Book Building

Chennai (Madras)


Within this mural-covered space, Tara Books stages free exhibitions, author talks and workshops with visiting artists, and displays its own highly original handmade books. With prior notice, you can visit the workshop where the books are created (20 minutes' drive away).

The Book Building is conveniently visited together with the nearby Kalakshetra Foundation, just 700m north.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Chennai (Madras) attractions

1. Tara Books

Producers of beautiful hand-printed books, this publishing company is based in southern Chennai. Visit its Book Building showroom, where you can browse,…

2. Kalakshetra Foundation

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Founded in 1936, Kalakshetra is a leading serious school of Tamil classical dance and music (sponsoring many students from disadvantaged backgrounds), set…

3. Theosophical Society

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Between the Adyar River and the coast, the 100-hectare grounds of the Theosophical Society provide a peaceful, green, vehicle-free retreat from the city…

4. AMM Screens

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The printing workshop of Tara Books, where you can watch pages being silk-screened and hand-bound into books.

5. Sri Ramakrishna Math

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The tranquil, flowery grounds of the Ramakrishna Math are a world away from Mylapore's chaos. Orange-robed monks glide around and there’s a reverential…

6. Little Mount Church

3.25 MILES

For part of his South Indian sojourn, St Thomas supposedly lived in hiding in a cave just south of the Adyar River. This grottolike space can be entered…

7. Kapaleeshwarar Temple

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Mylapore is one of Chennai's most characterful and traditional neighbourhoods; it predated colonial Madras by several centuries. Its Kapaleeshwarar Temple…

8. San Thome Cathedral

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This soaring Roman Catholic cathedral, a stone's throw from the beach, was founded by the Portuguese in 1523, then rebuilt by the British in neo-Gothic…

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