Dakshinachitra

A heritage lifestyle village displaying the lives of South Indian people from different states, DakshinaChitrais a museum which is an apt place for someone who is a history enthusiast and is deeply rooted to its culture. Displaying 18 authentic houses from different states of South India, DakshinaChitra is established with an aim to promote the cultural heritage of South Indian states through engaging and creative exhibition.

About the Museum

DakshinaChitra, meaning the ‘House of South’, is a cross-cultural museum of live art, architecture, crafts, lifestyle, and performing arts of South India which is located in Chennai. The mission and vision of the museum are to encourage the cultural diversity of South Indian states through its engaging and creative exhibits for visitors. A project of Madras Craft Foundation, an NGO established on 14th December 1996, this heritage museum houses 4,220 artifacts and 10,00,000 pictures and is located at Muttukadu overlooking the magnificent Bay of Bengal. A visit to this beautiful museum will enlighten you about the heritage of south India and leave you with a wonderful treasure of learning.

Established in the form of a village, DakshinaChitra museum has in its premises a collection of 18 authentic historical houses of the five South Indian states – Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala, with contextual showings in every house. The houses at DakshinaChitra were given up for annihilation by their owners which were then bought, taken down, transported, and renovated by artisans (Stapathis) from their respective places in their authentic vernacular style. All the hundreds and thousands of artifacts in the museum depict the lifestyle of south Indian people including over 950 clothing items made of usually cotton and silk that display the typical South Indian apparel of both men and women.

The museum also houses some select journals and books pertaining to arts, anthropology, crafts, folklore, and classical dances of South India. With over 10,00,000 pictures on display, the museum conveys all the material in the English language for everyone to understand while accentuating the cultural and regional facets of Brahminical people. The museum also organizes many classical dance shows and workshops for training in crafts like indigo dying, puppet shows, necklace crafting, and basket weaving. Every year, the museum welcomes at least 15,000 students who visit the site and train themselves to gain splendid knowledge.