Culture Of Chennai

Chennai is also known the classical Indian dance, the Bharatanatyam, which is also the official dance of Tamil Nadu. An important cultural centre for Bharatanatyam is Kalakshetra (Sanskrit for "place of the arts"), located on the beach in the south of the city.

Chennai has a vibrant theatre scene, with a large number of Tamil plays being performed. English theatre is also popular. Most of the plays are commercial and encompass comedy and serious drama. School and college cultural festivals (locally called culfests) play an important role by providing platforms for the city's youth to indulge in art and culture. These culfests attract participants from around India. Some of the larger culfests in the city are Saarang (IIT Madras), Deep Woods (Madras Christian College) and Down Sterling ( Loyola).

Chennai is the base for the large Tamil movie industry, dubbed Kollywood after the locality of Kodambakkam where most of the movie studios are located. The industry makes about 300 Tamil movies a year, and dominates the music scene in the city with film soundtracks.

The staple food is rice based usually steamed and served with about two to six accompanying items. Typically items are sambar, dry curry, rasam, kootu and thayir (curd) or moru (whey or buttermilk). Lighter meals usually include one or more of pongal, dosa, idli or vada, and are often served for breakfast or as an evening snack. Filter coffee is the most popular beverage consumed in Chennai. Other cuisines are also popular in the city, both Indian and foreign.

Chennai has a heterogeneous mix of architectural styles, from ancient temples built by the Pallavas through the colonial era to features of 20th century urban planning. Chennai has a colonial core in the port area, surrounded by progressively newer areas. The Government Museum in Egmore is a good example of Indo-Saracenic architecture. Designed by Henry Irwin, it was completed in 1896.