Chennai (formerly known as Madras) is the gateway to Southern India and the largest city in southern India located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal, developed after 1639 when the British East India Company established a fort and trading post at the small fishing village of Chennai. It is the capital city of Tamilnadu state. This coastal center of trade has drawn traffic from all over the world for centuries and maintains a cosmopolitan quality as well as a Tamil air. Chennai is the center of South India's film industry, its skyline is ablaze with bright movie billboards advertising the latest celluloid fantasies Chidambaram.
The town of Chidambaram is situated in the eastern district of Cuddalore facing the Bay of Bengal. The town is in the Coleroon River Valley on the Madras-Thanjavur road and rail system Chidambaram also known as Thillai, was named after the mangrove forest of the name Tillai. But now it has gained the Chdmabaram meaning an atmosphere reigning with intelligence and wisdom. As the legend goes this is the place where Lord Shiva performed his famous cosmic dance in the form of Lord Nataraja. Lord Shiva is worshipped here as the formless, the one who covers the whole universe.
The dance of bliss or the Ananda Tandavam of Shiva is said to symbolize the five divine acts (" Pancha Krityas") - creation, sustenance, dissolution, concealment, and the bestowment of grace. The dance of Shiva has been frozen in metal and held in worship in Nataraja Sabhas, in virtually all of the Saivite temples in Tamil Nadu. The place, where the legend says that the Lord danced, was later converted into a hall of dance and later covered with gold plates by Jatavarman Sundra Pandya (AD 1251-1272). The Thai Poosam day is celebrated the day of the cosmic dance to date at Chidambaram. The Annual Nrityanjali festival is also organized at Chidambaram.
Related Tours
