The doorway to South India, Chennai is a miraculous gift the land of Tamil Nadu embraces. Drawing the quality of 'Unity in Diversity' from the homeland country India, Chennai carries the legacy of rich cultural heritage imbibed in its fine arts, music and dance forms, people and cuisines. The attribute of being a cosmopolitan city, Chennai mirrors confluence of all the diverse cultures nourishing within its boundaries. The residents of the city living in sheer harmony with each other confirm that the varied culture exists, but not at the cost of peace and tranquillity of Chennai. The festivals colour Chennai in the fun and fervour of the celebrations. A number of monuments silently express the glorious history of the city they witnessed, the traditional art forms they preserved and continued to keep it alive. The spirit of Chennai, vibrant culture and reminiscent traditions all make the city wonderful and tremendously important as a part of Indian heritage.Chennai Culture And Traditions
History
Chennai, yesterday's Madras, remained under the influence of many great dynasties like the Pallavas, the Cholas, the Pandyas and the Vijaynagar Empire. From just being a fishing village known as 'Madraspatnam', the city became one of the most important city of the country, though slowly and steadily. The credit for establishment of the city goes to Francis Day and Andrew Cogan who began factory-cum-trading post in Chennai for the very first time in 1639.
People
People, the power of a nation, come to Chennai from all directions making it a major cosmopolitan city in the southern region of India. Having core value system and orthodox beliefs, the residents of the city are famous for their hospitality and warmth. Their deep rooted beliefs and customs upholding brotherhood, tranquillity and mutual respect drive their daily chores from celebrations to mournful times.
Religions
Chennai is home to various religions, each enjoying respect and faith from even the non-followers. From Hindu, Muslims, Christians to Janise, Chennai has warmly welcomed them all. These people living in harmony increase the magnificence of Chennai manifold. At the end of it, the metropolitan city, Chennai, is a breathing example of perfect confluence of traditional beliefs and modernity in one's life.
Languages
The capital city and metropolis Chennai is no less than a wonder to explore when it comes to language. Multiple people, hailing from diverse backgrounds lead to the flow of many languages within the territory of Chennai. Though Tamil enjoys the status of being the prime language in the city and the mother tongue, popularly articulated by the citizens of the city, however, people belonging to different regions have brought their native languages with them. Other spoken languages here are English, French, Portuguese, Dutch, Telugu, Urdu, Kannada, Bengali, Punjabi and Malayalam.
Cuisines
When it comes to hospitality and traditional food, Chennai beats many of the cities easily. As serving food is seen as an utmost pious deed in the entire South India, get ready to experience unforgettable moments while dining in the land of Chennai. They serve number of traditional foodstuffs including sambhar, dosa, idli, rasam, coconut chutney, dry curry and kootu etc with steamed rice on banana leaf, which is the traditional way of dining in Chennai. The city has multiple variants of cuisines for vegan as well as for non-vegetarians. Do not forget to taste the rich Tamilian filtered coffee.
