Kerala School Kalotsavam | Splash of variety

Though truncated to three days, art lovers were spoilt for choice on the first day of the State School Arts Festival

One thing that makes the State School Arts Festival unique is the sheer variety it offers. But the treat here on Friday, the opening day, at the 59th edition of the festival was more varied than ever before.

This could be because the events are being held on some 30 stages, with the festival getting trimmed as a cost-cutting measure in the wake of the floods. More events have to be accommodated on each of the three days. This meant the art lover had a tough time choosing what to attend.

Dances, the crowd-pullers

Not surprisingly, most of the classical dance competitions attracted a good crowd. And there were some fine performances in Bharatanatyam, Mohiniyattam and Kuchipudi, though not all were of top quality.

As in the last edition of the festival, the boys’ Kuchipudi featured a splash of themes and costumes. That some boys — as in Thrissur a year ago — chose to present their work dressed as female dancers surprised many and their performances were well received.

Kithaab in limelight

The High School drama competition proved a crowd-puller once again. But, for the theatre enthusiasts, the focus — deservedly so — was more on a drama that was not presented.

Kithaab , which had won the first prize at the Kozhikode district festival and thus was eligible to compete here, was pulled out by Memunda HSS after some Muslim groups raised objections. But, the students came with director Rafeeq Mangalassery ready to present their play, in the hope that an appeal filed at the Kerala High Court would fetch a favourable verdict. It did not. Much to the disappointment of the director and the students. Theatre activists came out against the move by the school authorities. “The children are heartbroken,” Rafeeq said. “They are disappointed that they have lost the biggest stage of their career.”

Lacking in appeal

That was not the only appeal that did not succeed. Those attending the festival on the strength of successful appeals were a lot less compared to previous years. So far, there have only been 400 appeal entries. The opening day also saw good crowd for music events such as Ghazal and Folk Music.

Oppana too proved pretty popular with the audience. Kerala Nadanam, Thiruvathirakali and Kathaprasangam were the other attractions on the first day.

Thrissur leads

On Day 1, Thrissur topped the overall points chart with 171 points, followed by Palakkad with 165 and Kozhikode (163), Kannur (160), and Kottayam (158).