Chennai, January 2, 2026: The 22nd Edition of the popular Sundaram Finance Mylapore Festival will be held from January 8th to the 11th, 2026.
The festival returns to the historic neighbourhood of Mylapore, celebrating Chennai’s rich cultural heritage through a vibrant showcase of classical music, dance, heritage walks, kolam art, street theatre, and traditional crafts. Now a much-anticipated annual cultural landmark event, the festival brings the spirit of Mylapore to life in public spaces, making art and tradition accessible to people of all ages. Hosted across iconic venues in Mylapore, the festival transforms the locality into a living cultural canvas, drawing residents, visitors, artists, and cultural enthusiasts from across the city and beyond. The Festival reiterates Chennai’s status as the ‘seat of culture’ that has stood the test of time.
This festival, Sundaram Finance will launch a new initiative to encourage citizens to walk the BlueGreen Mile in 2026
As part of the Mylapore Festival, Sundaram Finance and EFI (Environmental Foundation of India) will launch a unique sustainability programme. Citizens will be trained by volunteers to set up their own kitchen gardens under the “Grow Your Food” initiative. Following the workshop, participants will join the BlueGreen Club, an urban community of kitchen garden enthusiasts. This group will connect virtually as needed and evolve into a vibrant network of practitioners. EFI will mentor and manage the club on behalf of Sundaram Finance.
This initiative will be scaled nationwide through Sundaram Finance branches under the Green Task Force (GTF)—an employee volunteering movement dedicated to identifying and promoting sustainability initiatives.
For the 15th consecutive year, Sundaram Finance will champion the cause of “Say No to Plastic Bags.” Around 10,000 cloth bags will be distributed to the public in exchange for plastic bags during all four days of the festival. EFI will assist in distribution and engage the public through interactive games while educating them on the harmful effects of plastic.
Additionally, Sundaram Finance will run the “Keep Mylapore Clean” campaign to raise awareness about hygiene and sanitation.
From January 8th to the 11th, 2026, there will be Kutcheris held at the Sri Kapaleeswarar Temple from 7 to 8 am. These will be a mix of vocal and instrumental concerts.
On the weekend of January 10th and 11th there will be a Chess tournament for children of the ages of under 8, 10 and 12 years at the Lady Sivasamy Ayyar School, Mylapore between 8 am to 11 am. There will also be an Art & Craft workshop for children between 8 to 12 years, where Paper Quilling and Pot Painting workshops will be held. Both these events are being held for the 16th year.
Spirit of Mylapore:
This is an annual award instituted in 2009 to recognize the long-term residents or institutions of Mylapore who have contributed significantly to its culture and heritage. This year, the recipient for the award will be unveiled on January 11th at 6.30 pm in the main stage. We will facilitate them with a token cheque and a citation.
Rajiv Lochan, Managing Director, Sundaram Finance said, “The Mylapore Festival reflects our enduring commitment to preserving and promoting India’s cultural heritage. By supporting the arts in open, inclusive spaces, we aim to nurture community engagement and pass traditions on to future generations.”
From being a culture-focussed initiative, the Sundaram Mylapore Festival over the years has evolved into a vibrant movement propelled by the community and its people, showcasing the enduring strength of collective passion. Performing artists, rasikas and the community at large collectively is what makes this ‘22’ year old festival very special as it has clearly evolved into a people driven movement- by the people and for the people.
One of the unique features of the Festival is the Spirit of Mylapore award – a recognition of an individual or an organisation that has contributed immensely to the culture and growth of Mylapore. This year will be the 16th year of the award and the recipient will be announced by 6.30 pm on the evening of January 11th, 2026.
Vincent D’Souza, Director of the Festival said, “The 2026 Festival has several special features. Over 150 artistes are performing on four evenings of the festival. These include school children of the city and dance artistes from Tiruchi and from Tiruppur. In addition, Eight Heritage Walks are being held which will cover heritage houses to Muslim roots, famed snacks stalls to temples and Mandavelipakkam and a tour on cycles for children. And over 200 people are expected to take part in the kolam and rangoli contests, to be held on two evenings ( Jan.10 and 11) on North Mada Street, Mylapore.
