So our drive to Chidambaram on a Sunday morning is smooth. The Natyanjali is not on our mind: the F1 is. My colleagues update me via SMSes. And when we check into a hotel in Chidambaram, the room boy lights up. "Narain finished 15th," he tells us. We have a new hero. Step aside Sachin.

For some years now, we have made Chidambaram our base, to cover the dance festivals in the temples in this region. This Sunday, we must head to Kumbakonam. The Sri Kumbeswarar Temple is the venue for a three-day Natyanjali.

I leave my team in Chidambaram; they have to rig up their melange of computers, cameras, mixers and what not to ready for our first webcast of a dance fest.

The roads have been repaired. In to Vaitheeswaran Kovil, we are flagged past the temple campus because the road is being relaid. In this belt of Tamil Nadu, there is a nice temple every 100 metres!

The asthana elephant greets us, so do the strains of the nadaswaram at the temple in Kumbakonam. The seats fill up fast with the holiday crowd. I like the location of the stage; the temple gopuram towers behind it. Perhaps, the organisers should do away with the gaudy backdrop.

Dance guru Adyar Lakshman leads his accompanists and dancer Roja Kannan. Lakshman's thoughts are still in Chennai. On Sivaratri evening, he will lead a unique concert. After eleven years, he will sing and perform the nattuvangam for Prof. C V Chandrasekar, a senior dancer and guru. So he would like to rush back to base.

Roja Kannan performs a composition of the Thanjavur Quartet as Congressmen file in. The organisers shuffled the dates of the fest to have, as chief guest, the late G. K. Moopanar's son, G. K. Vasan, a MP and the leader of the Congress (I) in Tamil Nadu. Politicians as patrons of the arts is a good thing. But when the men in khadi shirts and vestis file in whenever they want and disturb the attention of the audience, they need some advice.

And then, in comes dancer-actress Swarnamalaya. Photographers scamper, women gossip and men turn their eyes on her. Some organisers would not mind inviting the stars, who are also dancers. Like minimum guarantee, they hope the stars will attract more people to the festival. It does in Kumbakonam. Thankfully, people stay on to see more performances.

There is a formal inaugural function when dozens of ponnadais are exchanged, tall words dropped and nice things are said.

The show is late by an hour when Swarnamalaya does a Nandanar and the Congressmen leave the function quietly. On the first evening, the dances go on till well past midnight. Kumbakonam is hosting a three-day fest. Similar ones are on at Thiruvarur, Thanjavur and Chennai. And Chidambaram.

We have to leave. But not before seeking out a Marwari-owned 'mess' for a dinner of chappatis and curries. The 'mess' has shifted; we locate it in the Kumbakonam marketplace, have our fill and leave.

If you have been to a Natyanjali festival in south India, share your experiences with us. Mail us at editor@kutcheribuzz.com