A jam-packed Town Hall which was about to slip into a catnap after the light music competition was stirred to life by folk music artistes on Friday.
Most of the seven-member teams, in the higher secondary school (HSS) category, chose to render the native varieties of songs of various tribal communities.
The much-criticised practice of rendering reworked ‘Nadan Pattu’ was missing at the 55th edition of the festival, which saw the participation of over 17 teams.
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The outfits of most of the performers were vibrant, with a mix of red, black, and white. Some teams also dared to opt for lighter costumes, but the musical elements were intact.
The use of Chenda, Para, and Thalam made the event delightful.
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“We are happy that our traditional art form is safe in the hands of the younger generation in all its beauty. This was what we were craving for long years,” said Ranjini Vijayakumar, a teacher from Malappuram district who trained the team which bagged the first place last year.
Athul Krishna, who led the last year’s prize-winning HSS team, also was of the same opinion.
“All our performers maintained the standard of the competition by sticking to natural rendering. The altered versions were not used. The judges will have an uphill task this time too,” he said.