THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The capital city will host the second edition of National Folk Festival of Kerala from February 15 to 18. Organised by the Kerala State Youth Welfare Board, the festival will have artistes performing art forms from over ten states. Kanakakkunnu, Nishagandhi and Manaveeyam Veedhi - the venues of the festival will showcase some of the ‘endangered’ characteristics of rural Kerala. They include a chayakkada (tea shop), ‘naattuchantha’, rural market of agricultural produces, staging of art forms like the cycle yagnam, bicycle acrobatics in the backdrop of record dance and anamayil ottakam.
Patayani, Mannathi Theyyam and Kakkarissi Natakam will be staged on Thursday. Festival director Karamana Hari said the event will begin with a Vellari Natakam, a folk theatre linked with traditional agricultural practices. The festival will give special focus to north eastern states and the participants include reputed names from Assam, Manipur and Nagaland. There will also be seminars on folk arts which would discuss the challenges in preserving the traditions.
A highlight of the festival will be the performance by renowned Rajasthani folk singer Mame Khan. Other attractions are West Bengal’s Baul music, Burra Katha and Tappeta Gullu of Andhra Pradesh.
Performances by artists hailing from Mizoram, Maharashtra, Odisha and Karnataka will also be part of the event.
Poothams to campaign on fest
Pootham Kali, a folk art form of north Kerala, will be performed on Thursday to campaign on the programme. “Orginally, Pootham Kali is performed to invite prominent persons in a village for the staging of ritualistic art forms. Here, poothams will visit the houses of prominent personalities in the capital city to invite them to the NFFK,” said Youth Welfare Board vice-chairman P Biju said.
Valedictory
A grand Patayani performance will be staged for the valedictory of the NFFK on evening of February 18. Twelve kolams will march from the Kanakakkunnu Palace premises to the Manaveeyam Veedhi in the light of about 200 olachoottus (torch made of bunched palm leaves) in the accompaniment of traditional orchestra. At 2 p.m. on the day there will be kola kazhcha at Kanakakkunnu a show on Patayani make-up.