Chennai is situated
on the North-East end of Tamil Nadu along the coast of
Bay of Bengal. It lies between 12* 9' and 13* 9' of
the Northern latitude and 80* 12' and 80* 19' of the
southern longitude on a `sandy shelving breaker swept
beach'. It stretches nearly 25.60 kms. along the Bay
coast from Thiruvanmiyur in the South to Thiruvottiyur
in the North and runs inland in a rugged semi-circular
fashion. It is bounded on the east by the Bay of Bengal
and on the remaining three sides by Chengalpattu and
Thiruvallur Districts
.
The city of Chennai came into being due to a strategic
necessity and a historical accident. It symbolises the
rise of British power in South India due to the setting up
and consolidation of the East India Company in the
seventeenth century with its headquarters at Fort
St. George in Chennai as a trading centre. Within
350 years, a few scattered villages (important among them being
Mylapore, Triplicane and Chennai Patnam) had developed
into a modern metropolitan city without shedding their
traditional customs, religious outlooks and other traditions.
It can be proudly remarked that the greatness of ancient
Chennai is mostly religious due to the preservation
of the old and famous Saivaite and Vaishnavite shrines,
signifying the antiquity of the place.
