Back at The Bangala: on the upcoming Chettinad Heritage and Cultural Festival

The Chettinad Heritage and Cultural Festival promises a deep dive into the region’s rich history

If visiting Chettinad and experiencing the region’s rich culture, flavourful cuisine, and extravagant architecture has been on your to-do list for way too long, the upcoming Chettinad Heritage and Cultural Festival is a good place to start.

Curated by noted Bharatanatyam artiste Leela Samson, the four-day festival to be held next month will bring to the fore literary talks, dance and musical performances. “The main idea is to draw attention to the heritage properties of Chettinad and our cultural moorings which are well-maintained in a district like Chettinad and its surrounding areas like Pudukkottai,” says Leela of the event that is all set to be held in the architecturally stunning Chettiar mansions and massive courtyards, as well as in open air spaces.

The line-up comprises temple tours and talks by historian Chitra Madhavan, mansion tours of Chettinad homes at Athangudi and Kadiapatti, a visit to the factory churning out the beautiful Athangudi tiles, a tour of Tamil Nadu’s Ayyanar groves by founder-director of DakshinaChitra Heritage Museum, Deborah Thiagarajan, a talk on Chettinad’s jewellery and textiles by jewellery historian and author Usha Balakrishnan, in addition to talks on architecture, vocal concerts, Bharatnatyam performances, cooking lessons at The Bangala, Karaikudi, and a bazaar at the MS House in Karaikudi selling textiles, jewellery, paintings and more.

Leela explains how the idea of the festival kickstarted over a conversation about the Chettinad mansions and their disintegration over the past few years. “Instead of selling out, I suggested it may become a city of privately-owned art institutions, galleries and museums. A haven for learning and preserving the mansions in their glory,” says the Padma Shri awardee, adding how with the blessings of Meenakshi Meyyappan of The Bangala, she, along with Yacob George, general manager, The Bangala, started the thought process and then brought in experts and elders of the community to join in.

Leela believes that the festival’s highlights would be the lectures of Chitra Madhavan that will provide a deeper understanding of the Shiva and Perumal streams of thought, the inaugural  abhishekam and Nadaswaram concert at the Vinayakar temple, and the Ayyanar trail led by Deborah.

And if you are a first-time visitor, she suggests viewing a few mansions which are still privately owned and therefore not easily accessible. “And, do all the things we are arranging on a platter — the Chettinad saris, jewellery, the Athangudi tiles, the temples,” she says.

Leela adds that after the event, she hopes the community will get together to create a museum with a black-and-white picture gallery, videos of ceremonies and marriages, family songs and recipes, and also trace business and trade routes between them and South-East Asia.