Chennai Sangamam (

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

: சென்னை சங்கமம்) is a large annual open

cultural festival held in the city of

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

. The festival is organized by the Tamil Maiyam and Department of Tourism and Culture of the

Government of Tamil Nadu Government of Tamil Nadu is the subnational government for the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is seated at Fort St George, Chennai. The legislature of Tamil Nadu was bicameral until 1986, when it was replaced by a unicameral legislature, l ...

with the intention of rejuvenating the old village festivals, art and artists. The festival is centered on the occasion of Tamil

harvest festival A harvest festival is an annual celebration that occurs around the time of the main harvest of a given region. Given the differences in climate and crops around the world, harvest festivals can be found at various times at different places. ...

of Pongal, and takes place for a week-long period. The festival is conceived to be the longest and biggest open Festival in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

History

The idea of organizing a festival during Pongal showcasing the culture of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

was conceived by Kanimozhi, Member of Parliament from Tamil Nadu and daughter of

M Karunanidhi Muthuvel Karunanidhi (3 June 1924 – 7 August 2018) was an Indian writer and politician who served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for almost two decades over five terms between 1969 and 2011. He was popularly referred to as Kalaignar (Art ...

and Rev. Fr. Jegath Gaspar Raj, founder of Tamil Maiyam, in September 2006. The festival was rolled out in 2007, with patronization of the Government of Tamil Nadu.

Festival description

The festival is organized at various places in

Chennai city Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

including beaches, parks, corporation grounds, college / school grounds and shopping malls. The idea to have it in the open parks, beaches and streets was an inspiration from the Bengaluru Habba celebrations. The events that mark the festival include traditional and folk music shows folk dances, martial arts, classical music and dance performances, street plays, drama / theater, etc. Apart from these, food component got added in the second edition of Chennai Sangamam in 2008 where food outlets catering traditional

Tamil cuisine Tamil cuisine is a culinary style originating in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu and other countries of South Asia like Sri Lanka. Both vegetarian cuisine and non-vegetarian cuisine are popular among the Tamil people and have been s ...

also became part of the celebrations. More than 2,000 performers take part in the event which accommodates around 4,000 performances annually.

References

External links

{{Chennai Topics Tamil festivals