The first to take the stage were the Kathakali dancers. Then came Kerala Nadanam, Mohiniyattam, and Kuchipudi dancers. The young dancers from Kalamandalam began their performance in front of art lovers from Thrissur and beyond who thronged the Thekkinkadu Maidan on a bright Saturday morning. This ‘Drisya Vismayam’, part of the opening ceremony of the 58th State School Arts Festival, was of course a trailer for what was to follow over the next five days .
The song for the performace was written by Murukan Kattakada and composed by M.G. Sreekumar. The students of Kalamandalam danced with pleasing grace.
The festival was inaugurated by Speaker P. Sreeramakrishnan, in the absence of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. In his welcome speech, Agriculture Minister V.S. Sunil Kumar said Mr. Vijayan could not make it to the festival because of some other commitments.
Education Minister C. Ravindranath, who presided over the function, hoped the changes made in the manual for this year would make the festival better.
He said a plan was also on the anvil for a meeting of the stars of the three major festivals the Department of Education conducted to determine talents in the field of arts, sports and science.
“We will also publish an academic journal on the festival that will record in detail about each performance,” the Minister said.
Sports Minister A.C. Moideen and singer P. Jayachandran were among the speakers.
After the ceremony, Mohiniyattam (High School) competition was held at the main stage. On another stage, the Higher Secondary girls had already begun their Mohiniyattam competition.
Among the day’s popular events was Folk Songs, held at the Sahitya Akademi.
Chavittu Natakam, Oppana, Ghazal, Kathakali Music, Nangiarkoothu, and Panchavadyam.
Beehive of activity
The mess hall visited a big rush. “We served lunch to more than 23,000 people,” said T.A. Babudas, food committee convener.
“That was 5,000 more than we expected, but everyone was fed as the mess hall was open till 4 p.m.”
In the race for the Gold Cup, reigning champion Kozhikode had taken an early lead with 75 points, followed by Palakkad at 73.
Kannur and Malappuram had 69 points each, while host Thrissur had 67.
