Sports in Chennai
Sports and Chennai are a strange combination. Most locals prefer education to sports, and it is mostly people form outside that make up Chennai’s best sporting culture. Being fit is definitely not high on an average Chennaiite’s agenda. Also, all that bucketfuls of rice and idlis do little to promote sports. Watching cricket is more like Chennais cup of kaapi.
As in the rest of India, Chennai loves cricket. The M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, popularly known as the MAC, is one of the oldest cricket stadiums in India built in 1916. The stadium is famous for its list of records including the first ever test match victory that India recorded in 1951-52 when they defeated England and the second tied tests that was India v/s Australia in 1986. The Chemplast Cricket Ground in the IIT Madras campus is another important cricket venue.
Although footbal is rarely played, Chennai has the The Madras Gymkhana Club, one of the oldest football clubs in Chennai founded by the British in 1884.
Chennai hosts the only ATP tournament in India. There are as many as fifteen coaching centers in Chennai, not taking into account the Tamil Nadu Tennis Association’s coaching scheme.
Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium is the venue for hockey matches and features a seating capacity of 4,000. The Chennai Veerans, a premiere hockey league team is based in Chennai. The stadium has hosted the Champions Trophy twice, recently in 2005.
The Velachery Aquatic Complex seats 4,000 audiences and hosts different kinds of water sports.
The Guindy Race Course for horse racing was set up in 1777. Motor racing events are held at the Sriperumbudur track for cars.
The Madras Boat Club was established in 1867 and it hosts rowing races. The city features two 18-hole golf courses — the Cosmopolitan Club and the Gymkhana Club golf course, both were established in the late 19th century.
Chennai’s healthcare system
Isko Dawa ki Nahin, Dua ki zaroorat hai…
Chennai has specialty hospitals for every bodily ailment. More than the hospital itself, you may want to check on the doctor treating you. Because of the reservation policy in Chennai, some of the doctors that are churned out every year might not meet any stringent standards, and if you happen to be under the mercy of one such, God be with you.
Ask any of your friends, colleagues, or people you can trust about reliable doctors before you fix up an appointment with them.
Most private hospitals are expensive and not worth the money you pay for their services. The redeeming thing is that at least some of their people can speak some English or Hindi.
For information on Chennai’s hospitals, check out the various websites using Google. Just for a list, visit the link
Chennai’s newspapers
The Hindu: Most of Chennai religiously reads the Hindu. It is almost a part of the Tamil Culture. Although it is owned and patronised mainly by Chennai’s upper-classes, the paper leans to the left and is a vocal proponent of the most bizarre dravidian policies. Maybe that is one reason it has done well with the political ranks. Contrary to its name, it has vocally opposed the BJP, India’s right-wing party, and like most newspapers in India, is more tolerant of minorities than the majority community. It has undergone a cosmetic change-over in trying to keep up with the times. Without any competition from any of India’s other major news dailies, it has maintained its supremacy in a manner that is most dubious.
The Indian Express: Bad quality paper, terrible English, and some horrible reporting ensure that this paper does not face any worthwhile challenge to the Hindu.
The Deccan Chronicle: More of a tabloid than a newspaper, it has done especially well because of its pricing. Although the One rupee offer was supposed to be a one off thing, the price has stayed for quite some time now. The quality of news you get is cheaper than the cost at which it comes.
Sporadic reports of the Times of India coming to Chennai have made the rounds over several years now but the political establishment has successfully managed to keep it away lest it corrupt the innocent people of Chennai.
