Youthful fun and talent went hand in hand at the Ilangathir 2015, a festival dedicated to identifying and showcasing the talent of youths, here for three days. The even organised by the Kalai Aaayam Foundation was supported by the South Zone Cultural Centre, the Union Ministry of Culture, the Department of Collegiate Education, Department of Art and Culture, and INTACH, Thanjavur Chapter.
The events were conducted on the South Zone Cultural Centre premises that gave the participants and audience an insight into the activities of the Centre. The event was organised to create awareness among the youth on nurturing the cultural talents and traditional art forms abiding in the young minds.
Administrative Officer of the Centre Ramasamy inaugurated Ilangathir 2015 in which more than 750 students from various colleges in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry participated.
The events included music, dance, drama, painting photography and sculpture competitions. Eminent personalities in the respective fields judged the participants’ performance.
Standout performances
The standout performances among the maze of events included the Mangala Isai by the students of the Government Music College, Tiruvaiyaru, bharatanatyam by N. Srinivasan of the Sri Sankara Arts and Science College, Kancheepuram, folk song rendering by S. Sudarmathi of Government Music College, Tiruvaiyaru, Kurathiattam by students of Annamalai University, Chidambaram, karagattam, Oyilattam and Kavadi by students of Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan College of Arts and Science, Perambalur, Thappattam by Chakra Trust volunteers and Tamil drama by Annai Vailankanni Arts and Science College, Thanjavur.
Thanjavur Mayor Savthri Gopal gave away the awards to winning students and teams in the presence of president, Forum of Friends, South Zone Cultural Centre, V. Varadarajan, former Director of the Centre K. Ramamoorthy, Tourism Officer R. Rajasekaran, Trustee, Kalai Aayam, Shambaji Rajah Bhonsle, and Secretary of Kalai Aayam Foundation S. Muthukumar.