Panchavadyam, literally meaning an orchestra of five instruments, is basically a temple art form that has evolved in Kerala. Of the five instruments, four — timila, maddalam, ilathalam and idakka — belong to the percussion category, while the fifth one, kombu, is a wind instrument.

Chicago Kalakshetra is proud to have an amazing Panchavadyam team lead by Shri Ajikumar Bhaskaran.  Chicago Kalakshetra team plays Panchavadyam every year at Vishu, Onam and also have played during other occasions in various different stages in different states in the United States.

Chenda is a cylindrical drum instrument played in the state of Kerala.  Chenda is often played inside the temples during various events.  Chicago Kalakshetra teaches and plays Chenda Melam which includes Panchari Melam also known as Ilanjithara Melam, Chembada Melam and Srinkari Melam.

Chicago Kalakshetra has performed Chenda Melams at various different stages among different communities.

We at Chicago Kalakshetra realizes how important it is to promote the traditional values among our children, hence apart from having Panchavadyam and Chenda classes, we also teach Malayalam classes which include teaching letters, spoken Malayalam also introduce children to our ancient Indian epics such as Ramayana, Mahabharata and other short stories.

The classes are held in the Naperville area, please contact us for more information.