Fort St.
George Chennai
The museum in the fort is a rare display of weapons,
uniforms, coins, costumes, medals and many other classic
items, which reminds us of the ancient India. The exterior
of the museum exhibits an array of massive cannons used
by Tipu Sultan. Also the flagstaff in fort St. George
is the tallest one in India.
If history is your interests then surely visit the Fort
St. George in Chennai. By reading the phrase of history
and fort don't be under the misconception that it is
related to some royal dignitaries. Fort St. George is
related to the development of the city of madras, which
is at present the famous metropolitan city of India,
and popularly known as Chennai.
Locating fort St. George for any outsider visitor is
not a problem as it is situated in the city center.
If you are living in the main city center take any auto
rickshaw or cycle rickshaw and visit the fort. But be
careful of the real rates, as most of the rickshaws
are unmetered. It is better to confirm the rate from
any native person and then to bargain with the rickshaw
drivers.
The fort St. George was built by the east India Company
in 1639-40. It was one of the first English establishments
in India. The modern bustling Chennai city grew from
a small fishing village called Madraspatnam. The Raja
of Chandragiri who is the last representative of the
Vijayanagar rulers of Hampi gave this small piece of
land. In this piece of land a fort along with a town
was built which was later famous as George Town. It
was given recognition of the first municipal charter
in 1688 by James-II and so it is the oldest municipal
corporation and the ruling community is proud of it.
Even today all the administrative functions of this
metropolitan city are performed from this building.
This monumental heritage building is the State Legislative
Assembly of the metropolitan city of Madras. It is also
the Secretarial office of the Tamil Nadu government.
Within the arena of fort St. George of chennai you
can also find St. Mary's church, which is the oldest
Anglican Church in India. It was built in 1680 and the
ancient prayer house witnessed the marriages of Rover
Clive and Governor Elinu-Yale who later became the founder
of the University of Yales.
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Freemasons Hall In Chennai
To have a clear understanding of the excellent architecture
and lifestyle of ancient Madras make a tour to the Freemasons
hall in Chennai. The state of your brain after you complete
your tour of Chennai should be filled with clear picture
of the culture, ancestral history, architecture and
origin of the city.
Freemasons hall is situated in the Commander-in-chief
Road in Egmore. You can hire auto rickshaws or cycle
rickshaws. But while hiring the auto rickshaws fix the
rate before you begin your tour. As some of them are
unmetered and even if they are metered they generally
charge more. The normal charge is to pay Rs.8 after
every one kilometer. If you want to have a lavishing
tour then you can also hire luxurious coaches.
Freemason hall in Chennai was constructed in 1923.
The hall as a whole is in a very proportionate shape
with four circular pillars erected on it. The construction
and architecture of the building follows a particular
Greek fashion. The elevated ceiling with doomed tops
and circular designs in the center gives an embellished
look to the structure. The interiors are exquisitely
carved and sparkled with Italian tiles and marbles.
The freemasons hall in Chennai is double storeyed.
One of the room is so spacious that it can accommodate
200 people at a stretch. In the smaller room generally
meetings are held which have a capacity of accommodating
60 people. You can reach the dinning room, which is
in the first floor through a winding staircase. The
dinning room in the freemasons hall has a seating arrangement
of 150 people at a time. The staircase leading to the
freemasons dinning room is made up of Sholingar Stones
and the passage is made up of Italian tiles. The larger
Lodge Room is ventilated by clerestory windows, which
are 12 feet above the ground level. The walls of the
hall are decked with Masonic emblems. The hall has got
a finishing touch with fine polished Madras plaster
with Greek designs and symbols embedded on it.
The interesting fact of this structure is that though
the freemasons hall is a live example of Greek architecture
the construction, supply of the building materials and
the management of the construction work are all inspected
by Madras firms.
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Kamaraj Memorial House
Chennai
If the thirst of knowledge is always there in your throat
then visit in Madras the Kamaraj Memorial House. In
this kamaraj Memorial house you will have a clear picture
of the political life of India just after the independence.
The Kamaraj Memorial house is situated on T. Nagar
and if you are staying in Chennai city you can easily
hire one auto rickshaw and visit the memorial. It is
better to fix the fare first before beginning your short
visit. Also you can hire luxurious cabs if you prefer.
The Kamaraj memorial house is built to pay homage to
the Late Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Shri Kamaraj.
M.G Ramachandran the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu
inaugurated this memorial on 15th July 1978. This memorial
is a display of variegated photos of Kamaraj his lifestyle
at various ages and at different conditions.
In the ground floor of the kamaraj memorial house is
the bedroom of this bachelor chief minister, which is
furnished with humble furnitures. You can also view
the library which have a very good collection of books
including the political volumes like the 'Lok Sabha
Debates', '100 Modern Lives', 'Churchill' and 'Doctor
Zhivago'.
Then coming to the dinning hall of the kamaraj House
you can view the black and white photographs of the
different stages of Kamaraj life ranging from his childhood
to his last years. You can also view him with great
dignitaries like Jawarharlal Nehru, Sarojini Naidu,
Sathyamurthy, Dr S. Radhakrishnan, Rajendra Prasad,
Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi, Periyar, M.G Ramachandran,
Govind Vallabh Pant, Martin Luther King and Queen Elizabeth.
Then in the second floor you can view Kamaraj's colorful
display of luxurious shawls, which is a sharp contrast
to his humble living style.
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MGR Memorial Chennai
This memorial is set up in the memory of the famous
actor cum politician MGR Ramachandran. Mrs. Janaki MGR
inaugurated the MGR memorial on May 1990. The surprising
feature in this memorial lies in the fact that there
is not even a single sponsor, which is very much essential
for the maintenance of any heritage monument. As you
step the entrance gate there is no ticket fee even till
this date beginning from the inauguration day.
It is better to plan your travel first and then begin
it. But to plan a tour about an unknown place is not
quite easy. So it is better to get a picture of the
place in your mind before you begin your trip. This
knowledge will help you in selecting the places that
are to be seen according to your interest.
If you are planning a trip to Chennai, which was earlier
known as Madras, make a visit to the MGR memorial in
Chennai. This MGR Memorial is at Pondy Bazaar, which
is within Chennai. So if you are staying at Madras city
then a trip to the MGR memorial in Madras wont be a
problem. You can get a wide variety of transport according
to your needs. For cheap mode of communication you can
hire auto rickshaws or cycle rickshaws. If you want
to enjoy a luxurious trip in Madras then you can also
hire air-conditioned cab.
As you reach the first floor you can see the swords,
spears, heavy wooden clubs used by the actor, his plate,
tumbler, telephone instrument, the shirts that adorned
him, the medals won by him, television, the books read
by MGR, camera, trolley and even the cloth bandage which
was used by him when he was shot down. Among all these
antique things you can see a stuffed lion, which he
had bought for the production of his film 'Adimai Penn'.
He took good care of the lion and when it died he spent
a large amount of money to bury the lion after getting
a special permission from the government.
Thousand Lights Mosque
Chennai
The name of thousand Lights Mosque is enough to make
the outside visitors curious. And this curiosity is
sure to compel you to have a glimpse of the widely known
mosque.
By now you must be eager enough to visit the thousand
Lights Mosque in Chennai. All you have a do is to hire
a public auto rickshaw or get one of the luxurious cabs
if you choose to do so. Thousand light Mosque is near
to the Anna flyover, which is again on the Mount Road.
If you are near to the Anna flyover you can make a quick
visit by the cycle rickshaw too. But fix the fare up
before getting into the vehicle, as all the rickshaws
are unmetered.
This curiously named thousand light mosque is situated
at the meeting point of Mount Road and Peters Road.
The thousand lights Mosque in chennai is built on 3
acres of land, which was donated by Nawab Wallajah.
There is an interesting story behind this unusual mosque
name. Above one thousand lights is said to have been
used to light up the Assembly Hall.
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