Chithirai Festival: Namma Ooru Thiruvizha instils hope among folk artistes

TIRUCHY: The concept of Namma Ooru Thiruvizha, which has been spearheaded by the state government, has given solace to the folk performers from across the state who have been facing difficulty running their families.

As the Namma Ooru Thiruvizha gives top priority to the folk performances, the artistes who have been sitting idle are made active as at least they can get some income.

Though every artiste's main plan is to perform at the Chennai Sangamam, Namma Ooru Thiruvizha, only a limited teams scrutinised from the divisional level are allowed to perform, and the selection process is very lengthy and tough.

“There are around 1,000 teams across the 39 districts of Tamil Nadu, and each district would have at least 25 to 50 teams, and they would perform in their respective district on a particular notified period. And the selected teams would perform at the regional level,” said M Ilangovan, Selection Coordinator for Namma Ooru Thiruvizha, Tiruchy.

There are seven regions in the state -- Tiruchy, Thanjavur, Coimbatore, Salem, Madurai and Tirunelveli and the best teams from respective regions are allowed to perform in the Chennai Sangamam.

For the upcoming year, the selection process for the Chennai Sangamam-2026 has already started in every district, and the Sangamam is scheduled from January 14 to 18 in 2026.

“Each region would send 20 teams, and thus 140 teams would take part in the Chennai Sangamam,” he said.

Meanwhile, the artistes are given monetary assistance ranging up to Rs 5,000. “For regional level performance, a remuneration of Rs 3,000 is given to each performer while Rs 5,000 is given to the artistes selected for Chennai Sangamam,” Ilangovan said and added that it is a gesture from the government to help out the folk artistes in the state.

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