Festivals and Traditions

Heritage is not found only in temples, churches, old buildings and monuments.

Sometimes, it comes alive on the streets.

A temple procession can bring an entire neighbourhood to a halt. Rows of Kolu dolls can transform the Mada Streets of Mylapore. Giant ceremonial umbrellas can begin a journey from Chennai towards Tirupati. In another part of the city, a church festival may draw thousands of people for several days.

Some of these traditions are famous. Others survive within particular communities and neighbourhoods, largely unnoticed by the rest of the city.

This page brings together the festivals, processions and community traditions I have explored. Most are connected with Chennai, and more will be added as I continue documenting them.

Religious Festivals and Processions

Madhavaram Festival

The annual festival of St. Sebastian Church at Madhavaram is one of North Chennai's long-standing Christian celebrations.

Held over several days, the festival brings together worship, processions, roadside stalls and large crowds. What begins as a church festival gradually spreads into the surrounding streets and becomes a neighbourhood event in its own right.

Tirupati Umbrella

Every year, specially made ceremonial umbrellas begin their journey from Chennai towards Tirupati for the Brahmotsavam of Lord Venkateswara.

The procession has been part of Chennai's religious landscape for generations. The umbrellas travel through the city before eventually reaching Tirumala, turning what might otherwise have been a simple offering into a public procession with a history of its own.

Mayanakollai

Mayana Kollai is one of Chennai's more unusual religious festivals.

Associated with Angala Parameswari worship, the celebration includes a procession towards a cremation ground, where the final rituals take place. The atmosphere is intense, colourful and quite different from the better-known temple festivals of the city.

The tradition survives in several old Chennai localities, including Saidapet and Mylapore.

Nagarathars Car Festival

This is one of those Chennai traditions that deserves to be much better known.

During Masi Maham, temple chariots carrying Muthukumara Swami with Valli and Devasena leave the old Nagarathar chattirams of George Town and travel several kilometres towards Tiruvottriyur.

The chariots themselves are worth observing for their woodwork, paintings and silver-covered upper portions. But it is the unusually long journey through North Chennai that makes the festival particularly interesting.

Arubathumoovar Procession

Few festivals change the appearance of Mylapore as completely as the Arubathumoovar procession.

It forms part of the annual Panguni festival of the Kapaleeswarar Temple. The bronze processional images of the 63 Nayanmars, the great Shaivite saints, are taken through the Mada Streets along with Kapaleeswarar, Karpagambal and other deities.

The crowds, decorated palanquins, street vendors and endless movement turn Mylapore into one enormous festival space.

Navaratri Traditions

Mylapore during Navaratri

Navaratri gives Mylapore a completely different appearance.

Temporary stalls fill the Mada Streets around Kapaleeswarar Temple with Kolu dolls in every imaginable size and theme. Deities, saints, village scenes, animals and contemporary subjects all find their way onto the steps of household Kolu displays.

Even if you do not intend to buy a single doll, walking through Mylapore during Navaratri is an experience by itself.

The Kolu Tradition of Gujaratis

Kolu is usually associated with Tamil Nadu and other parts of South India rather than Gujarat.

That is precisely what makes the Gujarati Kolu tradition in Chennai interesting.

The article looks at how a Gujarati community settled in Tamil Nadu adopted a local Navaratri custom and made it part of its own celebration. It is a small example of how traditions travel, adapt and sometimes become shared heritage.

Communities and Culture

The Anglo Indians of Chennai

Chennai has long had an Anglo-Indian community, particularly in neighbourhoods such as Perambur and Pallavaram.

The community developed its own food, music, language, social customs and religious traditions while remaining closely connected with the city's railway and colonial history.

The numbers may have declined over the decades, but the Anglo-Indian contribution remains an important part of Chennai's cultural story.

Festivals are often temporary.

A procession may last only a few hours. Decorations disappear. Streets return to normal.

But the tradition continues.

And that is what makes these celebrations worth documenting.