Know your city
Chennai - better known in its former incarnation as the much more tropical and exotic sounding Chennai is famous in most guide books for having the second largest beach in the world! There is of course much more to this interesting city that has now become one of our most popular destinations for gap year volunteers in India.
Chennai, the fourth largest city in India, really is the gateway to South India with its tropical weather, bright saris, lungi (skirt) wearing men, fabulous exotic beaches and myriad of temples. The people are extremely friendly, there is less poverty and much more education in the South although the culture is much more conservative. Put all this alongside the rapid economic growth of the city, the traffic, 5 star hotels, cinema multiplexes and numerous new shopping malls and it has the making of quite an adventure for a gap year or career break. This is real India, not the tourist version!
One of the main benefits of visiting Chennai is that it is not yet on the tourist map
History of the city
Chennai was the new name decreed by popular consent in 1993 thus changing it from Madras, the name that was used by the British when they set up the East India Trading Company in a tiny village called Madras Patnam around 1700. Over the years the City grew tremendously through its location on the trade routes and for having a deep water port. When the British Empire took over from the East India Company after the Mutiny of 1857, Chennai was no longer a fishing hamlet but a thriving city.
Amusingly, the British administration for South India though based in Chennai couldn’t cope with the summer heat and would pack up everything from the government and corporation buildings at the start of summer. They then transported everything, desks, files and employees up to the hill stations of the Nilgiris, 2 days travel away for the whole 6 months of the summer season! The hill stations have much more clement weather, much like a good English summer’s day.
There is still visible evidence across the city of British colonization, with some lovely buildings dotted around the City including the main administration centre of Fort St. George. However, unfortunately many are just crumbling away or being demolished in favor of concrete high rise apartments to house the growing population - now numbering almost 7 million!
Business in the city
The economic make up of the city is varied, unlike some other locations that have concentrated on IT and the service industries. Chennai undertakes 40% of the country’s vehicle manufacturing making it known as the Detroit of India. Being on the coast makes it ideally located for exporting goods -there are thus thriving leather, textile and clothing manufacturing industries which export their products all over the world. IT, Banking and Service Industries are also prominent giving Chennai a wide spread of economic activity rather than reliance on just one area.
The make up of businesses in the city include small and medium sized enterprises with a large number of retail outlets from one man stands selling cigarettes or coconuts to multi nationals like Benetton and Levis as well as substantial presence of large Indian and multi-national companies.
Around Chennai
Weather
Another big difference between north and south India is the weather. Whereas Delhi, which is in the north, can reach zero degrees in the winter and 50 degrees in the summer the south does not suffer such extremes - its just hot all the time! Chennai is south of the Tropic of Cancer but just above the Equator. As such is gets more or less 12 hours day and night with temperatures that never drop below around 28 degrees.
The seasons are generally described as 'hot, hotter and hottest', with a spell in May of about 3 weeks that usually tops out at between 45 to 50 degrees C with 95% humidity! Luckily it doesn't last for long and then settles into a more bearable 33 to 38 degrees March to September with winter seeing typical temperatures of 28 to 33 degrees.
Out & About
Chennai is extremely well located for a number of places and the transport network is excellent. Here are some ideas of where to go for weekends or longer from the city while on you gap break here:
Mahabilapuram - a World Heritage Site about 60km south of Chennai. Famous for its rock carved temples from the Dravidian period. There are also ideal beaches and wonderful resorts here to make a perfect weekend getaway.
Puducherry (Formerly Pondicherry) - now a State Union Territory of India, Pondicherry was founded by the French and you can still see that influence today when visiting. Lovely architecture, wide boulevards fringed with beautiful trees and a legacy of fine cuisine at the numerous restaurants still owned and run by Frano-Indian descendants. Located around 3.5 hours drive south of Chennai
Madurai - the main Temple Town of Tamil Nadu, home of the famous Meenakshi Temple can be reached on overnight train.
Kanyakumari - this is the most southern tip of India where the Bay of Bengal, Arabian and Indian Seas meet and the sun can be seen rising and setting. Can be reached by overnight train.
Bangalore - with its wonderful cool climate, Bangalore makes a great weekend retreat as it can be reached on a 6 hour train ride or a 45 minute flight.
Kerala - The Nilgiris with its wonderful wildlife parks and the World Heritage Site of Hampi can all be reached by overnight train. Chennai: Out and About
Don't be put off by the cost of travel either. Trains are amazingly good value especially if you travel overnight as your bed is included. As an example, the fare for an air conditioned coach on train, with a bed and bedding to the Nilgiris - around a 9 hour journey - would be around 10 pounds.
Internal air travel is also now becoming good value with a number of low cost airlines. Depending upon when and how you book you could get a return flight to Delhi from as low as 80 pounds and to Goa or Bombay for around 60 pounds.
India is the friendliest and easiest country to travel in, so make sure you take advantage of it during your gap year travels!
Culture and Customs
Entertainment
Chennai: Entertainment
Although still a conservative culture Chennai is moving with the times. There are now several night clubs and bars in the city alongside excellent restaurants of every type of cuisine, so there is no chance of your having a dull gap year in this city.
Multiplex cinemas are showing English language Hollywood movies alongside the wonderful colour, glitz and glamour of Bollywood films. Going to an Indian cinema is an experience in itself as you will often find people dancing in the aisles to their favorite Bollywood hit!
Other things to do include Yoga, Ten Pin Bowling, Go-Karting, Horse Riding and even a Flying School, if there is something you particularly want to do or learn while on your gap break here the GapGuru Local Coordinator will be able to help you organize the same.
Festivals & Culture
India has over 1,000 regional festivals a year and the South has its fair share. September and October find the streets lit up with huge portraits of the Hindu Gods and Temples are generally full of people 24 hours a day, fire walks on hot embers by devotees of the Gods are a common sight at this time of the year. September also has the festival of the elephant headed God "Ganesha"- hundreds of pink elephant papier mache Gods, some over 20 feet tall are taken to the sea to be immersed. It causes quite a traffic jam!
Late October or early November is Diwali, the Festival of Lights. It seems every household in Chennai, however poor, buys a box of fireworks on this day and sets them off from dawn until midnight. Go to the tallest building and watch at night for the most spectacular fireworks show you will ever see!
Mid December into January there is the Festival of Indian Music and Dance held in Chennai and Mahabilapuram. This internationally recognized event sees back to back performances every day for over 6 days and is a fantastic showcase of the breadth and depth of the Indian creative arts.
Pongal and the Tamil New Year festivals are usually around Easter time and is a great time for shopping, like the equivalent of the January sales in the UK!
Food
There are many ways of distinguishing the north of India from the south and food is a big one as it is completely different in the two regions. The current UK favorite of Chicken Tikka Masala actually started life in Pakistan not India! Most Indian restaurants in the UK are actually run by people from Pakistan or Bangladesh origin and not from India at all! In South India and in particular in the state of Tamil Nadu most restaurants or café are vegetarian unless they specifically says 'Non-Veg' on the outside. Meat dishes are still readily available but the southern cuisine which is mainly vegetarian, is delicious and it's quite easy to give up meat for the time you are in the City.
The names are fabulous for the local dishes; Idli, Dosa, Uttapam, Appam, Sambar the list goes on - all of them fabulous and hardly available anywhere in the UK! It's worth coming here for the food alone! You can eat in any price range from street food at around 20 rupees (25p) for a meal or 800 rupees (10.00) for a champagne brunch at a 5 star hotel!
