswara Temple - The Kapaleeswara Temple situated in Mylapore
is very famous and attracts thousands of devotees, especially during
festival days.
...more Tourist Attractions in and near Chennai
MGR Film City - Known to the world over for its film industry,
MGR Film City is a special delight, which houses various locations
and settings for film shootings besides dubbing and re-recording theatres
Mahabalipuram - 37 miles from Chennai in South India are the
famous Mahabalipuram group of temples - a UN recognized heritage.
These temples consist of 70 rock-cut monoliths depicting sculptures
of Gods and animals. Mahabalipuram was the naval base and port of
the Pallava dynasty in the 7th century BC. It is known as the city
of the Seven Pagodas and Chariots.
In this picturesque setting along the
sea are some of the most visually impressive temple carvings of South
Indian temple architecture including the ceremonial chariots, elephants,
lions and the popular Nandi bull the favorite mount of Lord Shiva.
The most impressive and the largest bas relief carving is the panel
depicting "Penance of Bhagiratha". It is 80 feet long and 20 feet
high portraying myriad characters, dominated by a group of elephants,
one of them 17 feet long. Today these monuments are protected from
environmental hazards.
Crocodile Bank - Located 42-m from Chennai is a farm where several
species of Indian and African crocodiles and alligators are bred in
captivity. This crocodile bank is on the way to Mahabalipuram and
is run by Romulve Whittaker.
Tirupati - 84-km from Chennai at the extreme south of Andhra
Pradesh is Tirupati, one of the most important pilgrimage centres
of India. ...more Excursions from Chennai
CITIES NEAR CHENNAI
| Kancheepuram |
75 km |
| Mahabalipuram |
58 km |
| Pondicherry |
162 km |
| Tirupati |
154 km. |
| Bangalore
|
334 km |
Arts and Culture
in Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is known for its traditional
ornate paintings, known as Tanjore paintings. This unique art form
has its origin from Tanjore in South India. The portrayal of figures
in these paintings is breathtakingly brilliant. The early paintings
were embedded with real diamonds, rubies and other precious stones.
Presently, pure gold foils and semi precious stones are used to adorn
the paintings.
The Tanjore School of Paintings dates
back to the 16th century. However, there are only a few paintings
that date back that far. The fact remains that most of the paintings
that exist today are not even a hundred years old.
The creation of this painting involves
a lot of dedication and several stages of meticulous work of art.
Shopping in
Chennai
Chennai is renowned for its handlooms;
both exquisite Kancheepuram Silk Saris and the cottons used designer
saris, silk shirts and domestic furniture. The Co-optex showrooms
offer a wide variety of both types of handlooms, where as the Khadi
centers are known for the cotton varieties. The most reputed place
for saris is Nalli (located in T. Nagar), the Rasi showroom in Mylapore
and other sari shops near Panagal Park, T. Nagar specialize in fine
silks. Several boutiques (Man Mandir, Varsidhi, Pitambari etc.) have
exclusively designed more modern saris.
Chennai
is also a major handicrafts center,; the Government's Poompuhar specializing
in metal (bronze) and stone work articles. The Victoria Technical
Institute has perhaps the widest variety of South Indian handicrafts.
Anna Salai offers comfortable shopping for all varieties of goods
in western comfort, whereas George Town offers the same variety in
a bazaar atmosphere.
Other places to try out are Spencers
Plaza for everything under one roof, Vummidiars for authentic diamonds.
Map of Chennai
City:
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