Chennai, capital of Tamil Nadu is a civilized, elegant and cultured city. Here the traditional arts grow and flourish. You can find a school of dance and music in almost every neighborhood of the city. The Tamil culture of warm hospitality is known the world over. Even the humblest householder will welcome you with some simple eatables and drinks. Generally, early rising and incorporation of religious rites into their day-to-day living is part of life. The cost of living being amongst the lowest in the country, one can fulfill one's needs easily. Chennai has an unhurried pace and laid back ambience so that if you lose your way, you can be sure someone will be kind enough to take you to the place where you want to go or give you detailed instructions. Neighborhood friendships thrive with mutual give and take. People show such a lively curiosity about each other that it is impossible for one to live on one's own, isolated, as it were. Chennai is a veritable mélange of cultures. The Sindhis, Gujaratis, Malayalees, Muslims, and Kannadigas, live peacefully with the Tamils in this cornucopia of religious and cultural diversity.
The land of temples and priests, kaapi and Chennai Checks reflects its traditionalism every December when the music season is in full swing. Cultural trusts like The Bharat Kalachar strive to keep the richness of the city's heritage alive. At the Y.G.P. Auditorium every year, renowned dancers like Alarmel Valli give Bharatanatyam recitals to appreciative rasikas. The other festival in the month of December brings together talented dancers from different backgrounds through the universal language of dance and music. However there is another side to this city. People dance away into the wee hours of the morning to Western trance music in Chennai's numerous discotheques and pubs bringing globalization to the city. It has attained the distinction of being one of the prime cultural centers in India.
Chennai celebrates a number of festivals also. The festivals are mainly based on the agricultural activities and according to the position of the stars and planets. Pongal, celebrated in the month of January, is the most important festival of Chennai. Being a cosmopolitan city, almost all the religious festivals are celebrated here. Pongal is a highly revered festival celebrated in Tamil Nadu to mark the harvesting of crops by farmers. It is the time when the people get ready to thank God, earth and their cattle for the wonderful harvest and celebrate the occasion with joyous festivities and rituals. Pongal continues through the first four days of the Thai month that starts in the mid-January and spreads to mid-February. The houses are cleaned, painted and decorated. Kolams (decorative patterns made out of rice flour) are made in the front yards of the houses and new clothes for the whole family are bought to mark the festivities. Even the cattle are gaily caparisoned with beads, bells and flowers-their horns painted and capped with gleaming metals. Pongal has been designated the "State Festival" for its unique celebration that is typical of Tamil Nadu. It is a festival that encompasses all of Tamil Nadu in its joyous embrace. It is a time when the poor, the rich, the urban dweller and the villager, all celebrate the harvest festival together.
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