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  01 MAIN
   
   
  02 NEWSMAKER
   
   
  03 TRADE AND ECONOMY
   
   
  04 INVESTMENT UPDATE
   
   
  05 NRI / POLICY
   
   
 

06 CULTURE
   
   
  07 TRAVEL
   
   
  08 CALENDAR
   

   
  HIGHLIGHTS
   
 

Minister invites NRI Investments in Telecom & IT Sectors
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Traditional Crafts of India
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  Gateway to the South
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07 TRAVEL
 


Chennai, the capital city of Tamil Nadu is the fourth largest metropolis in India. Located on a 17 km stretch of the Coramandel coast, the city is trisected by the waterways of Cooum and Adyar and the Buckingham Canal. With a population of 6 million people, Chennai is a vibrant city ever growing, expanding and changing every year.

Popularly regarded as the "Gateway to the South", Chennai presents a culture that is distinctly different from that of northern India. Music, dance and all other art forms of the South are cherished and nurtured in this city, which, though industrialized, continues to be traditional and conventional in many ways.

Marina: Marina Beach, the pride of Chennai, is the second largest beach in the world and has a wide sandy foreshore. Situated on the beach, the Anna and MGR samadhis, which are the memorials of the most popular former Chief Ministers of the State attract good crowd everyday. An aquarium is also located on the Marina Beach. Some of the most beautiful buildings in Chennai such as the University of Madras,Senate-House,Chepauk Palace, Presidency College, P.W.D office and Ice House are located on the beach drive.

Kapaleswarar Temple: Not far from Triplicane, in Mylapore, there is yet another 8th century Pallava temple. The temple 'Gopuram' (tower) is characteristic of Dravidian style architecture. Dedicated to Lord Shiva, this temple has some beautiful sculptures, among which the bronze idols of 63 Saivite Saints (Nayanmars), which adorn the outer courtyard are rare specimens. Also in the courtyard under the old Punnai tree is a small shrine depicting Goddess Parvathi in the form of a Peacock Worshipping Lord Shiva.It is from this legend that Mylapore derived it's name -'myil' meaning peacock and 'oor' meaning town.Mylapore swarms with life during the Arupathu Moovar festival that is held in March-April every year. http://www.incredibleindia.org/siteimages/ts.gif

Sri Parthasarathy Temple - This temple in Triplicane is dedicated to Lord Krishna. The Pallavas originally built the temple in the 8th century A.D. though additions were later made to it by the Chola and Vijayanagara kings.

Fort St. George - Fort St. George occupies a place of pride and prominence in Chennai.

The British East India Company under the direct supervision of Francis Day and Andrew Cogon built it in 1640 AD. This bastion achieved name from St. George, the patron saint of England. The fort houses St. Mary's Church and fort museum.St. Mary's Church the oldest Anglican Church in India built in 1680 and the tombstones in its courtyard are the oldest British tombstones in India.

Valluvar Kottam - The memorial to the poet-saint Tiruvalluvar is shaped like a temple chariot and is, in fact, the replica of the temple chariot in Thiruvarur. A life-size statue of the saint has been installed in the chariot, which is 33m. tall. The 133 chapters of his famous work Thirukkural have been depicted in bas-relief in the front hall corridors of the chariot.

The auditorium at Valluvar Kottam is said to be the largest in Asia and can accommodate about 4000 people. It stands as a modern memorial to the great poet who represents the glorious culture of the Tamils.

http://www.incredibleindia.org/siteimages/ts.gifAnna Zoological Park (Vandalur) - Its main attractions are: Safari parks, a nocturnal animal house, an Aquarium, Natural Museum etc.

Birla Planetarium: The Birla Planetarium at Kotturpuram, between Adyar and Guindy, is the most modern planetarium in the country. Adjoining the planetarium is a Periyar Science and Technology Museum which will be of interest to students and other science scholars.

Kalakshetra: In Thiruvanmiyur, beyond Elliot's beach, is Kalakshetra or 'Temple of Art'. It was founded in 1936 by Rukmini Devi Arundale to train, encourage and revive interest in Bharatanatyam, which is the classical dance form of the state. This institution is among the finest of its kind in the country and is run on the ancient gurukulam system. Throughout the year Kalakshetra conducts music recital and dance performances in different parts of Chennai.

The Government Museum: The National Art Gallery, Gallery of Contemporary Arts and Children's Museum also lie in the Museum Complex.

For more information, visit
www.incredibleindia.org
www.tamilnadutourism.org

 

India sees over 6% jump in tourist arrivals

Everybody thought that a global meltdown and terror attacks will stop tourists from travelling to India. But the facts say a different story. According to initial figures prepared by the Union ministry of tourism (MoT), there has been a 6-8% jump in foreign tourist arrivals in 2008 over the corresponding year 2007. Last year, the tourist arrivals to the country were 5.3 million as compared to 5.08 million in 2007. According to a senior tourism ministry official, foreign exchange earnings from this sector also showed a growth of 8% at $11.5 billion in 2008 as against $10.70 billion registered in 2007.

Says Leena Nandan, joint secretary, ministry of tourism, "There has been a reasonably good growth this year keeping in mind the global economic meltdown and terror incidents. Now we need to have a higher involvement in improving the basic facilities by adopting such centres for improvement of facilities since the government alone can't do the job. The tourism sector has been one of the fastest growing sectors in the country. It offers immense opportunities to entrepreneurs in various segments and industry should work aggressively to get better results."

The United Kingdom contributed the largest number of visitors with more than seven lakh, followed by the US with almost five lakh. While France has shown a growth of 16%, visitors from Germany has seen a 22% growth.

From the South Asian countries the visitor growth in 2008 has been significant at 20%. Latin American countries, particularly Brazil, Argentina and Mexico, where some major road shows were done by the ministry over the last two years, have shown a huge upsurge in interest and there was a 25% increase in arrivals from Brazil alone.

Says K B Kachru, country head, Carlson group, "The tourist arrival figures clearly indicate that foreign tourist arrivals has not taken a beating. The tourism sector has shown much faster growth as compared to other sectors in the last few years. Now there is a need to push the tourism sector, and the 2010 Commonwealth Games should bring in the required infrastructure to the country."

According to a report prepared by the ministry, there has been an increase in traffic to the tune of 75% with employment generation up by more than 43% between 2002 and 2007. It is estimated that more than $6.5 billion of investment has already come for the construction of new star hotels. The shortage of rooms in major metros is adversely affecting the flow of tourists to the cities as well as to other urban destinations.

Source : The Economic Times
 
 
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