Watching Kolkali is like watching a thriller movie. You seldom realise that you have been holding your breath through the event.
The artistes move in a brisk manner, raising in one the fear of collision. The coordination is so brilliant that they manage to pull off the scariest moves with elan and end the performance in style.
The Kolkali (high school section) of the 55th State School Arts Festival was held at Gujarati Hall on the Kozhikode beach amidst a packed audience that encouraged the participants well.
The hall was filled loud laudatory noise as the teams performed one difficult sequence after other. The novelties were greeted with thundering applause. There were quite a few veterans from Kozhikode and Malappuram districts seated in the front rows.
After every performance, they analysed the performances critically. Their joy was palpable when a team performed well on stage.
Hamza Cheerangan from Pookkipparamba in Malappuram district had come to watch the performance of PKMMHSS, Edarikode, Malappuram, the winners of the event many a time. He had never performed Kolkali, but had watched it ardently since childhood.
“I remember those days when people used to perform Kolkali around a millstone at night. A kerosene lantern would be kept on top of the millstone for light. We used to prepare food for the artistes at our houses so that they would come and perform for us. The artistes used to be ordinary people including farmers and fishermen,” he said.
He agrees that the art form has undergone many changes as it was adapted for the stage. These include the added speed and the moves that are not done in a circle, he says.
Mr. Hamza says all the teams were above average. Ironically, Hamza’s Edarikode team was pushed to the fourth position in the competition. The team from Thiruvangoor HSS, Kozhikode won the event, while AKMHSS, Kottoor, an appeal entry from Malappuram, bagged the second place.