Ask any local. They’ll tell you that it’s a city where the old and the new co-exist. Where traditional women in silk sarees and diamonds walk side by side with young girls in hipsters. Where a laid-back lifestyle co-exists with a rapidly growing IT and service sector. Where temples, mosques and churches jostle for space with restaurants and shopping malls.

Home to an ancient tradition of Carnatic music and dance, Chennai is today clearly the cultural capital of South India. Every street corner in Chennai is home to a temple. Festivals are still celebrated the traditional way, and it’s not unusual to see street processions and festivities at temples.