Detailed Information about Natyanjali Festival & Its Importance

Tamil Nadu one of the south Indian States of India has a very rich cultural heritage. Religion is a very important part of people's life there and people are great devotees of their deities. The age old culture and custom are reflected in the various kinds of festivals in a very peculiar way that are held here. There is one festival celebrated in a place called Chidambaram in Tamil Nadu which honors the God of Dance according to the Hindu mythology. He is the Lord Nataraj who is considered the epitome of dance and art. He is actually another form of Lord Shiva and therefore considered very sacred and holy. All dance and art lovers have a great devotion towards this God of dancing. This city of Chidambaram which is also known as the 'city of Cosmic dancer' is not very far from the capital city of Tamil Nadu, Chennai. Why this city is called that is because there lays, the ancient temple of the Lord Nataraj or the dancing Shiva. Millions of people from around the world visit this temple to see the magnificent design and architecture. The golden roof of the temple and the beautiful bronze idol of Nataraj often fascinate the people coming from outside India. There are many devotees too who come here in huge crowd especially during the Natyanjali festival time which usually take place during February and March.

It is amazing to be there for one can see Lord Nataraj in 108 different dance poses. He is renowned all over the world because this dancing pose is perfectly synthesized through a metal art. The festival in the name of Lord Shiva is celebrated for a period of 5 days within the premise of the temple. The festival commences from the night of the Maha Shivratri and goes on for another auspicious 5 long days. This is the time when dance lovers flock here from all over India. They also take time to perform in the events and show various types of traditional dances that India is proud of. Some devotees dance to please the Lord Shiva while some dance for they consider themselves very lucky to be able to dance in front of the great dance temple of the world.

The festival of Natyanjali is organized by the Government of India, Government of Tamil Nadu, the Department of Tourism, and the Ministry of tourism and the Natyanjali Trust collaboratively. Hence, one can see how much concern and effort is put by all to make this festival a success. The festival witnesses some of the most amazingly different styles of dancing and also music. Through the 5 day event musicians and dancers come from different parts of the country keeping their religion, class, caste or other differences aside and perform together under watchful eye of Lord Shiva. Hence, a message of unity through diversity is sent across throughout the world during this 5 day festival.

The city of Chidambaram is easy to reach and therefore people book their train and flight tickets in advance so that they don't miss being a part of this huge event.