The Hindu : A festival sans its sanctity

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jan 21, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Kerala

A festival sans its sanctity

By Renu Ramanath

ALAPPUZHA JAN. 20. One more State Schools Youth Festival, a gaudy display of money power and blatant craze for grades and grace mark, has drawn to a close with the curtains falling on the 43rd edition in Alappuzha on Sunday.

The festival, which has assumed mammoth proportions with competitions in as many as 70 items and subsidiary events like the Sanskrit Festival, Teachers Training Institutes (TTI) Festival and the Pre-Primary Teachers Training Institutes (PPTTI) Festival, has travelled a long way from the humble origins which had brought out talents such as K.J. Jesudas and P. Jayachandran. That the art festival has transformed into a life-or-death combat for parents and teachers is too well known, that no amount of scathing comments would have any effect on the ever-increasing greed of the parents. Apart from the obsession with blaring media attention and the prospects on the screen (both the big and the mini one), a major bane pervading the festival scenario is the system of awarding grace marks for the SSLC examinations. With 30 bonus marks for an `A' grade holder, the pressure is ever more on the student. Added perks like seat reservation and quotas for professional courses like MBBS and engineering make the `investment' in youth festival circuit much more `viable', compared to the present `market rates' for an MBBS or engineering seat.

The trend was at its worst here, with as many as 52 appeals coming up before the Directorate of Public Instruction till Sunday morning.

Speculations regarding the prospective winners of Kalathilakam and Kalaprathibha titles put to shame even the deliberations on Assembly or Parliament poll results. With no limit set for the maximum number of items a student can participate, the students were forced to perform as many events as possible, ranging from Kannada Recitation to Kathakali and painting to classical dances. The Group Dance competition held late on Saturday night provided the best testimony to the splurge of money and utter lack of imagination or aesthetical values pervading the whole show. Almost all participating groups looked alike, with only slight changes in the glittering costumes and ornaments. The songs also hung around the same themes, switching with lightening speed from Mohiniyattom to Kathakali to Margamkali to Thiruvathirakkali to Tamil folk dance to Tribal dances and to poems of Poonthanam, Melppathur, Vallathol, Changampuzha, Kumaranasan to Dasavatharam to Jesus Christ.

Struggling with the money might, a few students with no glamour or glitter, however, managed to score prizes in equally glamourless events. Like V.R. Reeja of the Holy Family Girls High School, Angamaly, who won the first prize in Malayalam story writing, or S. Lakshmisree, a visually impaired student from the Sree Sarada Vilasam HSS, Chirayinkeezhu, who won the third prize in mimicry.

The jumbo proportions of the event could at best be gauged from the number of people who were fed at the festival. According to Food Committee officials, at least 8,500 people had food every day at the vast pandal set up at the Municipal Grounds, while the officials expected not more than 5,000. Subramanian Embranthiri, who was in charge of the kitchen, was honoured with a ponnada at the valedictory function by the organisers for his exemplary performance regarding quality and punctuality.

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