Chennai is a seaside (and a major port) city where the sea is a rhapsodist blue, hugging the second largest beach in the world. It has many monuments and temples exemplyfying the contributions of the Chola and Pallava Dynasties to the ancient Dravidian civilization. Chennai also has the ancient churches and Cathedrals pointing to British heritage of 150 years. Chennai, (formerly Madras) the first city of Tamil Nadu, is a comparatively new city. The erstwhile villages of Mylapore, Triplicane, Ezhambur (Egmore) etc. all now a part of Chennai, have a recorded historical past centuries older than Chennai. Chennai, the present gateway to the South of India, is itself, however, only about 350 years old..