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Madras, India » Entertainment » Attractions
- The Marina Beach
One of the loveliest beaches, The marina Beach possesses the pride to be the second longest beach (4.5 km) in the world. Whether morning or evening one feel relaxed & regenerated even with leisure walk along the marina beach.
Visitors do get to see various statues of Mahatma Gandhi, Sir Thomas Munro, Tilak Bhavan, Tiruvalluvar, Bharathidasan, Kamarajar, Avvaiyar, Swami Sivananda, Thanthai Periyar, Kannagi. Visitors mainly get attracted towards the enchanting location and the picturesque surroundings of the Marina beach.
- Fort St. George
Just to the South of George Town is the Fort St. George. Facing the sea in the east of the city, the Fort symbolizes the British Raj. The British East India Company built the fort for the first time in 1653.Its structure depicts the 17th century British military architecture. It has a 20 feet thick wall.
A number of early buildings can still be found within the fort of which St. Mary's Church is the most interesting one. It is the oldest Protestant Church in the East. Pay accounts office – the former Robert Clive's house stands just opposite the Church. Now Fort St. George houses Tamil Nadu Secretariat and the Legislative Assembly.
- High Court Building
Towards the North of St. George Fort is the High Court Building. It is located on Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose road. This complex houses High Court, the Small Cause's Court and the City Civil Court. Being believed to be the second largest judicial complex in the world was built under the guidance of the renowned architect Henry Irwin during 1892.
The building was constructed using Red sand stone with ornamental decorations on the walls. Stained glass windows and minarets also add beauty to this heritage structure. The pyramid shaped tomb present in the compound belongs to the only son of "Elihu Yale" who died during infancy.
- Kalakshetra
Beyond the Elliot's beach, Thiruvanmiyur is 'The Temple of Art'. It is known as Kalakshetra. This Kalakshetra was founded by ballerina Rukmini Devi Arundale in 1936 with an objective to revive the interest of Bharatnatyam which is a classical dance form of Tamil Nadu. An annual ballet festival is held in Kalakshetra in the month of December. It is considered to be an extraordinary theater. Various music recital and dance performances are conducted by Kalakshetra in different parts of Chennai throughout the year.
- MGR Film City
The MGR Film City is a special delectation as it is the most popular location for Chennai's thriving Tamil Film Industry. It is located at Taramani, Adyar. It is dedicated to the famous Tamil actor MG Ramachandran.
- The Theosophical Society
The said society was established in 1875. It is a worldwide body that believes that life and all its diverse forms whether human or non-human are inseparably one. The primary objective of the society – Universal Brotherhood is based on the same belief. It offers discourse and meditation sessions as well as lectures on positive health and spirituality. The fabled 5000 years old Banyan tree which is spread over 40,000 sq ft in the campus gives fame to the society.
- Valluvar Kottam
Valluvar Kottam was established in 1976 as a commemoration of the famous saint-poet Thiruvalluvar. It is located at Nungambakkam on the corner of Kodambakkam High Road and Village Road. This memorial hall is shaped like a Chariot. It is 39 meter tall and withholds a life-size statue of the saint. Engraved on the granite pillars of the auditorium is the 1330 verse Kural which replicates ancient Tamil architecture.
- Birla Planetarium
The Planetarium is built in the memory of a well known industrialist and visionary, B. M. Birla. It is considered to be the most modern in the country. It houses eight galleries. It is located at Kotturpuram near Adyar. It is a 236-seater hemispherical theater which domiciliates a computerized project which depicts the skies and heavenly bodies on a hemispherical dome.
- Government Museum Complex
Situated at Pantheon road between Egmore and Anna Salai is the Government Museum Complex. It is spread over an area of 16.25 acres. The museum was established in 1856 and has departments of National History and Art. It was previously known as Pantheon Complex in the British period. The recherché collection constitutes of more than 2000 Indian bronzes as well as Amravati marbles belonging to the Buddhist period, 2nd century AD.
- Kapaleswarar Gopuram
The ancient Kapaleeswarar Temple of Chennai depicts classic Dravidian temple sculpture and architecture. The 'gopuram' i.e. the tower of this edifice is sculptured on the same basis. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. A small shrine is dedicated to Goddess Parvathi under an old Punnai Tree in the courtyard of the temple. She has been camouflaged as a peacock and is been shown worshiping Lord Shiva.
- Parthasarathy Temple
One of the ancient temples in Chennai is the Parthasarathy temple. The said temple is dedicated to Lord Krishna. It was built by the Pallavas in 8th century BC which was further renovated by the Vijaynagar kings in the 16th century. The temple occupies an area of over 1.5 acres. Sri Venkata Krishnaswamy is the presiding deity, with a conch in the right hand and the Gnana Mudra pointing to his holy feet. Another name for the deity is Geeta Charya. It is one of the 108 sacred centers of the Vaishnavites. In the praise of the Lord, 4000 poems are recited while celebrating Vaikunta Ekadashi. These poems are known as 'Tamil Vedam'.
- Anna Zoological Park
Chennai is the first city to have a zoo in India. It was started in 1855. Previously the zoo was established in a limited area near Chennai Central Railway Station. But as and how the city grew, the animals started getting infected due to diseases caused on account of growing urbanization, smoke and sound pollution. Hence, to prevent this, a plan was drafted in 1976. According to the plan, Tamil Nadu Government handed over the project to the State Forest Department to construct the park. The objective of this project was to setup a lion safari, bird aviaries, reptile house, nocturnal house and mountain cave entrance. With an advantage of possessing huge variety of flora and fauna, this zoological park serves as the basis for Species and Gene Bank.
- National Park at Guindy
Along with more than 14 varieties of shrubs, over 37 varieties of birds, like black chested, black winged kite, honey buzzard, pariah kite, over 14 types of mammals like elephant, antelope, spotted dear, jungle cat, toddy cat, Indian civet, etc. the park jactitates of over 24 varieties of trees like Amona Squamosa, Atlanta Monoplylla, Feronia Limonia, Azadirachta India, etc. to mention a few.
- San Thome Cathedral Basilica
San Thome Cathedral Basilica derived its origin from the name of an archbishop of the Catholic Christians – St. Thomas. To pay a tribute to a hard core devotee of Jesus Christ a church has been built up in this southern part of Marina beach. The church bears the Gothic style of architecture. Remains of the corpse and few parts of St. Thomas's bone are preserved in an underground burial chamber beneath this Basilica.
