The Tamil Nadu Kattaikkuttu Kalai Valarcci Munnerra Sangam is a grassroots association, which promotes the interests of professional Kattaikkuttu actors and musicians in Tamil Nadu in South India. It was established in Kanchipuram in 1990 by a group of seventeen performers. At present it has over two hundred members. Its main activities include (1) training in the Kattaikkuttu theatre of (working) children and young people in the rural parts of northern Tamil Nadu, (2) the organization of an annual Kattaikkuttu Festival, and (3) the production of innovative plays on themes which are relevant to the local society. Kattaikkuttu (also known as Kuttu and Terukkuttu) is a theatre traditionally performed by professional male actors and musicians in the northern parts of Tamil Nadu. It is characterized by an epic story repertoire, featuring especially the Mahabharata, and a heroic style of acting