For K.J. Yesudas, a trip to Aspinwall House in Fort Kochi was a reminder of his childhood in the city. Entering the compound of the main venue of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, the renowned playback singer and classical musician recalled how he was denied entry to Aspinwall House many times when he was a youngster.
The compound was originally the property of Aspinwall & Company which traded in spices, coir and rubber. The then busy office complex was where Mr. Yesudas’ musician father Augustine Joseph worked, said Biennale organisers.
“My father used to work in the coir sector in those days, before switching over to the world of cinema. As a kid, I used to feel curious about the activities inside this building, but never got a chance to get in. Today, entering the compound is giving me goose pimples,” the 73-year-old musician said.
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Mr. Yesudas took a detailed view of the exhibits in the compound. “The biennale is for those who think,” he said, adding that more schoolchildren and art students should visit the Biennale.
Communist Party of India (Marxist) party leader M.V. Govindan was among those who visited the Biennale on Tuesday.
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The biennale had succeeded in marking the evolution of human aesthetics till date, he said. M.V. Shreyams Kumar, MLA, and renowned painter Arpana Caur also visited the Biennale during the day.