Chennai, the capital of the state of Tamil Nadu and its largest city, is located on the Coromandel Coast of India at an elevation of 22 feet. The city has a population of 4.6 million and it is the sixth most populous city of India where the majority of the population speaks Tamil. The literacy rate is over 90%. The Koovam river flows through the centre, the Adyar river in the south and Kortalaiyar river through the north of Madras. As per the 2011 census, the total population of the district is 4.6 million, the literacy rate is over 90% and the total working age population of the district is 40 percent out of which only one percent participate in the agriculture sector, 2 percent in the household industry and 97 percent in the services and industrial sector for employment. Chennai has a strong base in the industrial sector in the areas of Software, Technology, Hardware Manufacturing, Automobiles, Financial Services and Banking and is one of Indias leading exporters of Information Technology. Chennai and the surrounding region have served as an important administrative, economic, military and political centre for centuries. In the ancient and medieval period, the prominent dynasties that ruled this region included the Cheras, Cholas, Pandyas and the Pallavas of Kanchi. The Portuguese arrived here in 1522 and built one of the oldest churches, St. Thomas Church, at the location where St Thomas was martyred. The church was rebuilt by the British in 1893. During the early days of the British Raj, Fort St George was the headquarters of the oldest presidency of British India and the city evolved to be one of the prominent Administrative, Cultural and Naval bases for the British in India. After independence this city became the capital of the State of Madras, which was renamed as Tamil Nadu in 1969. St. Marys Church is one of the oldest structures of the city and it is from this city that the “Indo-Sarcenic” style of architecture began in India, with the construction of the Chepauk Palace in the 1760s followed by a host of other prominent government buildings. The traditional culture is kept alive in the old temple districts of Mylapore and Triplicane, in the old markets and with people filling up one of Indias longest promenades at Marina Beach every evening.
