With green protocol in place, cloth and sponge have become the sought-after materials among artists in putting up the floats for the pageantry organised in the capital city on Monday to bring the curtains down on Kerala Tourism’s State-level Onam celebrations.
Artists have avoided flex materials made from polyvinyl chloride that has been banned in the State in view of health and environmental reasons.
In the 70 floats, cloth and sponge have been used extensively, replacing the conventional plywood and other materials. Sponge is an effective medium as it can be given bright colours and has been in use since the 1990s after artist C.B. Jinan used it in his floats. Later, other artists started using it. Its flexibility and ability to absorb bright colours make sponge an attractive material as the floats move to East Fort after sunset. It also takes up lesser time to be crafted into a desired shape.
Cloth is being used extensively for dressing up floats in the 2019 edition of the pageantry. “It is almost three times costlier than the flex and the matt finish is an obstacle as it does not give a shiny feeling even if the floats are well-lit,” says Mr. Jinan.
Dexterous
His dexterity with sponge and cloth will be reflected in 10 floats this year. The floats of Kerala Tourism, Responsible Tourism Mission, KTDC, KITTS, DTPC, Museum and Zoo, Life Mission, Kerala Womens Commission, Revenue Department, and the VACB are being decked up by a team led by Mr. Jinan and Binu Haridas.
Each float that costs around ₹4 lakh is the hard work of a dedicated team consisting of a designer, carpenter, welder, spray painter, and electrician. “We began the work at Balaramapuram two weeks ago. As many as 20-odd people are working round the clock to come up with eye-catching floats. They will be shifted to the city on Sunday night and finishing touches will be given,” he said. The inclement weather is the biggest hurdle for those behind dressing up the floats.
