Odisha to host The Chhau Music Festival 2026! Check full details...

The Belgadia Palace, in partnership with Aadi Naad and Rare India, has announced the 2026 edition of The Chhau Music Festival, a three-day cultural event celebrating Chhau, a UNESCO-listed Intangible Cultural Heritage dance form of Eastern India.

Scheduled to commence on January 29, the festival calls everyone appreciating performing arts, heritage and experiential travel to Baripada, Odisha — the birthplace of the Mayurbhanj style of Chhau — for an authentic encounter with the living tradition.

Located along the east bank of the Budhabalanga river, Baripada is the cultural centre of north Odisha. A city that’s home to Similipal National Park, Bāliḍihā Dam, Mayurbhanj Palace, Hari Baladev Jew Temple, Sriram Chandra Library and other attractions.

Chhau originates from the tribal belts of Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal and draws from martial drills, folk traditions and classical dance. Known for its powerful movement vocabulary, sculptural storytelling and symbolic use of masks, the art form brings mythology and folklore vividly alive.

The Chhau Music Festival 2026 presents a rare opportunity to experience all three distinct styles of Chhau — Odisha’s maskless Mayurbhanj Chhau, Saraikela Chhau from Jharkhand and Purulia Chhau from West Bengal — while engaging directly with the people and places that have sustained the form across generations.

Hosted at The Belgadia Palace, a 200-year-old Victorian-era residence of the Bhanj Deo royal family, the festival unfolds within a boutique heritage stay in Baripada, which offers regal hospitality, farm-to-table Odia cuisine, guided palace tours and curated cultural experiences, while supporting sustainable tourism, women-led enterprises and the revival of regional traditions.

Chhau Music Festival also offers deep cultural immersion through intimate talks with members of the royal family and local NGO founders, visits to the authentic Baripada Haat, hands-on cooking sessions with chef Joymalya Banerjee, heritage walks, artisan village visits and village-based workshops.

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