THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the second day of the State Continuing Education Arts Festival coming to a close, host Thiruvananthapuram is leading with 97 points. Thrissur and Malappuram districts are in second and third spots with 58 and 55 points respectively. As many as 40 of the 144 competition items were held on Friday and Saturday at University College, the venue of the fest. Transgender students dominated the Class X/Higher Secondary category. Though Thrissur was leading in the initial stages, stellar performa n c e s by transgender students tilted the scales in the capital district’s favour.
Transgender participants alone won 38 points in the Class X/Higher Secondary category, of which, 33 points were bagged by participants from Thiruvananthapuram. Competitions for transgender people were held in 15 categories, including group dance, Oppana, Thiruvathira, Mapplilapattu, folk song, Bharatanatyam and folk dance. The district also topped the pageantry competition, organised as part of the festival. Kasaragod and Pathanamthitta districts clinched the second and third spots respectively. General Education Minister C Raveendranath distributed the trophy to the winners. He also gave away trophies to winners in the Literacy/Class IV/Class VII categories.