Chennai

Valluvar Kottam is a popular monument in Chennai, India which is dedicated to the classical Tamil poet, philosopher and saint Thiruvalluvar.... Valluvar Kottam is located at the intersection of the Kodambakkam High road and the Village road, was constructed by M. Karunanidhi - the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu during 1975-1976s.Valluvar Kottam now stands at the point which was the deepest point of a lake which was located in the area. The monument was constructed in 1976 in the memory of Thiruvalluvar, who wrote his famous Thirukkural about 2,000 years ago. All the 133 chapters of the Thirukkural which include 1330 verses are inscribed on bas-relief in the front hall corridors. The construction of Valluvar Kottam is like a temple chariot, and it is a replica of the temple chariot in Thiruvarur. A life-size statue of the Thiruvalluvar has been installed in the 39-m-high chariot. The auditorium of Valluvar Kottam can accommodate around 4,000 people. The architect of the memorial is South Indian traditional architect V. Ganapati Sthapati, who is also the architect of the Thiruvalluvar Statue at Kanyakumari.
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Allah Rakha Rahman is an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, music producer, musician, multi-instrumentalist and philanthropist. Described as the... world's most prominent and prolific film composer by Time, his works are notable for integrating eastern classical music with electronic music sounds, world music genres and traditional orchestral arrangements. He has won two Academy Awards, two Grammy Awards, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe, four National Film Awards, fifteen Filmfare Awards, thirteen Filmfare Awards South in addition to numerous other awards and nominations. His extensive body of work for film and the stage earned him the nickname “the Mozart of Madras” and several Tamil commentators and fans have coined him the nickname Isai Puyal . In 2009, Time placed Rahman in its list of World's Most Influential People. The UK based World Music magazine Songlines named him one of 'Tomorrow's World Music Icons' in August 2011.
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Jayalalithaa Jayaram , is the Chief Minister of the state of Tamil Nadu, India. She was a popular film star in Indian cinema before her entry into... politics, having appeared in many Tamil and Telugu films, as well as several produced in Hindi and Kannada. She is the incumbent general secretary of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam . She is called Amma and Puratchi Thalaivi by her followers. Although there have been claims that Jayalalithaa was introduced to politics by M. G. Ramachandran, she has denied this. She was a member of the Rajya Sabha elected from Tamil Nadu during the period of 1984–89. Soon after the death of Ramachandran, Jayalalithaa proclaimed herself as his political heir. She is the first elected female Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. Jayalalithaa was born into a Tamil Iyengar family on 24 February 1948 at Melukote, in Pandavapura taluk of Mandya district, Karnataka. In accordance with Iyengar custom she was given two names, thus her other name is Komalavalli.
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Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran , popularly known by his initials MGR, was an Indian film actor, director, producer, and politician who also served as... the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu successively for three terms. In his youth, MGR and his elder brother, M. G. Chakrapani became members of a drama troupe to support their family. Influenced by Gandhian ideals, MGR joined the Indian National Congress. After a few years of acting in plays, he made his film debut in the 1936 film Sathi Leelavathi in a supporting role. In the late 1940s he graduated to leading roles and for the next three decades dominated the Tamil film industry. He became a member of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and rose rapidly through its ranks. He successfully used his popularity as a film hero to build a large political base. In 1972, he left the DMK to form his own party the Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam . In 1977 he became the chief minister of Tamil Nadu - the first film actor in India to become the chief minister of a state. He remained as chief minister till his death in 1987.
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Rajinikanth is an Indian film actor, media personality, and cultural icon. He made his debut as an actor in the National Film Award–winning... motion picture Apoorva Raagangal , directed by K. Balachander, whom the actor considers his mentor. After a brief phase of portraying antagonistic characters in Tamil films, he gradually rose to become an established film actor. Within a few years of his career, he was claimed to be the superstar of Tamil cinema and has since continued to hold a matinee idol status in the popular culture of India. His mannerisms and stylised delivery of dialogue in films contribute to his mass popularity and appeal. While working in other regional film industries of India, he also appeared in the cinemas of other nations, including in that of the United States. After being paid 26 crore for his role in Sivaji , he became the highest paid actor in Asia after Jackie Chan. He is one of the most influential actors in the film industry due to his overwhelming back-driven influence on politics in Tamil Nadu. Rajinikanth has worked in over 150 films across various film industries of India.
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Chiranjeevi is a Indian film actor and a politician. He has worked primarily with Telugu Cinema, but has appeared in several Tamil, Kannada and... Hindi films. He made his acting debut in 1978 through the film Punadhirallu. However, Pranam Khareedu released earlier at the box office. Subsequently, he played a variety of characters, and his film roles along with his screen persona contributed to a change in the concept of a Telugu film lead actor. He is popularly known as "Megastar" in the Indian media. Chiranjeevi also co-produced Rudraveena , which won the National Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration. He has won nine Filmfare Awards South, the most by any Telugu actor. Chiranjeevi was honoured with the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian award. In 2006, he was presented an honourary doctorate from Andhra University. Apart from his film career, he is also a philanthropist and the founder of Chiranjeevi Charitable Foundation, established in 1998. In 2008, he entered politics by forming the Praja Rajyam Party.
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Padma Parvati Lakshmi is an Indian American cookbook author, actress, model and television host. Her debut cookbook Easy Exotic won her the "Best... First Book" award at the 1999 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. She has been the host of the US reality television program Top Chef since season two in 2006, for which she received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program. In 2010, Top Chef won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality-Competition Program. Padma Lakshmi was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India in a Hindu Iyengar Brahmin family. Her father was a Pfizer executive and her mother Vijaya, the first wife of her father, was a nurse who specialized in suicide prevention. Her mother tongue is Tamil. She grew up shuttling between her grandparents in Chennai and her mother in New York. She is her parents' only child from this marriage. Her parents separated when she was age one. They divorced a year later. Both parents later remarried, and Lakshmi has a younger paternal half-brother and half-sister.
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Allah Rakha Rahman is an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, music producer, musician, multi-instrumentalist and philanthropist. Described as the... world's most prominent and prolific film composer by Time, his works are notable for integrating eastern classical music with electronic music sounds, world music genres and traditional orchestral arrangements. He has won two Academy Awards, two Grammy Awards, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe, four National Film Awards, fifteen Filmfare Awards, thirteen Filmfare Awards South in addition to numerous other awards and nominations. His extensive body of work for film and the stage earned him the nickname “the Mozart of Madras” and several Tamil commentators and fans have coined him the nickname Isai Puyal . In 2009, Time placed Rahman in its list of World's Most Influential People. The UK based World Music magazine Songlines named him one of 'Tomorrow's World Music Icons' in August 2011.
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Lakshminarayanan Shankar, also known as L. Shankar and Shenkar, is an Indian-born American violinist, singer and composer. Shankar was born in... Madras, Tamil Nadu. Growing up in Jaffna, Ceylon, where his father V. Lakshminarayan was a professor at the Jaffna College of Music, Shankar was exposed to Carnatic music and other styles from an early age. His father was an esteemed violinist, his mother L. Seethalakshmi played the veena and all his five older siblings were also proficient in music. The most well known of his brothers is another acclaimed and renowned violinist - L. Subramaniam, who has recorded a number of records himself; another brother, L. Vaidyanathan was a music composer for Indian films. Shankar cites his family and Tyāgarāja as early inspirations. Shankar began singing at the age of two, playing violin at the age of five, and learning to play drums at seven. At the age of seven L. Shankar gave his first public concert, at the Nallur Kandaswamy temple.
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Dr. Lakshminarayana Subramaniam is an acclaimed Indian violinist, composer and conductor, trained in the classical Carnatic music tradition and... Western classical music, and renowned for his virtuoso playing techniques and compositions in orchestral fusion. "Music is a vast ocean and no one can claim to know it all. The more you know, the more you realize how little you know. It is an eternal quest" - Dr L Subramaniam Subramaniam was born to V Lakshminarayana, and Seethalakshmi, both accomplished musicians of Tamil descent. He lived in Jaffna during his younger years, taking up music studies before the age of five. He began training in violin under the tutelage of his father, Professor V. Lakshminarayana. “Mani”, as he is fondly known by fellow musicians and his family, gave his first public performance at the age of six. His brothers are also acclaimed musicians, and include the well-known violinist-composers L. Shankar , and L. Vaidyanathan. He has released recordings with both. Subramaniam developed a passion for music as well as science from a young age, studying Medicine and acquiring his M.B.B.S. at Madras Medical College.
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Vijay Amritraj is a former Indian tennis player, sports commentator and actor. Vijay was born in Chennai, India to Maggie Dhairyam and Robert... Amritraj. He and his brothers, Anand Amritraj and Ashok Amritraj, were among the first Indians to play in top-flight international tour tennis. They did their schooling in Don Bosco Egmore, Chennai, and later graduated from Loyola College, Chennai. In 1976, the brothers were semifinalists in the Wimbledon men's doubles. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1983. After playing his first grand prix event in 1970, Amritraj achieved his first significant success in singles in 1973 when he reached the quarter-final stage at two Grand Slam events. At Wimbledon he lost 7–5 in the fifth set to the eventual champion Jan Kodeš and later that summer at the US Open, lost to Ken Rosewall after having beaten Rod Laver two rounds earlier. Amritraj repeated his feat at Forest Hills in 1974 when he went out in the last eight again to Rosewall after beating a young Björn Borg in the second round.
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Kumar Ram Narain Karthikeyan is the first Formula One motor racing driver from India. He has previously competed in A1GP, and the Le Mans Series. He... made his Formula One debut in 2005 with the Jordan team, and was a Williams F1 test driver in 2006 and 2007. Like several other former F1 drivers, Karthikeyan moved to stock car racing and drove the #60 Safe Auto Insurance Company Toyota Tundra for Wyler Racing in the 2010 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. In 2011 he returned to F1 with the HRT team, and has again signed with them for the 2012 season. Karthikeyan was born in Madras, Tamil Nadu. Karthikeyan did his schooling at Stanes Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School in Coimbatore. He belongs to PSG Family in Coimbatore. His father Mr.G.R Karthikeyan has been "Managing Trustee" of PSG and Sons Charities which runs PSG industrial Institute, PSG Polytechnic College,PSG College of Arts and Science, PSG College of Technology, PSG Institute of Medical science and Research, PSG Hospitals, PSG Institute of Management etc.
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Meena Durairaj, is a South Indian film and television actress. Meena debuted as a child artist in Telugu and Tamil films and has later starred in... films produced by various regional industries. She is one of the most established actresses in the southern Indian film industry. In addition to acting, Meena is also a top model, singer,dancer, TV host and occasional dubbing artiste.At one time,she was considered as the biggest south Indian actress by acting opposite Superstars of south India. Meena was born in Chennai as the daughter to a Tamil father Durairaj and a Malayali mother Raj Mallika. She was enrolled in Vidyodhya schools in Chennai. Because of her busy acting schedule she had to discontinue schooling in the 8th standard, later taking up private coaching and completing the 10th standard. She went on to get her MA in History from the University of Madras through the open university system in 2006. Meena is a trained Bharathanatyam dancer and speaks six languages: Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam, Kannada and English. Her mother has played a pivotal role in shaping her career and acted as her guide advisor.
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