Elliot's beach
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Elliot's Beach it is situated in Besant Nagar, a suburb of Chennai, India. Sometimes Elliot's beach is colloquially referred to as Besant Nagar beach, after the area it is located in. The beach used to be a little less crowded than the Marina Beach and a lot more cleaner than it. The beach is now a 'lung' of Chennai, popular with a crowd who frequent the beach to cool off and get a break from the city's otherwise humid weather. The beach is pleasant, safe for swimming and also ideal for lazy lounging and picnicking.
There is a stone memorial on the beach for Dutch sailor, Karl Schmidt, who lost his life rescuing a drowning swimmer.
The road next to the beach is lined by a lot of restaurants and small eat-outs. Elliot's beach is also the popular local for movie shoots of popular Indian feature films. The road adjoining the beach has been featured in numerous fight scenes in Indian films.
The beach is becoming quite crowded on all days of the week, particularly in the evenings, and is the number one hangout for the youth. It is not uncommon to see a variety of games, from the traditional soccer,cricket et al to the more chic beach volleyball being played in the beach.
To the south of the beach are two popular places of worship - Ashtalakshmi Kovil (a temple) and the Velankanni Church.
About a kilometer to the north of the Elliot's beach is a clean and quiet stretch of the beach, behind the Theosophical Society headquarters. The river Adyar meets the sea here. This place is of interest to bird-watchers (of all kinds!). A variety of birds like flamingoes, egrets, pond-herons and are seen here.