What to do in Chennai

chennai-travel.txt

I'll exclude what you can find easily on Wikitravel:

- The city organizes carnatic music concerts every now and then called
  "kutcheris". Ask a friend interested in music to take you to one.

- It's less cosmopolitan than consumerist than many other cities
  (eg. Bangalore); very few avenues for spending. Avoid the big chains
  (Cafe Coffee Day, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Dominos Pizza etc): you'll
  have plenty of time to check them out in other Indian cities. The
  big weekend activity for a family is going out for dinner: so, check
  out Eden, Bella Ciao, Triplicane Ratna Cafe, Bayleaf and other local
  businesses.

- Local cuisine is Chettinad food, but it'll probably be way too spicy
  for your tastes: I can't touch it myself.

- Don't visit local theaters, because the government capped ticket
  prices. As a result, availability and service suffer. In a place
  like Delhi, you can easily pay 1500 INR to watch a movie; in
  Chennai, you can't get a ticket over 300 INR.

- Another thing that the localities are very fond of is jewellery and
  silk sarees. Go to an RmKV or Nalli to buy yourself a saree.

- The state government regulates distribution of alcohol and the
  license to serve. As a result, bars and nightclubs suffer. If you
  want to grab a beer, you have to plan in advance and find a good
  place to go to: I can recommend Geoffry's (bonus: it has a pool
  table).

- Spend some time around the locals at roadside tea shops: you'll
  obviously get a glares because of your skin color, but it's nothing
  abnormal. You don't have to worry about hygiene if you stick to
  having tea.

- Although you can try autorickshaws a few times, avoid them in
  general: because they can't agree on a fixed price (they're usually
  metered in other cities), bargaining with them can get painfully
  repetitive. Try to take some buses, even if you have to put up with
  (what you might consider) extreme discomfort. There's also an MRTS
  train system (no metro).

- The rule of the thumb is: if you are unsure about anything, just
  ask! There are people everywhere, and most of them can tell you
  which bus to take, the directions to a restaurant etc. Use Google
  Maps, but note that it's not as accurate.

- Visit an old temple and see what people are doing there: I'd
  recommend the Mylapore Kapaleeshwar.

- As far as educational institutions are concerned, there's a local
  Anna University (and colleges affiliated to this university) for
  engineering. Unfortunately, it's very conservative and repressive:
  they forbid jeans, mobile phones, laptop computers, and dating. Not
  worth visiting, if you ask me. Not that liberal arts education is
  doing too well, but you might like to visit Loyola or Presidency
  briefly.

- Oh, and there's an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in the heart
  of Chennai that you must definitely visit. It's among the top five
  engineering colleges in the country, and its campus is a
  forest. Explore the campus, and try to attend an event that involves
  interacting with the students.

- It might not be easy to get entry to this one: Theosophical
  society. Another forest.

- You might like to visit the British Council, but there's nothing
  particularly special about the one in Chennai.

- Anna Centenary Library is another fabulous place to visit when you
  feel like spending a quiet evening reading. It's an absolutely
  massive library.

- There's also an Oxford Bookstore you can hang out in: you don't go
  there for the paltry book collection, but for the Cha Bar.

Well, I think I've said enough. Enjoy your stay!

If you're talking about the Oxford bookstore on Haddows Road, I'm sad to inform you it's no more :(

Nice write-up ;)

Did you miss out on the beach or was it a conscious omission?

There are a few other Oxford cha bars around the city.
I forgot about the beach: I wrote this down in a hurry.