Soorya festival begins

By Our Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM,SEPT.21. Invoking Sun God, the aesthetic Soorya of Kerala rose to the cultural horizons of the State this evening, disseminating the aura of integrated art and culture for the coming 31 days. Those gathered at the festival became oblivious of the terrorism striking at the roots of civilization and felt it was a rededication to culture.

Again Thiruvananthapuram will be the centre of attention of cultural enthusiasts for the next full month. All those who matter in the field of dance, music, cinema and art have converged in the capital to take part in the annual cultural ritual which they religiously attend and look forward to year after year.

As the Soorya festival director and the Culture Secretary, Mr.T.Balakrishnan, said in his introductory address, Soorya has the rare distinction of bringing to the State around 2,000 artistes of international repute during the past 23 years. Soorya is organising the festival along with the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, and Department of Culture and Tourism.

In a strictly bohemian fashion, celebrities lighted 24 lamps to mark the start of the festival in the background of the composition "Alai Payuthe" set to Thodi recited in flute.

Those lighted the lamp included the Culture Minister, Mr.G.Karthikeyan, the Information Minister, Mr.M.M.Hassan, the reputed director, Mr.Adoor Gopalakrishnan, the Dada Saheb Phalke Award winner, Mr.Bhupen Hazarika, the Hindi actor, Mr.Anupam Kher, the directors, Mr.R.Sharath, Mr.Kamal, Mr.Sathyan Anthikad, Ms.Suma Joson and Ms.Kalpana Lachmi, the actors, Mr.Mammootty, Mr.Murali, Mr.Nedumudi Venu, Mr.M.R.Gopakumar, Ms.Beena Antony, and the veteran Soorya president, Mr.Kesava Pillai.

Even the felicitations were discreet and lasted not more than two minutes. Mr.Karthikeyan lauded Soorya which heralded cultural renaissance in the State well before the visual media came into vogue and brought the artistes to their drawing rooms.

Mr.Hazarika who drew a parallel between Kerala and Assam, said that Soorya has come like the sun when the world is passing through a traumatic phase. Life is meaningless without art and the Government is playing a laudable role in the promotion of culture. Ms.Kalpana Lachmi said that the integrated festival must fill the cultural vacuum.

The directors of the inaugural films, "Sari" and "Neythukaran," Ms.Suma Joson and Mr.Priyanandanan, were introduced at the function. The Soorya convener, Mr.A.A.Rasheed, proposed a vote of thanks.

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Section  : Southern States
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