Chennai

Chennai (சென்னை in Tamil), formerly known as Madras, is the capital of the state of Tamil Nadu and is India's fourth largest city. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. With an estimated population of 7.45 million (2005), the 367-year-old city is the 41st largest metropolitan area in the world.

Culture

Chennai's culture reflects its diverse population. The city is known for its classical dance shows and Hindu temples. Every December, Chennai holds a five week-long Music Season, which has been described as one of the world's largest cultural events.{{inote|http://www.hindu.com/2005/02/03/stories/2005020301281000.htm}} The Music Season encompasses performances (kutcheries) of traditional Carnatic music by hundreds of artists in and around the city.

Related Topics:
Music Season - Carnatic

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Chennai is also known for the classical Indian dance, the Bharatanatyam, which is also the official dance of Tamil Nadu. An important cultural centre for Bharatanatyam is Kalakshetra (Sanskrit for "place of the arts"), located on the beach in the south of the city.

Related Topics:
Bharatanatyam - Kalakshetra - Sanskrit

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Chennai has a vibrant theatre scene, with a large number of Tamil plays being performed. In general, Tamil theatre is divided into the sabha-oriented theatre which are parodies on political issues or trends supported by slapstick comedy and the non-sabha oriented theatre which include serious plays and historical plays. English theatre is also popular. School and college cultural festivals (locally called culfests) play an important role by providing platforms for the city's youth to indulge in art and culture. These culfests attract participants from around India. Some of the larger culfests in the city are Saarang (IIT Madras), Deep Woods (Madras Christian College) and Down Sterling (Loyola).

Related Topics:
Culfest - Saarang - IIT Madras - Deep Woods - Madras Christian College - Down Sterling - Loyola

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Chennai is the base for the large Tamil movie industry, dubbed Kollywood after the locality of Kodambakkam where most of the movie studios are located. The industry makes about 300 Tamil movies a year, and its film soundtracks dominates the music scene in the city.

Related Topics:
Kollywood - Kodambakkam - Film soundtrack

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Chennai celebrates a number of festivals. Pongal, celebrated in the month of January, is the most important festival of and is celebrated over a period of five days. Being a cosmopolitan city, almost all major religious festivals like Deepavalli, Eid and Christmas are celebrated here.

Related Topics:
Pongal - Deepavalli - Eid - Christmas

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Chennai is famous for its numerous restauraunts that offer light meals or tiffin which usually include rice based dishes like pongal, dosa, idli or vada, served with steaming hot filter coffee, a very popular beverage consumed in Chennai. This unique cuisine is replicated in many a Madras Cafe in other parts of India and the world.

Related Topics:
Tiffin - Pongal - Dosa - Idli - Vada - Filter coffee

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