India (Frommer's, 4th Edition) (164 page)

Note:
Kanyakumari,
the venerated southernmost tip of Tamil Nadu, and another worthwhile addition but best reached from Kerala, is discussed in chapter 7.

Tsunami Aftermath

On December 26, 2004, that infamous earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale struck Indonesia’s coast, triggering the tsunami that sped across the Indian Ocean, destroying everything in its path. The Andaman Islands and Tamil Nadu were the worst-affected Indian states, with an estimated loss of 8,000 lives. In Tamil Nadu, the districts of Nagapattinam and Cuddalore suffered most, but the Coromandel Coast’s tourist sites emerged more or less undamaged; in fact, a new discovery was made at Mamallapuram when the wall of water receded (see later). The destruction also produced some good initiatives. Besides plans to install an internationally coordinated high-tech tsunami early-warning system, a program called the Loyola Empowerment and Awareness Programme has offered alternative, more secure career paths for hundreds of children on the north coast. Linked to Chennai’s respected educational institutions, the program has offered a new generation of kids—once slaves to their destiny as fisherfolk—opportunities to pursue careers in diverse new sectors such as catering and publishing.

Rule of the Screen Gods

It’s not just temple gods who are worshiped here—screen “gods” are adored by the local population, enough to elect them to the highest political office: In fact, the majority of Tamil Nadu’s leaders have kick-started their careers on the big screen, and nowhere else is politics quite as colorful (Schwarzenegger, move over). Across the state, you’ll still see peeling billboards featuring the swollen face of
Jayalalitha,
the controversial actress-turned-politician who has been in and out of political power for almost 2 decades. Kicked out of office on corruption charges in 2001, she jumped back in to reclaim her position a few years later, tossing her successor in jail in a drama worthy of a high-voltage Bollywood spectacle. Jayalalitha made the headlines again in 2009 when she vowed to support efforts to create a Tamil homeland within the island nation of Sri Lanka. The 30-year Sri Lankan civil war, in which the minority Tamil community was seen to be dominated and discriminated by the Sinhalese majority, was always of importance in Tamil Nadu, but gained international attention during April/May 2009, when the Sri Lankan government finally crushed the Tamil Tigers, a terrorist organization said to have pioneered the use of suicide bombers. Despite her promised strong-arm tactics, Jayalalitha, leader of the AIADMK, was not voted back into power during the 2009 local elections, but posters of the winning DMK leaders (including the actor J. K. Ritheesh) were splashed with milk when the results were announced—an act of reverence usually associated with worshipping deities in Tamil’s temples.

1 Chennai

Tamil Nadu

Chennai, India’s fourth largest city, is neither ancient nor lovely but it is—like Bangalore and Hyderabad—booming. The first British settlement in India, it was established in 1639 by the East India Company on the site of a fishing village called Chennaipatnam. Madras, as the capital of Tamil Nadu was formerly known, is today a teeming, sprawling, bustling industrial metropolis, a manufacturing hub occasionally referred to as the “Detroit of the South,” where many of India’s IT companies are located. Unless you’re here on business, or keen to shop, the city itself is only marginally fascinating—a strange mix of British Raj–era monuments, Portuguese churches, Hindu temples, and ugly 21st-century buildings, massive billboards, and concrete overpasses; even one of the longest urban beaches on earth is not enough to hold the attention for long. Most travelers arrive here simply because it’s a transport hub and soon leave, distracted by the attractions that start only a few hours away—among them,
Kanchipuram,
city of “a thousand temples,” is a day excursion away, or a day trip en route to the beach resorts near
Mamallapuram,
a World Heritage Site, which lie directly 2 hours south. Even charming
Pondicherry
is only 3 hours away, making Chennai a destination of choice only with businessmen here to catch the coattails of one of India’s fastest-growing cities.

ESSENTIALS

GETTING THERE & AWAY
By Air
There are daily flights to Chennai’s
International Anna Airport
(Airport Information Centre;
044/2256-1818
) and
the
Kamaraj Domestic Airport
(a minute’s walk from each other)
from all major destinations in India; note that both Madurai and Tiruchirappalli can be reached by flight from here. If you want to utilize the train while here, the Southern Railways computerized ticket reservation counter is just outside the domestic terminal exit. The airports are situated just over 12km (7 1⁄2 miles) southwest from the center but the ride to downtown Mount Road/Anna Salai can take 30 to 40 minutes; costs start at Rs 350 for a non-A/C taxi. You can also catch the train into town (Park, Egmore, and Beach stops) if you’re willing to lug your luggage 500m (1,640 ft.) down the road to Trisulam Station.

By Train
Chennai has two major railway stations.
Chennai Central
(in George Town) connects Chennai with most major destinations throughout India, while the second-largest,
Egmore
(
131
), is usually the point of arrival and departure for trains within Tamil Nadu or Kerala. Some trains from within the state now also pull in at
Tambaram
Station; not ideal as this is an hour from Chennai. You can get recorded train information by dialing the computerized
1361
(remember to have your train number); alternatively call information at
133
for arrivals and departures. Express trains take 6 hours from Chennai to Tiruchirappalli and 71⁄2 hours from Chennai to Madurai; book a seat on an A/C chair car. To plan train travel, we suggest you go online to
www.indianrail.gov.in
or
www.southernrailway.org
. Or book your train at your hotel, at a travel agency (see below), or at the Rajaji Bhavan Complex (ground floor) in Besant Nagar.

By Road
You may not realize it by glancing at a map, but Tamil Nadu is a fairly massive chunk of India, and it will take more than 15 hours to drive from Chennai to Kanyakumari in the far southwest of the state. Nevertheless, getting around is best done in the relative comfort of a rented car, with the wonderful rural landscape unfurling mile after mile (keep the window open to smell the freshness of turned earth and roasting cashews), and a driver who knows the way.
Kerala Adventures
(
0484/231-3744;
www.keralaadventure.com
; [email protected]) is our top pick in the south; its Chennai office is headed by Sharon Thomas
999-437-7402.
There are set tours offered on their website; alternatively Sharon will prepare a quote based on a personalized itinerary, taking in the best of Tamil Nadu before moving across the mountains into Kerala’s Cardamom Hills and west to the coast, or over to Mysore and Karnataka. Kerala Adventures tariff structure is not only transparent (their website includes tariffs for set tours), but offers excellent value, and drivers are excellent. For tours solely within Tamil Nadu, you can use
GRT Tours & Travels
(
044/6550-0000
), but they will try to push you to stay in their hotels and resorts, all of which are comfortable but not necessarily the best in each class. Also reliable, and worth getting alternative quotes from, are:
Sita World Travel
(
www.sitaindia.com
),
Travel House
(
www.travelhouseindia.com
), or
Madura Travel Service
(
www.maduratravel.com
). Regular buses are available for travel to almost any point in the state, as well as Bangalore, and Tirupati; contact the
State Express Transport Corporation Bus Stand
(
044/2479-4707;
daily 7am–9pm). Note that there is a new hop-on, hop-off tour from Chennai to Mamallapuram (four departures in the morning from Chennai starting 9am; four departures from Mamallapuram in the afternoon starting 4.15pm); for more information visit
www.tamilnadutourism.org/hopontour.html
.