The five-day Kathakali fest, organised by Pathanathitta District Kathakali Club as part of its 16th anniversary celebrations, came to a close at Cherukolpuzha near Kozhencherry on Sunday.
The Kalamandalam Hyder Ali memorial Kathakali quiz contest for school children was held in the forenoon. C.R. Krishna Kurup, Kerala State Adhyapaka Kalavedi secretary, inaugurate the programme.
Ambalappuzha Vijayakumar, noted temple artist, performed the Sopana-sangeethom (Ashtapadi) at the festival in the afternoon.
Raju Abraham, MLA, inaugurated the valedictory function of the Kathakali fest, later, at 6.30 pm. Johnson Mathew, festival organiser, welcomed the gathering and Thotapuzhasserry grama panchayat president, T.K. Ramachandran Nair, lighted the ceremonial lamp.
Kathakali make-up artistes, Kalanilyam Saji and Pallippuram Unni, were presented with a Ponnada on the occasion.
Jose Parkkadavil, club president; K.V. Sambadevan, Palliyoda Seva Sanghom president; M.P. Sasidharan Nair, Ayroor-Cherukolpuzha Hindumatha Maha Mandalam secretary; P.S. Nair, Travancore Development Society chairman; Zacharia Mathew, club vice-president and Dileepkumar, treasurer, also spoke.
A Kathakali performance on ‘Nalacharithom-3rd day’ will be held, later, in the evening.
Noted Kathakali artistes, Kalamandalam Gopi, Kalamandalam Krishnakumar, Kalamandalam Prasanth, Kalamandalam Mukundan, Kalamandalam Ullas, Kalamandalam Arun, Mathoor Govindankutty and Kalamandalam Ramachandran Unnithan were on the stage.
Natyabharati Award
This year’s Natyabharati Award instituted by the club was presented to Kalamandalam Krishnadas, renowned Chenda exponent, earlier, during the inaugural function on January4. Kathakali workshops and demonstrations for school-college children were the other attractions of the five-day fest.
