As Kerala turns 64 on Sunday (November 1), 13 calligraphers are coming together to celebrate the occasion on the digital platform. The event, ‘Aksharakeralam’, will see them showcasing ‘Jaya jaya komala Kerala dharani…’, the official cultural song of Kerala, through different calligraphic fonts.
The song, also called ‘Keralaganam’, was written by social reformer and poet Bodheswaran in 1938. It was sung at the first meeting of the Legislative Assembly after the formation of Kerala by Saradamani and Radhamani, known as Paravoor Sisters. In 2014, the song, with 25 lines, was recognised as the cultural song of the State.
‘Aksharakeralam’ is led by Narayana Bhattathiri a.k.a. Artist Bhattathiri, veteran calligrapher, and GV Sreekumar, professor, IDC School of Design, IIT Bombay, under the auspices of Typographic Society of India and KaChaTaThaPa Foundation.
Other calligraphers taking part in the programme are Manoj Gopinath, Madanan, Gopidas, Prajwal Xavier, Gayathri Attoor, Rajith Kumar, Hashim, Suresh Kumar, Gayathri Suresh, Abhijith and Saneesh.
‘Aksharakeralam’ will be uploaded on the Facebook pages of Bhattathiri (Narayana Bhattathiri) and Sreekumar (G.V. Sreekumar). The song will be rendered by students of Malayalam Pallikkoodam.