A heady mix of rhythms will soak the city for the next days, with the third edition of ‘Thaala Mahotsavam’ getting off at the Vyloppilly Samskriti Bhavan here on Thursday.
The event, organised by the State Department of Culture, will bring together a variety of percussion instruments and different forms of instrumental music.
It was inaugurated by Cultural Affairs Minister K.C. Joseph in the presence of Tourism Minister A.P. Anil Kumar at the Sanskriti Bhavan after a ‘Sopanasangeetham’ performance by Ambalapuzha Vijayakumar.
Bhavan’s vice-chairman Anil Panachooran, State Institute of Languages director M.R. Thampan, former legislator T. Sharatchandra Prasad and State Institute of Children’s Literature director Nedumudi Harikumar were present.
Mr. Joseph, who said the festival was part of the government’s efforts to conserve and protect the cultural heritage of the State, emphasised the need of getting the new generation acquainted with the State’s musical heritage as well.
The inaugural function was followed by a lecture- demonstration by Azad Vandoor, exploring the tunes and rhythms of the ‘Mappilapattu’ genre.
This was followed by another lecture- demonstration led by Njeralathu N.P. Ramdas, taking participants through the history of ‘Sopanasangeetham’ and its unique bond with ‘idaykka’.
A fusion of Carnatic and Hindustani instrumental music, which had Alankode Hari on santoor, Vayala Rajendran on violin, Guruvayoor Sanoj on mrudungam and Thrissur Deepak on tabla, followed the lectures. The evening was further enriched with a children’s ‘thayambaka’ performance, which had the disciples of ‘thayambaka’ and Kathakali ‘melam’ exponent Kalamandalam Krishnadas entertaining the crowd.
A “melapadam’ performance brought the curtains down on the first day, while the second day on Friday will have more lecture demonstrations, with idaykka and ‘chenda’ to take centre stage through separate concerts.
Thripunithura Krishnadas will lead an ‘idaykka’ concert at 4.30 p.m. while Mattannoor Sankarankutty Marar who will be performing on the chenda with his troupe from 5.30 p.m.
