The Dravidians founded the beautiful State of Tamil Nadu 5,000 years ago. Today it is home to some of the most magnificent sculptures and architectural wonders of the world.

About 350 years ago, Tamil Nadu's capital city Chennai was created by the East India Company. The last king of the vanishing Vijayanagar Empire, Rajah of Chandragiri offered Francis Day, an East India Company trader, a three-mile long strip of land. In july 1639 Francis Day and his superior built a factory, which was named Fort St. George.

When the British were in complete control of the city, after a decade's feud with the French, they expanded the city by encompassing the neighbouring villages of Triplicane, Egmore, Purasawalkam and Chetput to form the city of Chennapatnam, as it was known then.

Besides being Britain's first bastion from which flourished an empire, Chennai, formely known as Madras retains a harmonious blend of the old and the new. Elaborate pujas are part of every home. Women still wear flowers in their hair and young girl pratice the age-old Bharatanatayam Dance everyday. In this charming city modernization has not dampened the rich heritage handed down from generation to generation.

MAHABALIPURAM (Mamallapuram)

The town of temples, sand & sea - Mamallapuram, formerly known as Mahabalipuram, is world renowned for its beautiful shore Temple. It was once the main port and naval base of the great Pallava Kingdom and was later made the capital of this Dynasty..

Mamalla meaning the great wrestler, was the name given to King Narasimha Varma I. Most of the temples and sculptures in Mamallapuram dedicated to Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu, were completed between 630 A.D and 728 A. D. during the reign of Narasimha Varma I and II.

Sand, water and temples set the backdrop for the graceful and evocative dancers who celebrate the ancient Indian culture and tradition at the annual Mamallapuram Dance Festival held during january and February. Here the expressive Indian Classical dancers adorned in traditional costumes perform Odissi, Kuchupudi, Kathakali and Bharatanatyam.

MADURAI

Madurai, situated in southern Tamil Nadu, is a district with its headquarters in Madurai city, on the banks of Vaigai river. Madurai is the second largest city in Tamil Nadu. It is more than 2,500 years old and is an important cultural and commercial centre. Madurai, once the seat of Tamil learning and still the place where Tamil language is spoken in its purest form is an ancient city. The ancient structure was planned in the shape of a lotus. Legend has it that Lord Indra installed a lingam in a shrine and imformed king

Kulasekhara, who had the forest cleared and a lotus-shaped city built around it. On the day this Pandian monarch was to name his new city, Lord Shiva appeared to bless the people and nectar flowed from his matted locks. so it was called 'Madhurapuri' and later it became Madurai.

The last of the three Tamil academies (Sangams) flourished here nearly two thousand years ago. The pandyas, great patrons of Tamil learning, art and architecture, were succeeded by the Nayakas who preserved the owrk of earlier kingdoms and enriched their traditions.

Modern Madurai is a burgeoning industrial centre, even though the vast stretches of lush paddy fields, dusty roads and crowded bazzars make it seem almost like an overgrown village.

TIRUCHI (TRICHY)

Tiruchirappalli now called Trichy is situated on the banks of the Cauvery river. Trichy, the fourth largest city in the state was a citadel of the early Cholas which later fell to the Pallavas. But the Pallavas never really managed to retain control of this strategic city and lost it to the Pandyas several times. The struggle for power between the Pallavas and Pandyas continued till 10th centuryas the Cholas asserted and assumed the reigns until the deadline of the century.
When this empire collapsed in 1565, Trichy came to be under the rule of the Nayaks of Madurai, the Marathas, the Nawabs of Carnatic, the French and finally the British. But it was under the Nayaks of Madurai that Trichy prospered in its own right and grew to be the city that it is today. The city is a fine blend of the traditions and modern and is built around the Rock Fort. Apart from the fort there are several churches, colleges and missions dating back to the 1760s. With excellent infrastructure facilities Trichy is a good base to see east-central TamilNadu.

Trichy's most famous landmark is an 83m high rock which is the only outcrop in the otherwise flat land of the city. The most amazing fact about the rock is that it is one of the oldest in the world-approximately 3,800 years, which makes it as old as the rocks of Greenland and older than the Himalayas. Atop of the rock is the Ucchi Pillayar Koil, a temple dedicated to Lord Vinayaka, from where one can enjoy a panoramic view of Trichy. A flight of steps leads to the Mathrubutheswarar or Thayumanaswami temple dedicated to Lord Siva where the lingam is a projection of the rock itself.