Kapaleeshwarar’s 2026 Panguni Peruvizha ran from 23 March to 1 April. Pre-festival Kolavizhi Amman worship began on 22 March. For ten days the North, East, South and West Mada streets were a procession route, not a shopping lane. Police held the corners. Flower and silk shops stayed open; parking vanished.
That occupancy has ended. Temple darshan is back to the published HR&CE hours: 5:30 AM–12:30 PM and 4:00–9:30 PM. Phone 044 2464 1670. Maha Shivaratri remains the overnight exception. Festival-week one-ways and barricades should not be treated as permanent.
What residents need to know
If you live on a mada street or a connecting lane, the useful facts are ordinary again: garbage rounds resume a normal pattern, school vans can use East Mada Street without chariot-day closures, and the tank-side messes (Karpagambal, Rayar’s on Arundale, Jannal Kadai in the evening) are no longer feeding a festival crowd first.
Thirumayilai metro work is a separate civic story. Construction around the new station is not “Panguni leftover.” Report potholes and blocked drains to GCC 1913 after you have a complaint number; do not send us an emergency.
Panguni is a neighbourhood occupancy, not a ticketed show. Ordinary time is when the streets can be used as streets again.
Neighbourhood context
The original mymylapore.com site was built around this calendar — Kodiyetram, Athigara Nandi, Thiruther and Thirukalyanam. Photographs on this page are from the 2016 community gallery. They are how the festival still looks; they are not 2026 press images.
Santhome’s rhythm did not stop for Panguni. San Thome Basilica keeps weekday English Mass at 6:15 AM; the parish publishes Tamil and tomb-chapel times on santhomechurch.org. The two faiths share the same walking city.
Temple calendar for Panguni 2026 (23 March–1 April); HR&CE darshan hours and 044 2464 1670; 2016 My Mylapore photo archive; civic contacts as published on the Civic page. Festival dates are year-specific.
What happens next
Margazhi kutcheri lists typically appear in November. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Ragasudha Hall at Luz, and mutts on Salai Street fill first. Sundaram Finance Mylapore Festival 2026 used 3–4 and 8–11 January across nine venues; the 2027 dates will be posted when the organiser publishes them. Thai Theppam on the temple tank follows the temple calendar, not the English one.
If a published hour or street restriction is wrong, send the article URL, the wrong line, the right line, and an official source.