Once in a while, every city needs an occasion to release all its pent-up energy, a positive nudge, to discover what it is capable of, beyond the daily routine, of walking the same paths and doing the same things.
Back in 2001, Manaveeyam Veedhi, the stretch of road connecting two busier main roads, was chosen as the place where this would happen. It was to be a cultural hub and a public performance space, where open spaces are shrinking by the day.
For the past 14 years, a group of artistes have been gathering here every Sunday evening, presenting everything from street plays to art exhibitions. This Sunday, they decided to take it to the next level, with a day-long cultural festival, which witnessed immense participation from the city folk.
From 9 a.m., when the street enlivened with a performance by the MBS Youth Choir, till 10 p.m., when it ended with a drama, there was a flurry of activity from one end of the stretch to another. Kannada film-maker Girish Kasaravalli, who spent quite sometime here in the morning, said it was an admirable attempt to bring art out to the public, at a time when it was increasingly being taken away from the people to high-end art galleries.
At the caricature zone, in front of a ‘Pottakkannadi,’ Mr. Kasaravalli, Kochi Biennale founder Bose Krishnamachari, and Communist Party of India (Marxist) Polit Bureau member M.A. Baby sat in a line as three young artists, drew caricatures of them.
These caricatures, for which there were many takers among the public, were one of the major sources of funding for the festival. The city Corporation also pitched in providing the sound systems and water supply.
At the other end, a photo exhibition was put up by Nizhalattam group. Tree Walk members planted two saplings in memory of writers O.V. Vijayan and Lalithambika Antharjanam. Running seamlessly behind and in front of the stage were activists of Abhinaya, Trivi Art Concerns, APT (A Place for Theatre), Artfaktory, WIWA, and others, all part of the Manaveeyam Theruvorakoottam collective.
At one end was a stall put up by Vikalanga Vanitha Sadanam, Poojappura, to sell art and craft work by the residents.
Post the afternoon rain, the festival continued with renewed energy as everyone joined in singing and dancing to the infectious folk percussion. Street magic, Kaviyaranngu, mime, documentary screening, magic, and street plays made it a memorable evening for those gathered.
Earlier in the day, Health Minister V.S. Sivakumar promised the organisers to keep the Manaveeyam Veedhi out of bounds for vehicles for three hours on Sundays, for the cultural activities to take place.
He said the setting up of a permanent stage will be considered. These days, the stretch is being used as a parking lot for buses of private institutions during the weekends and the artistes are forced to use just a part of the road.
All that is set to change and this lively Sunday was a loud proclamation of that.
