Inside view of the historic Chennai Club has not changed much since colonial times.
There are many buildings in Chennai i.e. High Court buildings and many clubs, some of which have existed from the British era. Chennai is the capital of Tamil Nadu state, and India's fourth largest metropolitan city. Chennai is a big commercial and industrial centre and also a centre of south Indian classical music and dance performances. Chennai is also the automobile capital of India.
The name Madras is derived from Madraspatnam, the area chosen by the British East India Company for a permanent settlement in India in 1639. There was another small town, Chennapatnam, located to the south of it. These two towns were merged, and the name Madras was chosen by the Britishers. However local people called it Chennapatnam or Chennapuri. The city took the name Chennai in August, 1996.
