The appeal of Chenda at the State School Arts Festival continues to be on the rise.
The Chenda Melam (Higher Secondary category) and Thayambaka (High School) competitions held at GVHSS here on Friday pulled large crowds.
All but one of the participants in both events won ‘A’ grade, testifying the quality of the event. Chenda maestro Mattannur Sankarankutty Marar, who was one of the judges for chenda melam, was all praise for the students. “I wish we could conduct a melam with all the participants,” he beamed. The way the students used the Kombu and Kuzhal won special appreciation from experts. Thayambaka expert Chirakkal Nidheesh said the students displayed sheer brilliance in handling Kombu and Kuzhal. “It had a professional touch,” he said.
Midhun Murali and team from KPMVHSS, Poothotta, Ernakulam, won the first prize in melam. V.P. Vaishakh from St. Joseph’s BHSS, Kozhikode, won the second prize, and Mohan S. Marar from GVHSS, Cherpu, Thrissur, won the third.
But the Thayambaka competition of high school students did not excite the crowds because of its solo nature. The solo performance on Edamthala was not enough to make the crowds swing.
“There should be at least a Valamthala (base chenda) and a cymbal to add rhythm to the Thayambaka,” said chenda expert Mattannur Sreekanth. Chenda maestro Mattannur Sivaraman too criticised the organisers for making the students present Thayambaka without any accompaniment. “All major art forms have some form of accompaniment. Take Kathakali, for example. The performer is nil without the song and background sound. Similarly, Thayambaka should be made more appealing with some form of accompaniment,” said Mr. Sivaraman. K. Rahitha from Holy Angels CHS, Thiruvananthapuram, won the first prize. Sreeraj R. Namboothiri from NSSHSS, Kidangoor, Kottayam, came second, and T. Ranaprathap from GHS, Kodumunda, Palakkad, won the third prize.
