Mylapore Festival

Mylapore in Chennai retains the look and feel of an old neighbourhood, whose culture and heritage are typically South Indian. This makes the neighbourhood the perfect setting for a cultural festival.

Mylapore Festival is organised every year in Mylapore in the days leading to Pongal, the harvest festival celebrated by Tamilians. Mylapore Festival was started as a simple kolam contest in 2001 by the neighbourhood newspaper Mylapore Times. Over the years, it has grown into its present form.

This blog contains 20 photos shot in Chennai.

Location : Chennai District, Tamil Nadu.

Photos shot in January 2019.

All photos © S Srikant.

Artistes enacting a drama titled Love Pannungo Sir (fall in love, sir) during Mylapore Festival in Mylapore, Chennai.

A photo exhibition with the theme 'Mylapore of 60s and 70s' in South Mada Street in Mylapore, Chennai.

Tholpavakoothu, a form of shadow puppetry, in progress during Mylapore Festival in Mylapore, Chennai.

A contest of dayakattam, a traditional dice game, being held at Lady Sivaswami Ayyar Girls Higher Secondary School in Mylapore, Chennai.

A young couple poses near the main gopuram (entrance tower) of Kapaleeswarar Temple during Mylapore Festival in Mylapore, Chennai.

Women at a craft items stall during Mylapore Festival in Mylapore, Chennai.

Women cooking paniyaram, a South Indian dish, at a stall during Mylapore Festival in Mylapore, Chennai.

A stall selling clothes during Mylapore Festival in Mylapore, Chennai.

Customers at a stall selling traditional snacks during Mylapore Festival in Mylapore, Chennai.

Women and children at a craft items stall during Mylapore Festival in Mylapore, Chennai.

Carnatic music concert by Spoorthi Rao during Mylapore Festival at Nageswara Rao Park in Mylapore, Chennai.

A young girl ponders her next move during the chess tourney for children as part of Mylapore Festival at the Mylapore Club in Mylapore, Chennai.

Women drawing kolam during a contest as part of Mylapore Festival in North Mada Street in Mylapore, Chennai.

Rangoli contest organised during Mylapore Festival in North Mada Street in Mylapore, Chennai.

A woman makes rangoli during a contest as part of Mylapore Festival in North Mada Street in Mylapore, Chennai.

Merry-go-rounds for children in a street in Mylapore, Chennai. Children can be seen covering their faces to avoid getting dizzy, perhaps!

A woman blows air to disperse seeds during a traditional game at Lady Sivaswami Ayyar Girls Higher Secondary School in Mylapore, Chennai.

Young girls jump during a kolattam performance during Mylapore Festival in Mylapore, Chennai. Kolattam is a dance performed by holding sticks and striking them rhythmically.

Tamil Nadu folk dancers pick handkerchiefs from bottles on the floor while balancing karagams (pots) on head during Mylapore Festival in Mylapore, Chennai.

A Rajasthani folk dance being performed by students of a city college during Mylapore Festival in Mylapore, Chennai.