Chennai

The city that the British named Madras remains a major gateway to South India. In 1640 an East India Company agent Francis Day negotiated with the Raja of Chandragiri, the last Vijayanagar ruler, for a strip of land on the Coromandel coast; the British built a fortified factory there, called it Fort St. George after England's patron saint, and began what would become the modern city of today. From the time the British built their fort on that sliver of beach, the city has grown by absorbing the surrounding villages. Each area has developed distinctly, often along caste lines, from the Chettiars (South Indian groups of traders) of George Town to the civil servants and businessmen of Nungambakkam. At 4.4 million, Chennai is the fourth-largest city in India, and it continues to grow. Municipal boundaries expand; multistory apartments, office buildings, and malls replace bungalows; and new residential areas spring up along the Shore Road to Mahabalipuram.

Growth has made traffic nearly unbearable at times here, with increasing pollution and noise levels. Cars, buses, trucks, auto-rickshaws (or "autos," as they're popularly called), mopeds, bicycles, motorcycles, pedestrians, fruit carts, and cows all compete for space in the streets. (Traffic on the main streets, like Anna Salai, is regulated and moves along relatively smoothly.) The city's water supply is woefully inadequate—nonexistent in some areas. Tanker trucks bringing water around the city add to the congestion and pollution.

The rapid arrival of multinational corporations has changed the placid pace of life in Chennai, which in the old days was alive at 5 AM and asleep by 9 PM. Still, nothing seems to have shaken the city's spiritual essence. Chennai is a fascinating place; its cosmopolitan face contrasting sharply with its resolutely religious soul.

Just as the town itself has been renamed, so have many of its streets, very often to honor contemporary politicians. Many of the new names are not actually used that often, but here's a partial list, with the old name listed first (salai means street or road): Mount Road—Anna Salai; Chamier's Road—Muthuramalinga Road; Mowbray's Road—T. T. K. (Krishnamachari) Road; Edward Eliot's Road—Radhakrishnan Salai; North Beach Road—Rajaji Salai; Nungambakkam High Road—Mahatma Gandhi Salai; Poonamallee High Road—Periyar E. V. R. High Road; South Beach Road—Kamarajar Road. Also note that the Thyagaraja Nagar area, in the southern part of the city, is always referred to as T. Nagar, and Raja Annamalai Puram is always called R. A. Puram.

Getting the Lay of the Land

For getting around town for any visit of more than just a few days, the Eicher company's very thorough street map of Chennai is invaluable. The book (Rs. 220) is available at most bookstores and many newsstands.