Sight seeing in Chennai
From the general perspective lets look at various places that are of importance in chennai and which are to be taken as part of the city tour.
The controlling power of the entire state is here - yes it is Fort St George. We still live with our British legacy - what gave them the foothold to expand is now the Power house of our State today housing the Legislative Assembly of the State Government of Tamil Nadu. So essentially, the assembly elections results terms the party that captures the majority votes it as the Winner of the Fort in both figurative form of speech and also the natural form of the capture of the power to run the state.
Fort St George is the name of the first British fortress in India, founded in 1639] at the coastal city of Madras. The East India Company, which had entered India around 1600 for trading activities, had begun licensed trading at Surat, which was its initial bastion. However, to secure its trade lines and commercial interests in the spice trade, it felt the necessity of a port closer to the Malaccan Straits. It succeeded in purchasing a piece of coastal land, originally called Madraspattinam (Channapatnam - by a few accounts.), from a local chieftain, where it began construction of a harbour and a fort. The fort was completed on April 23rd, coinciding with St. George's Day, celebrated in honour of St. George, the patron saint of England. The fort, hence christened Fort St. George faced the sea and a few fishing villages, and soon became the hub of merchant activity. It gave birth to a new settlement area called George Town, which grew to envelop the villages and led to the formation of the city of Madras. The fort is a stronghold with 6 meter high walls that withstood a number of assaults in the 18th century. It briefly passed into the possession of the French from 1746 to 1749, but was restored to the British under the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, which ended the War of Austrian Succession.
Today, the Fort serves as the administrative headquarters for the legislative assembly of Tamil Nadu state, and still houses a garrison for troops in transit to various locations at South India and the Andamans. The Fort Museum contains many relics of the British Raj, including portraits of many of the Governors.
Even an outside look revels its magnificence. During the Republic Day the National Flag is hoisted in the Flag Mast at the entrance to the fort(incidentally it is the tallest mast)
Take a great look at this place which has nicely bridged the past, present and the future.
The controlling power of the entire state is here - yes it is Fort St George. We still live with our British legacy - what gave them the foothold to expand is now the Power house of our State today housing the Legislative Assembly of the State Government of Tamil Nadu. So essentially, the assembly elections results terms the party that captures the majority votes it as the Winner of the Fort in both figurative form of speech and also the natural form of the capture of the power to run the state.
Fort St George is the name of the first British fortress in India, founded in 1639] at the coastal city of Madras. The East India Company, which had entered India around 1600 for trading activities, had begun licensed trading at Surat, which was its initial bastion. However, to secure its trade lines and commercial interests in the spice trade, it felt the necessity of a port closer to the Malaccan Straits. It succeeded in purchasing a piece of coastal land, originally called Madraspattinam (Channapatnam - by a few accounts.), from a local chieftain, where it began construction of a harbour and a fort. The fort was completed on April 23rd, coinciding with St. George's Day, celebrated in honour of St. George, the patron saint of England. The fort, hence christened Fort St. George faced the sea and a few fishing villages, and soon became the hub of merchant activity. It gave birth to a new settlement area called George Town, which grew to envelop the villages and led to the formation of the city of Madras. The fort is a stronghold with 6 meter high walls that withstood a number of assaults in the 18th century. It briefly passed into the possession of the French from 1746 to 1749, but was restored to the British under the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, which ended the War of Austrian Succession.
Today, the Fort serves as the administrative headquarters for the legislative assembly of Tamil Nadu state, and still houses a garrison for troops in transit to various locations at South India and the Andamans. The Fort Museum contains many relics of the British Raj, including portraits of many of the Governors.
Even an outside look revels its magnificence. During the Republic Day the National Flag is hoisted in the Flag Mast at the entrance to the fort(incidentally it is the tallest mast)
Take a great look at this place which has nicely bridged the past, present and the future.
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