The Cochin Carnival completed 30 years on January 1, 2015. Now one of the biggest attractions in the city it had humble beginnings.
In 1984, three youngsters from Cochin - George Augustine Thundiparambil (Roy), Ananda Felix Scaria (Ananda Surya) and Antony Anup Scaria (Anoop) decided to organise a month-long grand public event to celebrate the signing of a UN proclamation declaring 1985 as the International Youth Year.
They announced the Beach Festival with a grand programme at the Mahatma Gandhi beach.
More than 150 youth groups representing different clubs and organisations pooled in their resources and ideas for the event. Although the Carnival, as in its current avatar , was not in the original programme, it was added at a later stage.
This spectacular event started during the second week of December 1984 with a cycle race followed by other local ethnic games like tug of war, kuttiyum kolum , kabaddi , chakku (jute bag) race, swimming in the sea etc. Music concerts, dance performances and plays were conducted on the beach.
The event ended on January 1, 1985 (International Youth Year) with a procession of various cultural representations from all over India called ‘Carnivale Cochin’.
Some of the other names associated with the first Carnival are Nirmal John Augustine, Radha Gomathi and Abul Kalam Azad (photographer), who later became an active member of the team.
From its inception, the then Deputy Mayor K.J. Sohan was a part of the event
Thirty years later, the Carnival continues to fire the imagination of the young and the old alike. With each passing year it has grown bigger, more creative and festive, the tableaux showcasing the artistry of their makers.
We bring you pictures of the first Carnival taken by Abul Kalam Azad , along with pictures of the latest carnival taken by our staff photographer Thulasi Kakkat . The vintage photos are courtesy Ekalokam Trust for Photography, Tiruvannamalai (EtP).
