The easiest time to see Tamil folk performance in Chennai is Pongal week, when the state’s Chennai Sangamam festival puts drummers, dancers and storytellers on free open-air stages across the city. In January 2025 it ran from 14 to 17 January with more than 1,500 artists at 18 venues, from 6 pm to 9 pm each evening, DT Next reported.
The rest of the year takes more looking. Folk forms turn up at temple festivals, weddings, political events and cultural centres, and the state now has a welfare board that lists 99 of them. Here is a short guide to the main forms and where to find them.
The forms you are most likely to see
- Karagattam: dancers balance a decorated pot (karagam) on the head while moving to nadaswaram and thavil. It is the form most often seen at Chennai festivals.
- Parai attam: performers dance while playing the parai, a frame drum struck with two sticks.
- Therukoothu: all-night street theatre, usually telling Mahabharata stories, with heavy make-up, tall headgear and songs. It is most associated with villages in the north of the state.
- Villupattu: storytelling sung to a large bow fitted with bells, with a lead singer and a chorus. It is strong in the southern districts.
- Others: Oyilattam (a line dance with scarves), Mayilattam (peacock costume), Poikkal Kuthirai or Puravi attam (dummy horse), Silambattam (staff fencing) and Kavadiyattam.
Chennai Sangamam in Pongal week
The festival, also called Namma Ooru Thiruvizha, is organised by the state Art and Culture Department. In its current form it has been held every Pongal season since 2022, according to ETV Bharat, which reported in January 2025 that performers’ pay was raised to Rs 5,000 a day.
The 2025 edition opened at the Ekambaranathar temple grounds in Kilpauk and featured karagattam, silambattam, devarattam, villupattu and therukoothu, as well as Toda, Irula, Kurumba and Kota tribal performers. Artists were picked through auditions.
Venues change each year but have included public parks and beaches. For the January 2023 edition, DT Next listed spots such as:
- Elliot’s Beach, Besant Nagar, and Beach Road, Thiruvanmiyur
- Nageswara Rao Park, Mylapore, and Natesan Park, T. Nagar
- Semmozhi Poonga and the Tennis Ground, Nungambakkam
- Tower Park, Anna Nagar, and Robinson Playground, Royapuram
- Corporation Ground, Kolathur, and Ramakrishna Nagar ground, Valasaravakkam
The state government had not announced plans for January 2027 when we checked on 18 October 2026. Watch for the venue list in early January.
Other places to catch folk performance
- DakshinaChitra, Muttukadu: the heritage museum on ECR stages folk performances and puppet shows on its open-air stage. A puppet show costs Rs 20 for adults and Rs 10 for children on top of entry.
- Government Music College campus, R.A. Puram: the campus on Greenways Road houses the Folk Artistes Welfare Board and was one of the 2025 Sangamam venues.
- Temple and street festivals: karagattam and parai groups are regularly hired for neighbourhood temple processions. Ask local temple committees for dates.
How the state supports folk artists
The Tamil Nadu Folk Artistes Welfare Board was set up in 2007. According to the Art and Culture Department’s policy note for 2024-25:
- 99 folk art forms are on its list, and 55,519 artistes had registered.
- Rs 209.11 lakh had been sanctioned to 9,157 artistes for spectacles, education, marriage, child delivery and death or funeral support.
- 500 folk artistes received Rs 10,000 each to buy instruments and costumes.
- Rs 2 crore was sanctioned for part-time folk art training at 25 centres from 2024-25.
The department’s May 2024 RTI disclosure lists individual amounts, including Rs 5,000 marriage aid, Rs 6,000 maternity aid, Rs 1,500 for spectacles and Rs 20,000 natural death assistance. The board is based on the Government Music College campus, Greenways Road, Chennai 600 028, phone 044 2461 5156.
For formal study, the state music and fine arts university in R.A. Puram runs a one-year diploma in folk music and villupattu; this year’s form listed tuition of Rs 15,000.
Quick answers
When is Chennai Sangamam held?
Around Pongal in mid-January, over four evenings, usually from 6 pm to 9 pm. It has been free to watch.
How many folk art forms does Tamil Nadu recognise?
The Folk Artistes Welfare Board lists 99 forms.
How can a folk artiste get welfare support?
By registering with the Folk Artistes Welfare Board in R.A. Puram. Call 044 2461 5156 for the form and documents.
Information checked against official sources on 18 October 2026. Fees, dates and rules can change; confirm on the linked official pages before acting.
Sources
- Art and Culture Department Policy Note 2024-25 (Government of Tamil Nadu)
- RTI Section 4(1)(b) disclosure, 24.05.2024 (Department of Art and Culture, Tamil Nadu)
- Folk Music and Villupattu application 2026-27 (TN Dr. J. Jayalalithaa Music and Fine Arts University)
- Chennai Sangamam: over 1,500 folk artists to perform for 4 days (DT Next)
- Four-day Namma Ooru Thiruvizha at 16 locations from Jan 13 (DT Next)
- CM hikes Sangamam fest performing artists’ daily wage to Rs 5,000 (ETV Bharat)
- Namma Ooru Thiruvizha Chennai Sangamam: a celebration of Tamil culture (Madras Musings)
- Visit DakshinaChitra (DakshinaChitra Heritage Museum)
