'Athaghosham' committee members selected
The special council meeting held at Tripunithura Municipality the other day has selected the festival committee members of 'Athaghosham 2013'. Tripunithura Municipal chairman R Venugopal has been selected festival committee chairman and vice-chairperson Thilothama Suresh and councillor S Madhusoodhanan were selected as festival committee vice-chairperson and convener respectively.
Union Minister K V Thomas, Excise Minister K Babu, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Anoop Jacob and P Rajeev MP were designated as the patrons of the committee.
Councillor K V Saju was selected as ‘Athaghosham’ procession committee chairman. Other festival committee members include councillor E K Krishnankutty as stage and decoration committee chairman, councillor Pushpamani as art competition committee chairperson, U K Peethambharan as trade fair and publicity chairman, councillor Bindu Thampi as programme committee chairperson, councillor K T Sygal Athapookalam’ competition committee chairman and councillor M P Murali as food committee chairman.
According to the officials in the municipality, selected cultural programmes as part of the Athaghosham will be conducted at Koothambalam which is being built at Layam Ground. The construction of the Koothambalam has reached at the final stage, they added.
The 10-day long festival will be conducted from September 8 to September 17.
To mark the start of the festivities, representatives of the Cochin Royal family will receive the ‘Atham’ flag from Tripunithura Hill Palace, a day before ‘Atham day’, in the Malayalam month of Chingam.
The flag will then be brought to the Timpanist Boys’ School grounds (Atham Nagar), where the Atham procession will be commenced on Atham.
According to Cochin Royal Family members, the Atham procession was based on the custom wherein the king journeyed with his entourage, to the Tripunithura Fort. “It was customary for the king to travel to the Tripunithura Fort and pay a visit to the Thrikkakkara Vamana Moorthy Temple. Representatives of Muslims (Nettoor Thangal), Christians (Karingachira Kathanar), a representative of the fishing community (Chembil Arayan), among others, accompanied the king. This was also an occasion for his subjects to greet the king and watch him at close quarters,” they said.