What's on in Chennai (Madras), India through the year

Peak crowds — Pongal, Margazhi music season

• Holiday

  Pongal

  13–17 Jan · usuallyHarvestClosures

  Four days of harvest holiday. The city empties towards the villages, offices and many restaurants shut, and every bus and train out is booked a fortnight ahead. Source ↗

Still on: Margazhi music season (15 Dec – 15 Jan)

Busy — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in February.

Busy — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in March.

Busy — Summer vacation (Kerala / far south) in India, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in April.

Busy — Summer vacation (north & east) in India

• Hazard

  Agni Natchathiram heat

  4–28 May · usuallyExtreme heat

  The fortnight the Tamil almanac names as the hottest of the year, and the city agrees with it. Schools are out, work starts early, and nobody crosses the Marina sand between eleven and four. Source ↗

Busy — Summer vacation (north & east) in India, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in June.

Shoulder season — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in July.

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in August.

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in September.

Busy — Autumn break (Dussehra / Diwali) in India, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Hazard

  Bay of Bengal cyclone season

  1 Oct – 15 Dec · usuallyClosures

  A system or two a season comes close enough to shut the airport for a day and put the fishing fleet ashore. Warnings run several days out, so the cost is usually a lost day rather than a lost trip. Source ↗

• Season

  Northeast monsoon

  15 Oct – 31 Dec · usuallyRisk

  Most of Chennai's rain falls in these ten weeks, in long grey spells rather than afternoon storms, and the low parts of the city go under when a depression parks offshore.

Quiet — one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in November.

Still on: Bay of Bengal cyclone season (1 Oct – 15 Dec (usually)), Northeast monsoon (15 Oct – 31 Dec (usually))

Peak crowds — Margazhi music season, Winter break in India

• Festival

  Margazhi music season

  15 Dec – 15 JanMajor festivalCrowded

  A thousand-odd Carnatic concerts across the sabhas of Mylapore and T. Nagar, most of them free or a few hundred rupees, and canteens people turn up for on their own account. Stay near Luz Corner. Source ↗

Still on: Bay of Bengal cyclone season (1 Oct – 15 Dec (usually)), Northeast monsoon (15 Oct – 31 Dec (usually))