A slice of Kerala culture is on display at the Public Grounds where Kerala-Telangana Cultural Festival began on Saturday at Lalitha Kala Thoranam and Public Gardens. The festival will continue till Monday evening. The event, organised by the Kerala Department of Culture in association with the Telangana Department of Culture and Confederation of Telugu Region Malayalee Associations, is targeted at Malayalees in the region.
“This is the first in a series of heritage festivals to help familiarise Malayalees living in different parts of the world with Kerala’s history and art. Folk arts, seminars, exhibition of artefacts and records and documents, painting exhibition, quiz for students, painting contest, book exhibition, and film screenings are part of the event,” said an event spokesman.
At the entrance was an exhibition that showed the evolution of Kerala society from a deeply conservative one to an egalitarian one. One of the notifications on display at the Archives Exhibition was the 1865 proclamation that allowed women of ‘subordinate castes’ to cover their upper torso by a ‘coopayem’. Then, there was a copy of a gazette notification issued by Maharaja of Travancore that allowed Hindus to enter temples without discrimination.
Some rare artefacts and musical instruments from different eras were also on display, including Chitravadhakkoodu, a metal cage in which people were hanged in public squares for serious offences.
Beside the stage of Laitha Kala Thoranam, a live art performance had the visitors in a thrall as Panmana Aravindakshan showcased his art to create a massive Naga kolam. “It is created yearly once at temples and in old houses. The yellow colour is turmeric, the white one ground rice and red a mixture of lime and turmeric. Everything is natural. After this is drawn, there will be a musical performance using a Naga Veena and Kudam,” said Rajendran, one of the artists.
The three-day festival was inaugurated by Kerala Minister for Culture A.K. Balan and Kerala Minister for Archaeology and Museums Kadannappally Ramachandran.
