Speakers at the 44th annual meeting of the Tapasya Kala Sahitya Vedi here on Saturday stressed the need to uphold the glorious cultural traditions of the country and hand them down over the generations.
Inaugurating the event, Soorya Krishnamoorthy said children even in the remotest rural areas in Kerala were going to school with ties around their neck and reciting English rhymes easily while they were ignorant of Malayalam folk tales and characters and the illustrious authors behind the works.
Tapasya State president Madambu Kunhikuttan who chaired the function said it was important to delve into history beyond the Mughal and British era to understand India.
Noted music director Ramani Bharadwaj who was the chief guest noted that Indian culture was rooted in diversity.
In his keynote address, former chairman, Kalamandalam Prabodhachandran Nair criticised the State government for turning its back on the assistance offered by the Centre for promoting Malayalam as a classical language.
South Zone Director, Ministry of Cultural Affairs, M. Balasubramanian observed that alienating Kerala from the national cultural landscape for political gain was nothing but an injustice to cultural personalities in the State.