Dosai with chutney and sambar traditionally served in banana leaf
The culture of Chennai, popularly called the "Gateway to the South India",[1] is distinct from that of any other Indian city. Chennai continues to be traditional and conventional in certain ways. Traditional music, dance and all other art forms of Tamil Nadu are very popular in the city. One can find a peculiar cultural blend in city, from traditional foods to fast foods, from ancient temple architecture to modern high-rises, and from classical music and dance to the growing nightlife.
A Bharata natyam concertCarnatic music concert at Sri Krishna Gana Sabha
The city is known for its classical music shows.[2] Every December, Chennai holds a five-week-long Music Season, which has been described as one of the world's largest cultural events.[3] The Music Season encompasses performances (kacheries) of traditional Carnatic music by hundreds of artists in and around the city. This happens during the Tamil season of Margazhi and this period is a festive and joyous time in Chennai. The mercury lies in the low twenties and the music rendered by the great musicians is soul-stirring and sensational. Carnatic music makes the December season a must-experience for visitors to Chennai.
Chennai is also known for the classical Indian dance, the Bharatanatyam, which is also the official dance of Tamil Nadu. An important cultural centre for Bharatanatyam is Kalakshetra (Sanskrit for "place of the arts"), located on the beach in the south of the city.
Though Chennai is the epicenter for Carnatic Music and Bharatanatyam, the participation in terms of audience and performers for both of these is from a very small minority of people belonging to the upper caste and upper class, excluding the majority of the city's people.[4] Musical forms like Gaana, which originated in slums of Chennai, and other art forms were given a big platform through the annual music festival, Margazhiyil Makkal Isai (people's music in Margazhi month), started by film director Pa._Ranjith's Neelam Panpaattu Maiyam, in 2020.[4] The festival showcases hundreds of musicians and dance artists, predominantly from the marginalised classes and castes performing various forms of music like oppari, parai, thappaattam, gaana, naattuppuram, themmangu[5] which are traditionally the music of the Tamil masses, and other forms like Rapping and Hip hop music which have been adapted and imbibed into Chennai's culture.[6]
In 2007, much before Margazhiyil Makkalisai, Chennai Sangamam, a Tamil cultural festival was started with similar goals of secularising and democratising public spaces and traditional artforms.[7] Usually held around Pongal festival, in January, the event showcases artforms like Thappattam, Karakattam, Devarattam, Kaniyan Koothu, Kavadi Aattam, Thodar Nadanam, Amba Paatu, Villupaatu, Sakkaikuchiyattam.[7] It was discontinued for ten years, from 2012, during the AIADMK regime, and restarted in 2021.[8] In addition to Tamil-Dravidian art forms, the 2024 edition featured artistes from Odisha, West Bengal and Punjab showcasing their traditional and tribal music and dance too.[7]
Chennai has a vibrant theatre scene, with a large number of Tamil plays being performed. Political satire, slapstick comedy, history, mythology and drama are some of the popular genres of Tamil plays. Prominent theatre personalities include Pammal Sambanda Mudaliar,[9] K.S. Nagarajan,[10] Cho Ramaswamy,[11] Indira Parthasarathy,[12] R.S. Manohar,[13] N. Muthuswamy,[14] English theatre is also popular in Chennai.Evam, a popular English theatre company is based in Chennai. They are the logistics partners of The Metroplus Theatre festival[15] which is held by a leading newspaper of the city, The Hindu, every year around July and August. A number of other English theatre companies like Unarviyam, Stray Factory, Theatre Y, ASAP productions, Still Water Productions, Boardwalkers, Masquerade - the performance group, Theatre Nisha, Alchemy Theatres, Rebelz, Stagefright Productions and last but not the least, India's oldest English theatre company,Madras Players stage plays throughout the year. Over the last four years[when?], Chennai has become active in theatre activities. School and college cultural festivals (locally called culfests) play an important role by providing platforms for the city's youth to indulge in art and culture. These culfests attract participants from around India. Some of the larger culfests in the city are 'Instincts(SSN College of Engineering), Saarang (IITM), Techofes (College of Engineering, Guindy), Deep Woods (MCC), Kalakrithi (ACT), Mitafest (MIT) Down Sterling (Loyola) and Srishti (Ethiraj College for Women, 'Alchemy Kids Theatre Annual Graduation' ).
Madras youth choir, based at Chennai - the oldest Indian choral music group in India started by M B srinivasan, presents many programmes through the year.
Also present is an established and growing culture of bands in western and other styles. Predominantly these are 'student bands', although there are professional bands such as The LBG. While the student bands are most visible in cultural fests and other competitions, pro-events like the June Rock Out, organised by the Unwind Centre, are dominated by established bands.[16][17]
The mylapore webportal dedicated to Arts & Culture of Chennai, music, drama, awards and events.[18]
Chennai is the base for the large Tamil movie industry, known as the Kollywood. The industry is, especially, attributed to the locality of Kodambakkam, where most of the movie studios are located. The industry makes about 100 Tamil movies a year, and its film soundtracks dominate the music scene in the city. Kollywood is the second biggest revenue generating Movie Industry in India only after Bollywood. Tamil movies and personalities are followed worldwide. Some of most technologically advanced movie studios of India are located in Chennai. Chennai also conducts Movie Fairs every year, attracting movies from worldwide. The Chennai film industry produced the first nationally distributed film across India in 1948 with Chandralekha. They have one of the widest overseas distribution, with large audience turnout from the Tamil diaspora. They are distributed to various parts of Asia, Africa, Western Europe, North America and Oceania. It is estimated by the Manorama Yearbook 2000 (a popular almanac) that over 5,000 Tamil films were produced in the 20th century.
Chennai has played a vital role in the evolution of traditional and contemporary art in India.
Lalit Kala Akademi, at Greams Road, holds regular exhibitions of works by established and emerging artists.
The Cholamandal Artists' Village is a centre of art and craft where artists and sculptors work in their own studios to supplement their income from the sale of paintings or sculptures. A permanent gallery attracts visitors throughout the year.
Chennai has produced some of the finest artists in India like K.C.S. Panicker, K.M.Adimoolam, A.V. Ilango, R.B. Bhaskaran, R.M. Palaniappan and N. Radhakrishnan.
Emerging artists including Aparajith, Benita Perciyal, Sivabalan, Cheenu Pillai, Sheela Maradi and Ramasuresh have made a name for themselves.
The majority of residents in Chennai are native Tamilians and descendants of settlers from different part of Tamil Nadu. There are also sizeable migrant Malayalee, Telungu, Sri Lankan Tamil communities in the city. A regional hub since British times, other prominent communities are the Anglo Indian, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati and Marwari communities and people from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Chennai also has a growing expatriate population especially from the United States, Europe and East Asia who work in the industries and IT centres.
Tamil is the city's first language. English is spoken widely in South Chennai and Central Chennai, (Kanchipuram and Chennai districts) and is used almost exclusively in business, education and other white collar professions. Tamil spoken in Chennai uses English words liberally, so much so that it is often called Madras bhashai (Tamil for "Madras language"). Other languages spoken in the city include Telugu, Malayalam and Urdu and they contribute to the vocabulary of Madras bhashai as well.
Chennai celebrates a number of festivals. Pongal, celebrated in the month of January, is the most important festival of and is celebrated over a period of five days. Pongal has been designated the "State Festival" for its unique celebration that is typical of Tamil Nadu. Though a harvest festival it is still celebrated widely in the city. Tamil New Year's Day signifying the beginning of the Tamil calendar usually falls on 14 April and is celebrated widely. Being a cosmopolitan city, almost all major religious festivals like Deepavali, Eid and Christmas are celebrated here.
Kalakshetra Foundation, formerly simply Kalakshetra, is an arts and cultural academy dedicated to the preservation of traditional values in Indian art and crafts, especially in the field of Bharatanatyam dance and Gandharvaveda music. Based in Chennai, India, the academy was founded in January 1936 by Rukmini Devi Arundale and her husband George Arundale. Under Arundale's guidance, the institution achieved national and international recognition for its unique style and perfectionism. In 1962, Kalakshetra moved to a new 40-hectre campus in Besant Nagar, Chennai.
Mylapore, or Thirumayilai, is a neighbourhood in the central part of the city of Chennai, India. It is one of the oldest residential parts of the city. The locality is claimed to be the birthplace of the celebrated Tamil philosopher Valluvar, and the Hindu saint and philosopher, Peyalvar. It is also believed by Christians to be the place of martyrdom of St. Thomas the Apostle, who preached along the Malabar Coast, and established the Malankara Nasrani community.
Madras Music Academy is one of the earliest established music academies in South India. Before the concept of infrastructure was introduced to India in the early 1920s, it was a gathering for elite musicians simply called Music Academy It plays an important role in encouraging and promoting primarily the Carnatic Music Indian art form. It played a vital role in the revival of the Indian classical dance form of Bharatnatyam in the 1930s when it faced near extinction due to a negative connotation caused by conservative societal standards.
Chennai Music Season is an event hosted every Mid November–January in Chennai Tamil Nadu. Spanning some 9 weeks, it comprises top-flight professional and amateur musicians. The traditional role of the Music Season is to allow aficionados of Carnatic music to appreciate performances by renowned artists, and to allow promising young artists to display their talent and skill. Audiences and artists come from across India and her diaspora to enjoy the season.
Narasimhan Ravikiran is an Indian slide instrumentalist, vocalist, composer, and orator, who created the concept of melharmony. He is the son of gottuvadhyam player Chitravina Narasimhan and the grandson of Narayan Iyengar, who was also a Carnatic musician.
Sudha Ragunathan is an Indian Carnatic vocalist, singer and composer. She was conferred the Kalaimamani award by the Government of Tamil Nadu in 1994, Padma Shri (2004) and Padma Bhushan (2015) by the Government of India, and Sangeetha Kalanidhi by Madras Music Academy in 2013.
Sirkazhi Govindarajan was a Tamil Carnatic vocalist and a leading playback singer of Tamil and Indian cinema.
Thiruvaarur Bakthavathsalam is a renowned mridangam Vidwan. In 2021, he was awarded the Sangeetha Kalanidhi award by the Madras Music Academy.
Sangita Kalanidhi Aruna Sairam is an Indian classical vocalist and carnatic music singer. She is a recipient of the Padma Shri award from the Government of India and was elected as the Vice Chairman of the Sangeet Natak Academy by the Government of India until 2022. In 2011, Aruna was the first Carnatic musician to perform at the BBC proms in London. She is also the first Carnatic musician to perform in Oud Festival of Israel (Jerusalem).
Gayathri “Kalaimamani” Girish is a Carnatic vocalist. She undertook an archival project titled “Azhwargalum Amudha Tamizhum” to render the Azhwar Pasurams on DD Podhigai television every week for 8 consecutive years. She serves on the artist panel for the ICCR which is an autonomous organisation of the Government of India, involved in India's external cultural relations, through cultural exchange with other countries and their peoples.
Urmila Sathyanarayana is an Indian classical dancer of bharatanatyam.
Sirkazhi G. Sivachidambaram is a Carnatic music vocalist and cinema playback singer from Chennai.
Smitha Madhav is a Carnatic Classical Singer and Bharatanatyam Dancer. Carnatic music is a system of music commonly associated with the southern part of India and one of the two main classifications of Indian Classical Music.
Sikkil C. Gurucharan is among the foremost young performing musicians of Carnatic music in India today. He is the grandson of Sikkil Kunjumani, elder of the internationally acclaimed flautists the Sikkil Sisters. Gurucharan has been under the tutelage Vaigal Shri S. Gnanaskandan and is currently being mentored by Shri B. Krishnamurthy. He is an 'A' grade All India Radio artist. The magazine India Today featured him among 35 Game Changers Under 35 in India, a list of young achievers from different walks of life.
Mannargudi Sambasiva Bhagavathar (1912–2004) was a Carnatic musician, musicologist, Harikatha exponent and composer.
Saroja Vaidyanathan was an Indian choreographer, guru, and notable proponent of Bharatanatyam. She was conferred the Padma Shri in 2002 and the Padma Bhushan in 2013 by the Government of India.
Dr. Gayatri Sankaran is an Indian Carnatic musician and vocalist specialising in Carnatic vocals and violin performances. She is a recipient of the Kalaimamani award from Tamil Nadu Eyal Isai Nataka Manram, a unit of the Directorate of Art and Culture, Government of Tamil Nadu. The Government of India honoured her in 2006 with the award of Padma Shri, the fourth highest Indian civilian award for her contributions to music, making her the first visually impaired woman to receive the award.
Sidharth Sriram is an Indian Carnatic musician, music producer, playback singer. He is an R&B songwriter and has been working in the Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi, Marathi and English music industry. He regularly collaborates with his sister Pallavi Sriram, a Bharatanatyam dancer, and music director.
Dr Shobana Vignesh is an Indian classical and devotional vocalist and a former actor. She is known as 'Mahanadhi' Shobana from her role in the film Mahanadhi.
Suguna Varadachari is a Carnatic vocalist and Carnatic music teacher from Tamil Nadu, India. She is also a Veena artist. She received several awards including Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and Sangita Kala Acharya Award by Madras Music Academy.
↑ "The Sultan of sarcasm". The Hindu. 17 July 2003. Archived from the original on 30 December 2008. Retrieved 22 September 2007.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
↑ "A firm grasp on theatre". The Hindu. 16 April 2000. Archived from the original on 29 November 2007. Retrieved 22 September 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
↑ "Riffs and rhythms". The Hindu. 14 July 2004. Archived from the original on 28 November 2007. Retrieved 22 September 2007.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
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