Stage is set for the 11-day Swaralaya Soorya dance and music festival here. Curtain will go up on Palakkad’s prestigious show titled Avitis Swaralaya Samanwayam 2019 at Rapadi Open Air Auditorium, Fort Grounds, on Saturday evening.
The 11-day cultural extravaganza will see artistes from across the country presenting programmes. The State Departments of Culture and Tourism, Kerala Sangeeta Natak Akademi, South Zone Cultural Centre, Thajavur, Soorya Stage and Film Society, Shiva Conservatory, and Palakkad Press Club are associating with the festival.
Twenty-four programmes by artistes of national repute are being chalked out as part of the programme, which will include musical orchestra, Carnatic music show, ghazal, sufi music, violin-veena jugalbandhi, flute, Bharathanatyam, Mohiniyattom, Kathak, Odissi and Kathakali.
Tribute to lyricist
A special programme titled Chandrikayil Aliyunnu Chandrakantham will mark the inaugural session. It will be a musical tribute to well-known lyricist Sreekumaran Thampi. Minister for Water Resources K. Krishnankutty will inaugurate the programme at 5 p.m. on Saturday. Apart from Sreekumaran Thampi, playback singer P. Jayachandran, lyricist Rafeeq Ahamed, V.K. Sreekandan, MP, and several other dignitaries will jointly light the inaugural lamp.