A lot have already been written over the years about the city of Madras(nee Chennai) by various reviewers earlier and so I feel that I need not write about the history of the city. Neither does a need arise for me to support or deny the various statements of the earlier reviewers and those who have commented on the reviews. I shall concentrate on what it offers and what it does not to people who intend settle there or will move to Madras either by choice or due to any reason. One thing which is undeniable is the fact that this city is gradually loosing its importance, which is quite ironic considering the inherent strengths of the city. I shall do a strength-weakness analysis of the city and will leave it to those who read this review to make a final opinion.
STRENGTHS
a) Educational facilities : Chennai has an excellent educational infrastructure, probably the best in the country. It is home to the largest technical university in the world-Anna University(where Dr. APJAK was teaching before occupying the highest seat in the country). Just across the road from Anna Univ is the IIT, which needs no introduction. According the latest India Today survey, Chennai boasts of the highest representation among the top 10 colleges in all fields barring law. It also has the highest representation in the top schools of India listed by Outlook.The largest contributers to IIT are PSBB school and DAV school Chennai.Chennai region of CBSE has been the undisputed leaders in the country in terms of ranks and overall pass percentage.
b) Medical facilities :The concept of corporate hospitals is a product of Chennai.The oldest functioning maternity, general, opthamological and children hospitals in the country are in chennai. Any city could not ask for better medical facilities than Apollo, Shankar Netralaya, MV Diabetics Centre etc.
c) Cost of living : Chennai has been rated as the 121st cheapest metro in the world out of 124 metros(source : tidco.com). The real estate cost in Chennai is cheaper than all metros and many mini metros. In which other metro or mini metro(barring Ahmedabad) would it be possible to acquire a flat in a posh locality for less than Rs. 2500/- per sq ft?
d) Peace : This city could be termed as the most peaceful city in the country. Of course it does have its own share of criminals, but it has no organised mafia, no history of communal riots, ethnic riots. Probably no other city would have had a curfewless history since independence ( the last time a curfew was imposed in the city was in the year 1942).
e) UPS : Believe it or not, it is one of the few cities in the country which does not resort to load shedding in summer months inspite of the electricity being distributed by a governmental body. I have not been using any voltage stabilisers in my house since the supply is almost stable.
f) Transportation : The local railway network is the second best in the country after Mumbai(source : metropla.net and personal experience) in terms of no of passengers. There are 3 routes of the suburban network. The second functioning MRTS(after Calcutta metro) and the first in the country to take the elevated route is in Chennai. The bus services operated by the Metropolitan Transport Corporation are good. The all weather port and an international airport need no mention. The airport is connected by the suburban railway system which is an added advantage. Though travelling by autorickshaws in Chennai is a nightmare for even a local person, the boom of call taxis has more than compensated this.
g) Proactive government : Though the tussles between the successive AIADMK and DMK governments is an non ending process like the ones between Tom and Jerry, it has not affected the administration. On the contrary it has been bringing out the best out of the governments.
h) IT : Chennai shares the second slot along with Bombay in terms of IT exports from the country and is much ahead of other cities like Delhi or Hyderabad. Nasscom in 1999 had rated Chennai as the best for IT projects and the 2nd best of ITES in 2003(behind Cochin). Tidel park is the largest software park in the country(larger than the much hyped counterparts in Hyd, B’lore or Mumbai). It is a common joke in the software sector that the three most popular programming languages are C, PASCAL and TAMIL :-)
WEAKNESSES
a) Climate : Chennai being a tropical city on a seashore is hot and humid. The temp varies between 42 and 18. However the effect of the heat cannot be felt after 3 PM due to the cool sea breeze which sets in to make the evenings pleasant. The climate is definitely better than in many cities of the north where it varies between 48 and 2. The positive side of this is that the need for different types of clothes for various seasons do not exist!!
b) Image : This is in my opinion the biggest weakness for Chennai. It is branded as a conservative, dirty and hot city with no life. If not finding all girls in western clothes, not going to pubs/discos or not having a third page culture is conservatism, then Chennai is definitely conservative. After the garbage collection activity in more than half of the city was handed over to CES-ONYX a French firm, it is a much cleaner city. Chennai is also considered as a city with a anti-Hindi bias. But if one goes by the records of the Dakshin Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha, more than half of the residents of Chennai have learnt the language on their own accord.
c) Water : The water crisis in the city has been a perinnial one. The per capita availabiliy of water( just 70 lit per person per day) is the lowest in the country amongst the major cities. However thanks to the initiatives of succesive governments in implementing rain water harvesting(the first in the country to make it compulsory), Veeranam project and Telugu Ganga, the days are not far when water will be available in plenty.
d) Entertainment : Chennai does not have discos, pubs or parks in large numbers. The second longest beach in the world, Marina Beach is an eye sore. But it has its other beaches and entertainment complexes. It was the first and only city in the country to have performing dolphins and sealions. The largest zoo in asia , the Aringar Anna Zoological park is in Chennai. The entire stretch of 80 kms of the East Coast Road upto Mahabalipuram(Mahabs in short) is an entertainment zone.
e)Autorickshaws and Porters : It is better not to mention about these in Chennai
SUMMING IT UP : If a person wants to lead a flashy life, hopping across parties, discos, pubs etc, wants to be a part of the 3rd page society then Chennai is not the place. However is a person is interested in living a peaceful life concentrating on his/her career, on educating his/her children, providing good living conditions for family, then Chennai is the right place. All that is required for Chennai is a powerful salesman to sell its strengths(Would Andhra or Karnataka lend Naidu or Krishna for a year or two to Chennai)