Catch performances by Tamil’s popular indie musicians and sample street food at The Hindu’s Made of Chennai Fest

‘Vandharai vaazhaveikkum Chennai’, an oft used axiom referring to the city’s hospitality, holds absolute validity for most musicians performing at the third edition of The Hindu’sMade of Chennai Food and Music Festival. Although the city may have seemed daunting to them after having trooped to Chennai from small towns and villages, this epicentre of Tamil cinema and culture has developed the uncanny ability to help the talented rise to superstardom.

On September 13 and 14, a host of these accomplished artistes from different parts of the country including the likes of Thaikkudam Bridge, Antony Dasan, and Pradeep Kumar, will take over YMCA Ground in Nadanam. A food festival showcasing some of the city’s most iconic street food, biryani, and homegrown brands, will take place alongside the music festival. Some artistes who are in rehearsals, getting ready to perform at the event speak of their fond Chennai memories and tell us where they step out to eat.

ADK at a previous concert
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Mor to come

Singer Pradeep Kumar who arrived in Chennai at 17, hoping to pursue a career in music, lived in the crowded bylanes of Ranganathan street in T Nagar when he first got here. “The lodge is an inescapable Chennai experience for most bachelors who come here. The city seemed so huge. The space was big,” says the singer who is performing on September 13. After years of having lived in the city, the perception has changed. “It has become small again. Everyone forms their own silos, don’t they,” he says.

The artiste who recently released ‘Osai Kekudho’, his latest album on vinyl, says that his performance is a ‘set list’ and not a ‘playlist’ unfortunately. In the finite time he has, Pradeep promises to perform highlights from his cinema career and songs from his independent albums.

The singer, originally from Tiruchi, says that he began heading out to eat only when he arrived in Chennai and enjoys the occasional Burma atho indulgence. Now though, he steps out only to drink butter milk with fixings like boondhi and raw mango by mor thatha.

Oorka, the band
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

On the other hand, Eelam Tamil rapper Aaryan Dinesh Kanagaratnam who goes by the name ADK, says that the minute he lands in Chennai, he places an order at Ambur Star Biryani. “Only then do I attend to my next task,” he says.

ADK now calls Chennai his second home and says that he spends half his year in the city. He is passionate about food and tends to eat at Erode Amman Mess when he is in town but has now begun sampling biryanis (only mutton biryani is biryani, he alleges) from some underground legendary shops too. “We have lots of kothu parotta in Sri Lanka but the way they make it in Chennai has a light moistness due to the egg. It is light. I could keep eating it,” he says.

For the food and music festival when he performs on September 13, he promises crowd pleasers from his discography like ‘Magudi’ and ‘Aathichudi’ but adds that he will also be testing out his independent raps and a Sri Lankan baila song. “That is when one can truly test out a song’s might,” he says.

Chinnaponnu, the folk artiste behind the runaway hit ‘Nakku Mukka’, will be getting on stage at the festival on September 14. Although she has ascended many packed performance platforms since she first began, her fondest memory of a show is the first edition of Chennai sangamam back in 2007. “So many folk artistes performing karagattam, mayil attam and several other forms of music and dance got on that stage. We performed at schools, at the beach, and concert venues. An audience always gathered. That is what I love about Chennai. There is an audience anywhere one performs,” she says.

The artiste says that every performance of her is hinged on energy that she receives from the audience. It is why her set list is full of songs that help the audience explode. “I will be singing folk and cinema music. I love it when the audience requests my folk songs. It feels like everyone wants to connect to their roots,” she says.

Although originally from Thanjavur and Sivaganga, the artiste who now lives in Chennai says that she rarely ever eats out, but when she does, it is for a meal that reminds her of her home. “I like a good meal at Hotel Virudhunagar,” she says.

People gathered at The Hindu Made of Chennai food and music festival at Island grounds, Chennai at a previous edition
| Photo Credit:
Akhila Easwaran

Unlike the other artistes here, Bharath Sankar, the frontman of the Tamil band Oorka, says that he has been a Chennai resident all his life. In what he calls his home turf, his science lab, and kitchen, Bharath says that musicians are given all the space and time to experiment. When they perform on September 14, expect to see singer Pradeep Kumar yet again, this time, playing the bass guitar. “Only a few days ago, an audience member texted me saying that he had watched us perform at an event by The Hindu in 2018. We had a performance after lunch and were unsure about the response but we got heartening messages. That is the kind of audience we have in Chennai and we are excited to perform on the home turf again,” he says.

Treating the taste buds

For all these artistes and for everyone else looking to attend the event, Shabnam Kamil, the curator of the food festival promises delights from the Chennai street food scene. For three years now, legendary brands like C. Kunhiraman General Stores (with mango ice cream, milk and various other treats), G Gopaul Dairy (with bun butter jam), and KGN Aarifa Biryani (with their biryani), who usually do not put up stalls at festivals, will make an appearance for the third time too. “The vendors have been asking me for dates of the festival for many months now because they are sure that the audience enjoys their food. It is an opportunity for owners to see the kind of love people have for their brands,” she says.

C Kunhiraman General Stores in Royapuram has been selling mango ice cream, made in-house, since 1953.
| Photo Credit:
JOTHI RAMALINGAM B

Shabnam adds that homegrown brands from Chennai, Coimbatore and Sattur will also be here like Batter, Ciclo Cafe, Sattur Snacks and Kovai Anganam. “I wait for August every year. The food festival makes everyone’s hard work worth it,” she says.

If you want to check out The Hindu’s Food and Music festival on September 13 and 14, register at madeofchennai.thehindu.com.

The Hindu Made of Chennai is presented by Casagrand and powered by SRM. In association with Union Bank of India. Associate Partners: Tata Tea Chakra Gold, Tata Coffee, Hell Energy. Tourism sponsor: UP Tourism. Hydration partner: Parry Foods. The event is also done in partnership with Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation, Greater Chennai Corporation, Greater Chennai Police, Greater Chennai Traffic Police and Namma Marina, Namma Pride. Radio Partners: Big FM, Fever FM and Radio On. Activewear partner: Technosport. Walk partners: Port Trust of India and Kamarajar Port Limited. Happiness Partner: On The Streets Of Chennai.

Published – September 04, 2025 12:27 pm IST