Located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal, it is the capital of the SE state of Tamil Nadu, & with a population of 7.5 million, it is 4th largest city in India. The British developed Madras into a significant urban center & naval base & today it is a large commercial & industrial center that is known for its cultural heritage & temple architecture. It is also the automobile capital of India - about 40% of India’s automobile industry has a base here. Chennai is also the 2nd largest exporter of Information Technology in the country, after Bangalore.

Chennai was just a fishing village when the British East India Company built a fort/trading post there in 1639-40. Since the weaving of cotton fabrics was a local industry, the English invited weavers & merchants to settle near the fort. By 1652, Fort St. George was recognized as a presidency (an administrative unit governed by a president). By 1801, the local rulers had lost all of their remaining powers & the English had become masters of southern India, with Madras as their administrative & commercial capital.

Chennai is blessed with many tourist attractions including beautiful temples & churches, serene beaches, & colonial monuments. I didn’t have time to check many of them, but you can look here if you plan to go: http://www.chennai.org.uk/tourist-attractions.html