‘Neithal’, the four-day folk arts carnival, off to a colourful start

It is an initiative of Thoothukudi MP Kanimozhi

MP Kanimozhi, Ministers P. Geetha Jeevan and Anitha R. Radhakrishnan inaugurating stalls at the carnival. | Photo Credit: N. RAJESH 

‘Neithal,’ a four-day carnival showcasing Tamil Nadu’s uniqueness, culture and folk arts, got off to a colourful start here on Thursday.

Over 300 artistes from across Tamil Nadu will perform traditional Tamil music, dance, forgotten arts and display distinctive lifestyle and traditional food in the carnival, which is an initiative of Thoothukudi MP Kanimozhi.

“Tamil society has the reputation of appreciating all forms of arts and folk art that thrived in this environment. As Thoothukudi is on the seaside, we christened the event ‘Neithal,’ a distinctive landscape described in ancient Tamil work ‘Tholkaappiyam’, to provide the platform for showcasing the rich art forms of Tamil Nadu to the younger generation,” she said.

‘Neithal’ attempts to empower and encourage the rural artistes and the life of the rural people. “This carnival combines elements of our traditional music, art, culture and food to drive home the theme. Our mission is to preserve and protect these traditional forms of art in their original form and content while seeking new story-telling through modern technology to effectively reach the younger generation,” she said.

Rural art forms of Tamil Nadu, which were nurturing humanism, culture, a unique society without any caste and religious identity and the rural lifestyle, should be celebrated by everyone as it was the need of the hour, the MP added.

‘Neithal’ is also an attempt at exposing the younger generation to the rich traditional food of Tamil Nadu. “Combining both our rural folk arts and our traditional food, we have made a sincere attempt to present ‘Neithal’ to enthral the visitors from various parts of the State and cater to their taste buds with traditional food without any side-effects. You can taste authentic food from different cuisines,” she said.

Besides art and food, the festival showcased many books relating to the event’s theme. Low-cost rural handicrafts, made by rural artisans and self-help group women, were for sale.

“We are organising handicraft-related live workshops in these stalls by expert artisans and craftspeople like ‘Pugar’, an embroidery form of Toda women. These products are authentic, affordable and appealing,” Ms. Kanimozhi said.

On the first evening, ‘naiyandi melam’, ‘karagam’, ‘kavadi’, ‘Soofi songs’, ‘parai’, ‘jikkattam’ and ‘puliyattam’ were performed and the last event of the day was Chinnaponnu Kumar’s music concert.

On Friday, ‘kummi’, ‘kolattam’, ‘kalari’, ‘naiyandi melam’, ‘karagam’, ‘devarattam’, ‘jimbala melam’, ‘poikkal kuthirai’, ‘periya melam’ and the concert by ‘Ainthinai’ troupe will enthral the audience. The highlight of the day will be the performance by ‘Thoothukudi Choir’ at 6.40 p.m.