DISCOVER INDIA     Chennai (Madras) Chennai, or Madras as it was once known, is the ever-expanding capital of Tamil Nadu - and principal gateway for a tour of Southern India. Set on the Coromandel Coast beside the vast urban Marina Beach, it originated 350 years ago in the days of the East India Company and grew up around the British settlement of Fort St George. As a result, it's a city rich in landmarks of British Indian history, along with Portuguese churches and Hindu temples. Now India's fourth largest metropolis, it has become a major and fast-growing technological hub. Music, dance and all other Southern India art forms play a key role in the life of this vibrant community. Major nearby attractions are Kanchipuram (city of 'a thousand temples') and Mamallapuram (Mahabalipuram), a spectacular World Heritage Site set on a superb beach and with an array of sculpture and cave temples.             Shore temple - Mamallapuram (Mahabalipuram)