CULTURE

Chennai, being the capital of Tamil Nadu, is home to a host of Tamil culture art forms including dance, literature, sculpture, music and cinema.

The season for Bharatnatyam and Carnatic Music draws visitors and aficionados from the world over. Being the capital of Tamil Nadu, the preferred language of communication amongst the local population is Tamil. However, English is widely spoken as the language of commerce and hence visitors should have no problem getting around. The city also has a fair number of people that speak Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi.

Mamallapuram, an extension of the city which is known for its sandy beaches, stone carvings, food and resorts. It also hosts the Choloamandalam artists village which is fairly well known in art circles both in India and abroad.

The city has a thriving Tamil film industry. It is also known as Kollywood. It is the second largest film industry in India. Some of the most prominent figures of Tamil Nadu like M.G. Ramachandran, Sivaji Ganesan, M. Karunanidhi, J Jayalalithaa, Rajnikanth, Kamal Hassan, Shankar, Mani Ratnam, Illayaraja, AR Rahman are currently, or have at some stage of their career, been associated with Kollywood.

Amongst sports, Chennai is also a major centre for cricket, motorsports and tennis.

Chennai, like all the other metropolises in India, experienced significant economic growth in the last 15 years. It has several options for mainstream entertainment with malls, multiplexes, restaurants and hotels at nearly every major commercial district. Pubs and lounges, however, are restricted to only hotels in Chennai due to legal restrictions on the sale of liquor.

The culture of India has been shaped by the long history of India, its unique geography and the absorption of customs, traditions and ideas from some of its neighbors as well as by preserving its ancient heritages, which were formed during the Indus Valley Civilization and evolved further during the Vedic age, rise and decline of Buddhism, Golden age, Muslim conquests and European colonization. India's great diversity of cultural practices, languages, customs, and traditions are examples of this unique co-mingling over the past five millennia.

India is also the birth place of Dharmic religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. The various religions and traditions of India that were created by these amalgamations have influenced other parts of the world too.

According to Eugene M. Makar, the traditional Indian culture is defined by relatively strict social hierarchy. He also mentions that from an early age, children are reminded of their roles and places in society. This is reinforced by that many believe gods and spirits have integral and functional role in determining their life. Several differences such as religion divide culture. However, far more powerful division is the traditional Hindu bifurcation into non-polluting and polluting occupations. Strict social taboos have governed these groups for thousands of years. In recent years, particularly in cities, some of these lines have blurred and sometimes even disappeared. Nuclear family is central to Indian culture. Important family relations extend to as far as gotra, the mainly patrilinear lineage or clan assigned to a Hindu at birth. In rural areas it is common that three or four generations of the family live under the same roof. Patriarch often resolves family issues.

Among developing countries, India has low levels of occupational and geographic mobility. People choose same occupations as their parents and rarely move geographically in the society.