Kollam District School Arts Festival inaugurated

Art festivals should be venues of jubilation and brotherhood, Finance Minister K. N Balagopal said here on Wednesday. He was inaugurating the 63rd Kollam revenue District School Arts Festival at Kottarakara.

Stressing the need to acknowledge extracurricular pursuits, he added that a well-rounded education included not just academics but also arts, sports, and science.

“Kerala’s School Arts Festival is a grand event with massive participation of people. It’s a celebration more than competition,” said the Minister.

Commenting on the drama competition held on Wednesday, he said despite their simple template many plays dealt with complex issues.

Minister for Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development J.Chinchurani presided over the function. Talking about the last State School Arts Festival held in Kollam, she said its organisation was flawless.

“It’s Asia’s biggest cultural fete and this time the capital will be hosting it. Prior to it we are conducting elaborate district-level fests and in Kollam nearly 7,000 students have arrived here to participate in various events,” she said.

District panchayat president P.K. Gopan and District Police Chief (Kollam Rural) K.M. Sabu Mathew were the chief guests on the occasion.

While literary and art competitions were completed on Tuesday, around 30 events were held across 14 venues on Wednesday.

The main events included drama, light music, maragamkali, bharatanatyam, mohiniyattam, kuchipudi, monoact, folk dance.

On Thursday, oppana, mimicry and kathaprasangam are among the major items while thiruvathira, panchayadyam and keralanadanam competition will be held on Friday.

The festival will conclude on Saturday and the highlights of the day include group dance, group song, ghazal, chavittunatakam and poorakali.

Published - November 27, 2024 09:26 pm IST