Annual Chhau festivals bring communities together to celebrate heritage through vibrant performances, traditional music, and inter-village gatherings. These festivals not only showcase the stylistic richness of Seraikela, Mayurbhanj, Manbhum, and Kharsawan forms, but also sustain living traditions by training young dancers, revitalising craft practices, and strengthening the cultural identity of the region.
The Mayurbhanj Chhau Festival 2026 will be held on March 13 to 15, 2026, from 3:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Kandsore, Mayurbhanj, Odisha.
The Chhau Festival 2026 unfolded from February 6th to 8th at the Nimdih Gandhi Ashram in Seraikela-Kharsawan, Jharkhand, bringing alive the mesmerizing energy of India’s tribal heritage. Curated around the evocative theme “Four Rhythms, One Soul,” the festival celebrated the four distinct traditions of Chhau—Seraikela, Kharsawan, Manbhum, and Mayurbhanj—through masks, martial movements, and powerful rhythmic storytelling that […]
The Chhau Festival was held at Alliance University in Bengaluru on November 8 and 9, 2025, as a celebration of India’s UNESCO-recognized Intangible Cultural Heritage. Organized under the Heritage4Prosperity program, the festival presented the three regional styles of Chhau, namely Seraikela, Kharsawan, and Manbhum, and highlighted their distinctive aesthetics, narratives, and martial foundations. Master practitioners […]
A 12 member Chhau dance team from Purulia, was invited to perform at ‘A Tapestry of Sacred Music’, organized by Esplanade – Theatres by the Bay, a cultural space located in Singapore’s Marina Bay area. The selected Chau team is part of Rural Craft and Cultural Hubs initiative, a collaborative project between Department of MSME&T, […]
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5 Chau artists led by Jagannath Chowdhury and Biren Kalindi participated in the 24th edition of Urkult Festival in Sweden in 2019.
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In 2019, 5 Chau artists led by Jagannath Chowdhury participated in the India Summer Days Festival in Karlsruhe, Germany from July 13-14.
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Eminent Chau artist Jagannath Chowdhury and his daughter Mousumi Chowdhury showcased their art-from at Transform Festival in Trondheim, Norway from 1-7 October 2018. Mousumi did a workshop with the kids at the Festival.
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5 Chau artists of Purulia participated in the India Summer Days Festival in Karlsruhe, Germany from July 14-15, 2018.
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2 young Chau dancers Bappaditya Mahato and Bijay Kishore Mahali attended the Seattle International Dance Festival from June 21 – 25 2017.
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The International Folklore Festival BALTICA is a unique co-project of the three Baltic States of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Baltica-2017 was held at Vilnius in Lithuania from July 4 – 9, 2017.
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An 8-member delegation represented India at the 10th International Folklore Festival of Noyon in France, held from July 4 – 8, 2017. It included a five-member Chhau team led by Jagannath Chowdhury of Purulia.
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