Chennai (formerly Madras) was the site of the East India Company's first settlement. Founded in 639 AD on land given by the Raja of Chandragiri, (the last representative of the Vijayanagar rulers of Hampi) it was a fishing settlement before a small fort was built in 1644.

A town, subsequently known as George Town, grew in the area of Fort St. George. The settlement became independent of Banten, Java, in 1683 and was granted its first municipal charter by James II in 1688. It thus has the oldest municipal corporation in India, a matter of pride for Chennai's citizens.

In the 18th and early 19th centuries, when the British and French competed for supremacy in India, the city's fortunes waxed and waned. Chennai's history is intimately entwined with that of the East India Company's and later with that of the British Empire.

Because of its strategic position (as a seaport) Clive of India used it as a base for his military expeditions during the Wars of the Carnatic. During the 19th century, it was the seat of the Chennai (Madras) Presidency, one of the four divisions of British Imperial India. Briefly too it was occupied by the French.

The city was named Chennaipatnam in 1640 and renamed Madras and remained such till 1996 when it went back to being Chennai. Chennai is a city with multiple cultural influences because of the various people who occupied it at different times. Besides the British and the French the Portuguese came here too, colonising San Thome in 1522.

And of course long before the colonisers it was a city with a rich Tamil heritage and strong Dravidian influences. Its uniqueness lies in its deep and all-abiding commitment to keeping alive centuries-old traditions - cultural, religious and educational.

But most important Chennai, practically speaking, is the last bastion of Dravidian India. In this it is the least hybrid of Indian cities - where Southern music and dance traditions flourish, specifically the highly evolved Carnatic music and Bharatanatyam dance.