KANHANGAD: Kerala is an example of cultural symbiosis and the State School Arts Fest is the epitome of that, said Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan.
He was speaking after inaugurating the 60th edition of the State Kalolsavam at Kanhangad on Thursday. “Art can demolish the walls that divide minds,” he said. Actor Jayasurya, chief guest at the inauguration, started by taking a dig at himself saying his team got second in Sanskrit play.
“But to date, I don’t know the meaning of what I said,” he said, with the jampacked crowd at Adinjal bursting into laughter. But what he said sobered the audience.
“The school art festival should not be seen as a competition but to find oneself. If you need a rival to grow, you cannot succeed in art,” he said. Many talents discovered during school festivals had faded into oblivion because they needed a rival to grow, he said. “Find joy in what you do,” he said, and urged parents to allow children to choose their own path. Ports Minister Kadannappally Ramachandran rendered a song, and the Speaker recited a poem of O N V Kurup.
Kasaragod Lok Sabha member Rajmohan Unnithan started his speech remembering Pala’s Apheel Johnson, 17, a Class X student killed in a freak accident during the Kerala State Junior Athletics Championship; Alappuzha’s Navneeth, who was killed after being hit by a cricket bat; and Sultan Bathery’s Shehla Sherin, who died after being bitten by a snake in classroom.
To be sure, officially no homage was paid to the children. Revenue Minister E Chandrasekharan presided over the function. The welcome song — written by K V Manikandadas, grandson of Mahakavi Kuttamath, and composed by Kanhangad Ramachandran — was rendered by 60 teachers to mark the 60th edition of the School Festival.