DakshinaChitra celebrates the Village Heritage Festival. This festival showcases the varied folk art forms of South India.
January 2 - 7 Urumu dance
Urumulu or thunder dance is a ceremonial dance form of Andhra Pradesh. The dance is performed by Urumu Naganna and troupe. Urumu is a percussion instrument made out of brass or bell metal with sides covered with goat skin. The dance is performed to please the deity Akkamma.
Jan 9 - 13 Thudumbattam
Thudumbattam is a traditional folk dance form of Tamil Nadu, performed by Cheran Thudumbattam Kuzhu from Coimbatore. They use a percussion instrument called Thudumbu . They were also played for the feudal lords who went into the forests for Vana Bhojana or food in the woods.
Jan 14 - 17 Pongal
The favourite festival of Tamil Nadu is Pongal. Thanjai Raju and troupe of Grammiya Kalai Kuzhu will perform Mayilattam, Poikal Kudirai and Karagam on all the days.
Jan 18- 24 Theyyam
Sponsored by the Kerala Folklore Akademi, Theyyam is the hugely popular folk performance from the North Malabar region of Kerala. The Theyyam gods are believed to be invoked and their spirits temporarily called forth to embody an empowered individual, who then acts as a medium between the higher energies and the human beings.
Jan 25 - 31 Kangilu
The Mahaganapathy Janapada Kalatanda troupe from Udipi will perform this dance which gets its name from Kang or the areca nut tree. Originally the dancers wore costumes made with strips of the areca nut leaves. They dance to the rhythm of the Dolu drum in honour of the deity to drive away evil from their villages.
There will be three performances a day between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. For details, call: 2446 2435
