Chennai

Chennai, Tamil Nadu's capital and a major industrial and cultural hub on the Bay of Bengal, blends colonial-era institutions with a deep-rooted classical Carnatic music and Bharatanatyam dance tradition, the city hosting one of the world's largest cultural festivals each December (the Margazhi season) dedicated to these classical art forms. Marina Beach, one of the longest urban beaches in the world, runs along much of the city's eastern edge, while Fort St. George represents the first British settlement in India.

Beyond its cultural and colonial heritage, Chennai has become a major centre for India's automotive manufacturing industry, sometimes called the 'Detroit of India', giving the city a genuinely dual identity as both a guardian of deep Tamil classical culture and a significant modern industrial economy.

Founded around Fort St. George in 1639, Chennai (then Madras) became one of the earliest and most significant British East India Company settlements in India, its role as a colonial administrative and trading centre shaping much of the city's subsequent development.

Chennai has a major international airport and is a significant railway junction on the southern network.