Photo: Balajijagadesh, CC0 via Wikimedia Commons
A botanical garden with a wide variety of Bonsai plants.
Semmozhi Poonga, variously spelled as Semmoli Poonga, is a botanical garden in Chennai set up jointly by the Horticulture and Agricultural Engineering department of the Government of Tamil Nadu. The garden was opened on 24 November 2010 by then chief Minister M. Karunanidhi and is the first botanical garden in the city. The garden is located in the Cathedral Road–Anna Salai junction, opposite the American Consulate, on the erstwhile Drive-in Woodlands Hotel. Encompassing an area of 20 acres, it was built at a cost of ₹ 80 million. More than 500 species of plants are being grown in the area, in addition to the 80 trees that were already in existence during the development of the park, some of them being more than 100 years old. The garden houses some of the popular exotic flora and rare plant species, medicinal and aromatic herbs. Many of the exotic plants are imported from countries like China and Thailand, including a plethora of bonsai varieties of ficus microcarpa and ficus ginseng.
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செயின்ட் ஜார்ஜ் கதீட்ரல் Cheyiṇṭ Jārj Kadīṭral
Built in 1815. A neoclassical church. Showing elements of Georgian architecture. It has a towering 45-m spire and ionic columns. The highlight of this cathedral is the graveyard. Connected by a guardrail that was made up of war emblems of the capture of Srirangapatna in 1799.
19th-century multi-domed mosque.
Valluvar Kottam marks the memorial of one of the renowned poets and saints of the region, Tiruvalluvar. The memorial is shaped like a temple chariot and is, in fact, the replica of the temple chariot in Thiruvarur. There is a 101-foot (30m) high temple chariot structure with a life-size image of the poet in it. This chariot is a replica of the temple car of Thiruvarur in Tamil Nadu. The monument stands as a massive auditorium and was open to the public in 1976. Over 3,000 blocks of stone were used to create this memorial to Tamil culture. Valluvar Kottam has quite an extensive space. The auditorium at Valluvar Kottam is said to be the largest in Asia and can accommodate about 4,000 people. It is a revered place in the city as it is considered to bear the impressions of the Tamil culture. The auditorium is surrounded by granite pillars that have inscriptions taken from the famous work of the poet. The epic Tiruvalluvar, written by the poet consists of 1,330 verses, all of which are inscribed on the granite pillar. The 133 chapters of his famous work Thirukkural have been depicted in bas-relief in the front hall corridors of the chariot. It stands as a modern memorial to the great poet who represents the glorious culture of the Tamils.
பஹ்ராம் ஜங் மசூதி Bahrām Jang Machūdi
Late 18th century.
ஒளி அன்னை தேவாலயம் Oli Annai Tēvālayam / Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Luz / Luz Church
Built in 1516 by the Portuguese.