Chennai Celebrates its 369th Birthday Today

Folks at my office are all set to celebrate the 369th birthday of Chennai.On the eve of that celebration, I got an interesting mail that described the history of namma Chennai( means "our Chennai",Times of India,Chennai edition's lingo). Here it goes:

The founding day of Madras is considered to be August 22, 1639. For, it was on this day in 1639 that a sliver of land where Fort St George is located, was handed over by the local Nayak rulers to the East India Company’s Francis Day, his dubash Beri Thimmappa, and their superior, Andrew Cogan. Out of the fort, grew settlements. Then the villages around it were brought together. And then, the old and new towns linked up. And we had the city……

Chennai day celebrates the birth of this great city.Though I am born in Karur, Trichy district (my mother's place), I have visited Karur hardly once or twice after I was born. so I am a pakka Chennai girl.Chennai is a grate place to live in.My friends those who are from other cities such as Pune, Kolkatta are of opinion that though Chennai is modernized with the virtue of the IT boom, It still holds its traditional values.It comprises of both extremely westernized population and extremely conservative population.My friends also opined that Chennai is the best place for education, which is evident from the performance of the Chennai students in the CBSE exams every year.

Similarly, Chennai has got the best medical facilities. You can see people from other countries and states marching towards Chennai with some ailment everyday.Chennai has also got best means of transport.It has an active railway system, metro buses, private autos, call taxis and share autos (in limited areas). But the proliferation of private vehicles (in particular, car) has paved way to chaotic traffic in the city.Likewise, the cost of living in the city has also skyrocketed in the recent years. The real estate boom and inflation has made buying a piece of land within the city a lifetime dream for the middle class population.Not to mention, scorching heat, pollution,water scarcity during summer and water clogging during winter are the well known characteristics of Chennai. Power shut downs are common during summer and winter.Beyond all these setbacks, namma Chennai is still a paradise in the earth. Isn't it?