Keralotsavam winners to leave for Guwahati tomorrow

The team from Kasaragod that emerged winners in mime at the Keralotsavam that concluded in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday.

The winners of this year’s Keralotsavam will leave for Guwahati on Thursday to participate in the 19th National Youth Festival, to be organised by the Youth Welfare Ministry and the Nehru Yuva Kendra. Competitions will be held in 18 items — Hindustani (vocal), Carnatic music, Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Manipuri dance, Kathak, Odissi, sitar, flute, veena, tabla, mridangam, harmonium light, guitar, folk song, folk dance, mono act (Hindi/English) and elocution (Hindi/English).

Competitors range in age from 15 to 35 years. The competitors from Kerala, who will leave in the Vivek Express train on Thursday, will be accompanied by officials from the State Youth Welfare Board. In last year’s National Youth Festival held at Ludhiana in Punjab, the Kerala team won prizes in five events. It was the overall champion in 2004.

Mono act

In the last day of the competitions at the Keralotsavam on Tuesday, girls swept the top three positions in mono act.

Shifina Bibin from Kannur won the first place. Ankitha from Pathanamthitta won the second place and the third place was shared by Chinchu Catherine Roy and K.P. Preetha from Palakkad.

Kasaragod district won three prizes in the Hindi/English drama competition and also won the first two places in the Malayalam drama competition. The first place in the Hindi/English drama competition went to an adaptation of

Duvidha , a Rajasthani folk tale, and the second place went to

Mrityunjaya. An adaptation of K.R. Meera’s

Aaraachar won the third place.

M.K. Haridas and Athira, both from Kasaragod, were selected as the best actors in the drama competition.