Mysterious
legends surround the church. A story goes behind the festival Our Merciful
Mother rescued a few Portuguese merchant sailors from a violent storm, which
wrecked their ship. When the merchants reached the shore of Velankanni they
were taken by local fisherman to the thatched chapel. To give thanks and pay
tribute to Our Lady, they built a small permanent chapel on their return
trip. On subsequent visits they improved on it. The merchants dedicated the
chapel to Our Lady on September 8th to celebrate the feast of her nativity
and to mark the date of their safe landing to Velankanni.
Today, the celebration of this feast is an annual festival which lasts for
9 days and draws more than a million and a half pilgrims. Velankanni
attracts more pilgrims than any other sacred shrine in India. Not only do
multitudes of Catholic travel there throughout the year but many
non-Christians visit as well. Hundreds of miraculous cures are reported
every year
The
internationally acclaimed and globally renowned "Mahabalipuram Dance
Festival" is organized by the Department of Tourism, every year in
Mahabalipuram - the renowned and ancient 7th century centre for Pallava
culture and arts.
The Dance festival starts on the 25th of December every year and is
conducted on all Saturdays and Government holidays, upto February first
week. Dancers and musicians of repute from India and abroad thrill the
crowds every year. Folk dances of India are an added attraction.
Sit before an open-air 'stage' created 13 centuries ago, the incredible
monolithic rock sculptures of the Pallavas, next to the sea in this ancient
city of Mahabalipuram. Lovers of dance will be treated to a very unique and
unforgettably aesthetic event: Bharadanatyam, Kuchipudi, Kathakali and
Odissi, presented by the very best exponents of the art besides folk dances.
Starts
from the day of Mahashivaratri, for 5 days. Chidambaram is situated along
the coast of the Bay of Bengal, 75 kms south of Pondicherry. Lord Nataraja,
according to the Hindu mythology is a cosmic dancer. He is called the Lord
of dances. This is an opportunity for all dancers, from all India, to
perform and to pay their tribute to Lord Nataraja. The Natyanjali festival,
which brings all the prominent dancers of India, together on the same
platform, opens on the auspicious occasion of Mahashivaratri, in the month
of February. It is performed at the 'Prakara' of the temple, and the
dancers, full of intense bliss and devotion, with their evocative abhinaya,
offers their dance to the great divinity, Lord Nataraja.
Festivals have great value in Chidambaram. The Natyanjali festival
dedicated to the Cosmic Dancer (Lord Shiva) is celebrated every year during
February-March. Lord Nataraja, according to Hindu mythology is the cosmic
dancer. He is also called "the Lord of Dances".
Natyanjali festival is designed to promote a universal message of 'Unity in
Diversity' conveyed in the universal language of music and dance.
How to get there ?
Air : The nearest airport is at Trichy, at a distance of
160-km.
Rail : The railway station is close to the Nataraja
Temple. Express and passenger trains leave for Chennai four times daily,
Kumbakonam, Thanjavur twice daily, Tiruchirapalli and Madurai.
Road : Chidambaram is well connected by road with
Chennai, Pondicherry, Madurai, Thanjavur, etc.
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