As the first British settlement in India (1640), Chennai has a fine legacy of colonial architecture, displaying influences from the classicism of the 18th century to the eclectic Anglo-Indian School of the late 19th. Classic sights include Fort St George, built to protect the nascent British colony, the Indo-Saracenic High Court building, the Theosophical Society building and gardens, the 16th-century Kapaleeswarar Temple to Shiva, and, outside town, the Cholamandal Artists' Village. Today, Chennai is the fourth largest city in India and the state capital of Tamil Nadu. Cars, buses and auto-rickshaws jostle noisily for space and the population is booming as Chennai embraces the 21st century.
Tamil Nadu, South India