The Chenda-Thayambaka event caused a bit of confusion among the spectators, as they wondered if it was an individual event or a group one.
They cannot be blamed after they watched some participants performing alone, while some others were in groups. The masters at the venue had a hard time explaining to people that the judging was done for only one participant, though he/she was allowed to bring in percussionists from the same school to support him/her on stage.
Despite the allowance, most participants chose to contest alone, as they found it difficult to get a group from their own school.
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A woman in an orange wheelchair was the cynosure of all eyes at the venue of Keralanatanam on Friday. The participants took time to chat with her and exchange pleasantries either before or after their performances. She was Vidya Shibu, who used to compete in classical dances at the festival. A few years ago, she was injured in an accident at home. She had come with her husband and daughter to get a glimpse of the new talents.
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Rajpal Meena, District Police Chief (Kozhikode City), was among the 25,000-odd people who had lunch at the festival’s dining hall, set up at the MCC HSS. “I enjoyed the lunch and I think it is amazing that food is being provided to so many people for five days,” he says. “I have been able to have only a few glimpses at the competitions, and I am glad that there has been no law-and-order issues and we have been able to get the traffic under control too.”
(Contributed by Aabha Raveendran and P.K. Ajith Kumar)
