The Jawahar Stadium, one of the venues of the Kerala State School Arts Festival, resounded to the tunes of traditional Vanchipattu (boat songs) on Sunday, the final day of the festival. The students participating in the higher secondary school (HSS) category sang the numbers without losing the energy and spirit exhibited by competitive oarsmen in traditional boat races.
The venue was jam-packed with people who enjoyed the popular genre of folk songs that echo the sense of social unity of people in the State.
Many in the audience were seen tapping their feet and hands to the rhythm of the songs.
Preferred style
Despite the energetic rendition of the vividly rhythmic songs, they sounded repetitive because majority of the participating groups preferred the ‘Aranmula style’ of Vanchipattu that is more devotional in its content than the ‘Kuttanadan’ and ‘Vechupattu’ styles.
“Kuttanadan and Vechupattu are not very popular among students participating in the school festivals,” said T. Damodaran, who trained the Vanchipattu team of Sree Narayana HSS, Poothadi, Wayanad.
The two styles accommodated satiric content, while the Aranmula style gave prominence to devotion as stories narrated in the song were that of Lord Krishna, he added.
Devotional songs
Most of the verses of the groups participated in the race were lines from stories of Lord Krishna, including ‘Bhishma Parva’, ‘Santhanagopalam,’ and ‘Balaleela’. While members of the groups that chose the Aranmula style wore the traditional and elitist saris or mundus, those who sang the Kuttanadan songs looked more down-to-earth with their lungis.
There were 32 participants in the competition.
