San Thome Basilic - Santhome Church

San Thome Basilica is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Santhome, in the city of Chennai (Madras), India. It was built in the 16th century by Portuguese explorers, and rebuilt again with the status of a cathedral by the British in 1893. The British version still stands today. It was designed in neo-Gothic style, favored by British architects in the late 19th century.

It is supposedly built atop the tomb of one of the twelve apostles of Jesus, St. Thomas. It is believed that St. Thomas arrived in Kerala from Palestine in 52 A.D. The apostle is believed to have preached in Chennai (formerly Madras) between 52 A.D. and 72 A.D., when he is said to have been killed on St. Thomas Mount. About 1000 years later his remains were moved inland and a church was built close to the site of his death. The church was renovated around 16th century by the Portuguese, who took most of his remains when they left India. All that is left is his toe.

San Thome Basilica is the principal church of the Madras-Mylapore Catholic Archdiocese. In 1956, Pope Pius XII raised the church to the status of a Minor Basilica, and on February 11, 2006 it was declared as an international shrine by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India. The San Thome Basilica is a pilgrimage center for Christians in India. The church also has an attached museum.

The church is known more for its religious significance than for its aesthetic appeal.

Official Site: www.santhomechurch.com

Marina Beach "Second Largest Beach"

The Marina Beach is a beach situated along a 12 km shoreline in the city of Chennai, India along the Bay of Bengal, part of the Indian Ocean. Unlike the short, rocky formations that make up the Juhu Beach in Mumbai on the west coast of India, the Marina is primarily sandy.

The Marina Beach is the second largest beach in a city after the Ocean Beach, San Francisco, California, the world's longest city beach. The width of the beach at the most widest stretch is 437 meters.

The beach begins near Fort St. George in the north to Besant Nagar in the south, a distance of about 12km.[1] A famous characteristic of the beach is the set of stone statues that adorn the roadside area of the beach. Most statues are of Indian/local legends like Mahatma Gandhi, Kannagi, Thiruvalluvar, while others have symbolic significance like the Statue of Labour. Also memorials for M. G. Ramachandran and C. N. Annadurai, former Chief ministers of Tamil Nadu are present on the beach. Recently, a statue of the legendary actor Sivaji Ganesan was installed.

The Marina used to be famed for its pristine beauty, jolly ambiance, and rich ecosystems. However, since the middle of the 20th century, the beach and water has become polluted. A proliferation of plastic bags, human waste and other pollutants have rendered many parts of the beach unusable.

In recent years, many voluntary organizations have taken up the task of cleaning up the Marina and protecting the ecosystem. Particular efforts include protection of Olive Ridley turtle nests along the Neelangarai section of the beach. Despite these problems however, a visit to the Marina is a sine qua non for any tourist coming to Chennai.

Marina beach is a major tourist attraction. People visiting Chennai make it a point to visit the beach. The beach is popular for its shopsand food stalls. The memorials and statues, morning walk, joggers' track, lovers' spot, aquarium, etc., make it a hangout for people of all ages.The sea is rough and waves are strong. There are fishermen colonies present at both ends of the beach.

Chennai International Airport- 3rd largest international gateway into India

Chennai International Airport(Tamil: சென்னை சர்வதேச விமான நிலையம்) is located in Meenambakkam, 7 km (4.3 mi) south of Chennai, India. It is the third largest international gateway into the country and the third busiest airport in India after Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport and Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport, and the main air hub for South India, handling around 12 million passengers in 2007 and serving more than 50 different airlines. It is also a hub for Jet Airways, Kingfisher Red, Air India and Paramount Airways. It is also an important cargo terminus for the country, after Mumbai.




Chennai had one of the first airports in India, and was the final destination of Air India's first flight from Bombay (Mumbai) via Belgaum in 1954. The first passenger terminal was built at the northeast side of the airfield, which lies in the suburb of Meenambakkam due to which it was referred to as Meenambakkam Airport. A new terminal complex was subsequently built further south near Pallavaram to which passenger operations were shifted. The old terminal building is now used as a cargo terminal and is the base for the Indian courier company Blue Dart.

* In 2007-08, the existing airport handled 1,15,865 aircraft movements and its capacity to handle aircraft movements is likely to be saturated by 2014-15.

* The existing airport can handle about 25 aircraft movement per hour and even after expansion, the airport will get saturated by 2014-15 and the Greenfield Airport has to be ready then. The same logic has been applied in Mumbai, where the Navi Mumbai airport is to be ready in time the existing ones gets saturated around the same time.

* The AAI is of the view that a logical thing would be to construct a new domestic terminal and allow simultaneous use of the cross runways there. These things can take us through till the year 2015.

-D Thangamani
www.theflame.in

Chennai Central - "Gateway of the South"

Chennai Central, formerly known as Madras Central is the main railway terminus in Chennai. It is home to the Southern Railways and the most important rail hub in South India. Trains from here connect the city to other states of India, while trains to other parts of Tamil Nadu (excluding Tiruchirapalli, Madurai and Tirunelveli) are catered to by the Chennai Egmore station. Chennai Central is the main hub for the Chennai suburban railway. The building of the railway station, one of the landmarks of Chennai, was designed by the architect Henry Irwin.

This station is also noted for a whole range of amenities available within the premises. The station has book-shops, restaurants, accommodation, Internet browsing centers and even an essential commodities shopping mall.In 2005, the buildings were painted to a creamy yellow color, but concurring with the views of a campaign by citizens of Chennai and also to retain the old nostalgic charm, they were painted back to their original brick-red color, which was how the buildings were built originally.

Chennai Central serves as a symbolic landmark for people in South India as this served as the main gateway for all people who travelled to South India during British times. Chennai Central has been greatly instrumental in earning Chennai the famous sobriquet "Gateway of the South".

Madras Central was built in 1873 at Parktown as a second terminus to decongest the Royapuram harbour station which was being utilised for port movements. Built in the Gothic Revival style, the original station was designed by George Hardinge and consisted of just four platforms. The station was later modified with the addition of the central clock tower and other changes by Robert Fellowes Chisholm. The redesign was eventually completed in 1900.

Madras Central gained prominence after the beach line was extended further south in 1907 and Royapuram was no longer a terminus for Madras. All trains were then terminated at Madras Central instead and its position was further strengthened after the construction of the headquarters of the Madras and Southern Maratha Railway (erstwhile Madras Railway and now known as the Southern Railway (India)) adjacent to it in 1922.

Chennai is the headquarters of the Southern Railway zone of the Indian Railways.This station has 11 platforms to handle long distance trains and 3 platforms exclusively for suburban trains. The complex for suburban trains is popularly known as the Moore Market complex. There is a platform 2A between platforms 2 and 3; it is used to handle relatively short trains like the Rajdhani Exp., Vijayawada Jan Shatabdi, Bangalore/Mysore Shatabdis and the Gudur Passenger.

Chennai Central used to have trains with special liveries until early 90's. The Brindavan Exp. used to have green livery with a yellow stripe running above and below the windows; Nilgiri Exp. (popularly known as Blue Mountain) had blue livery. All trains now have the standard blue livery (denoting Air-Braked bogies. Notable exceptions include the Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Jan Shatabdi and Saptagiri/Tirupati Exp., which poses a vivid green / cream livery combination with a matching WAM4 6PE loco from Arakkonam(AJJ) electric loco shed.

The building to the west of the railway station is the Ripon building, which houses the Chennai Corporation. To the east of the station lies the Southern Railway headquarters.

-D Thangamani
www.theflame.in

Chennai (Madras) - Capital Of Tamilnadu

Chennai (Tamil: சென்னை IPA: [ˈtʃɛnnəɪ]), formerly known as Madras, is the fourth largest metropolitan area of India and the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal, Chennai had a population of 6.96 million in the 2006 census within its municipal corporation. The urban agglomeration of Chennai has an estimated population over 10 million, making it one of the largest urban agglomerations in India.

The city was established in the 17th century by the British, who developed it into a major urban centre and naval base. By the 20th century, it had become an important administrative centre, as the capital of the Madras Presidency.

Chennai's economy has a broad industrial base in the automobile, technology, hardware manufacturing, and healthcare industries. The city is India's second largest exporter of software, information technology (IT) and information-technology-enabled services (ITES). A major chunk of India's automobile manufacturing industry is based in and around the city. Chennai Zone contributes 39 per cent of the State’s GDP. Chennai accounts for 60 per cent of the country’s automotive exports and is sometimes referred to as "the Detroit of India".

Chennai hosts a large cultural event, the annual Madras Music Season, which includes performances by hundreds of artists. The city has a vibrant theatre scene and is an important centre for the Bharatanatyam, a classical dance form. The Tamil film industry, known as Kollywood, a second largest film industry in India, is based in the city; the soundtracks of the movies dominate its music scene. The city faces problems of water shortages, traffic congestion and air pollution.

-D Thangamani
www.theflame.in