For V Ravichandar, a recent first visit to the fabled mansions of Chettinad was inspiring. Ravichandar, who guided the Bangalore International Centre through its formative years and is the founder of Bengaluru Hubba returned home fizzing with ideas. Impressed by the street layout of Chettinad towns that are akin to New York’s grid and their mansions in a medley of architectural styles ranging from Art Deco to Art Nouveau, Ravichandar is determined to start a residency for architects and students in a restored mansion there.
Chidambara Vilas, a historic luxury resort.
| Photo Credit:
Sangita Rajan
He is attending the upcoming Chettinad Heritage and Cultural Festival, which runs from September 18-22, and believes the festival has the potential to make Chettinad a location for midsized conferences and something approaching an all-year destination, just as the Fringe Festival did for Edinburgh.
“I was blown away by the potential of the place,” he reports, still bubbling over with stories about the region. Now, Ravichandar is planning to visit the festival in September and discuss with the committee making the festival more global.
Weaving worlds
As the Chettinad Cultural and Heritage Festival turns five this year, its offerings are paradoxically as varied and traditional as ever. Author, politician and Member of Lok Sabha, Shashi Tharoor is scheduled to speak about the idea of India, while there are also talks that spotlight the architectural traditions of South India.
A Chettinad saree being woven
| Photo Credit:
Sangita Rajan
The Registry of Sarees is holding an exhibition which will see cultural impresario Malvika Singh, who has worked on cultural projects across Rajasthan as part of an advisory council to former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, speak about patronage and textiles.
To spotlight textiles and craft in a unique way, Ashdeen Lilaowala is set to present a choreographed show with Yali dancers. This promises to be a genre-defying show-stopper in dance form of the Registry’s contemporary-classic take on textiles. Ally Matthan, who founded the Registry of Sarees, says the exhibition and talk between Peter Lee and Lilaowala brings together Parsi, Peranakan and Chettiar cultures in a manner that refutes notions of “cultural appropriation” and emphasises instead on a confluence of cultures. The visitors this year include a contingent of about 10 from Singapore as well as visitors from the UK and France.
House of memories
The opening of a new museum of Chettinad culture in part of the home of Crafts Council India chairperson Visalakshi Ramaswamy promises to be a must-see attraction this year and beyond. She believes museums are often crammed full of objects, but visitors often come away with scant understanding of how they were used. She is planning exhibits by zeroing in on one piece of jewellery, one textile and one household object.
Visalakshi Ramaswamy
| Photo Credit:
Special arrangement
Visalakshi, who revived basket weaving and reinvigorated saree making traditions in Chettinad and founded the acclaimed Chennai store Manjal, is also planning a library of documents and books on Chettinad in her room. The products sold in Manjal will be available at the festival as well.
Traditional banana leaf Chettinad lunches and eclectic dinners with dishes from Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Singapore are always part of the festival’s generous offerings. Even so, this year’s hawker’s dinner, which roams as far as Myanmar and features dishes from across Southeast Asia will leave guests spoiled for choice. The Chettiar community were microfinanciers across these countries in the colonial era; their food, notably at dinner, reflects that.
The women within
Meenakshi Meyyappan
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Another dinner during the festival pays homage to the Chettiar trade with Sri Lanka. The Bangala, and by extension the festival’s lunches and dinners, is far removed from the over spiced and oily food Chettinad restaurants often serve. Be warned, however: merely glancing at the festival’s expansive menus might result in weight gain. Some visitors may be overwhelmed by large breakfasts, banana leaf lunches with countless dishes and eclectic, cosmopolitan dinners but Meenakshi Meyyappan, who founded the festival, is unyielding. “People expect a feast when they come to Chettinad,” she says.
A view of Chidambara Vilas, a luxury heritage resort
| Photo Credit:
Sangita Rajan
Festival passes and rooms remain on offer at some of the fine luxury hotels participating, including the grand Chidambara Vilas, the French-designed Saratha Vilas Chettinad Palace and Priya Paul’s The Lotus Palace Chettinad by The Park Hotels.
Amid morning temple tours and evening dance and music programming over the four days, a theatrical presentation will pay tribute to Chettiar matriarchs in a theatrical presentation. This seems abstract compared to witnessing Meyyappan, 92, energetically multitask to ensure Chettinad’s attractions are ready for a spate of visitors. Last year’s festival attracted as many as 180 visitors.
As it goes forward, the festival will need to cast its net wider and address more global and national themes as well as engage with younger audiences on social media. The effort to draw future travellers to still relatively under-visited towns populated by what the New York Times memorably called India’s definitive “party mansions” continues. The show must go on.
For details regarding the festival, write to chettinadheritagefestival@gmail.com.
Published – August 29, 2026 07:00 am IST
