KOCHI: Afirst-of-its-kind online international festival, ‘Cyclolsavam–a festival on wheels’, will provide a platform for students across the globe to showcase their talents. The virtual festival organised by city-based Indus Cycling Embassy in association with Bicycle Ambassadors is aimed at promoting cycling among people.“Cycling had a glorious past but lost its glory when the automobile industry boomed. We wanted to promote cycling among children and create more awareness of the same.
As suggested by the students, we considered organising a festival based on cycling,” said Prakash P Gopinath, founder of Indus Cycling Embassy. “The international Cyclolsavam aims at bringing together students from various schools and colleges to embrace cycling more than just sport,” he said.
Minister for Co-operation, Tourism and Devaswom Kadakampally Surendran will officially inaugurate the festival on Saturday through online platforms. Thiruvananthapuram corporation Mayor K Sreekumar; V K Prashanth, MLA; Sudarshanan C, chairman of Education and Sports Standing Committee, and Bhairavi Nayak, BYCS India, will also attend the inauguration online.
As part of the event which will be held from October 2 to 4, a week-long bicycle riding competition will be held on the virtual platform ‘Strava’, from September 21 to 27. “Competitions will be held in three categories- for students from Class V to VIII (minimum 5km per day) and from Class IX to XII (minimum 10 km per day). Seniors can also participate in the event and have to complete 20 km per day,” said Prakash.
Students will be able to participate in various competitions such as quiz, essay writing, abstract painting, photography, elocution, poster making and cycle flower arrangement which will be held as part of Cyclolsavam. Essay writing, elocution and quiz will be conducted in both Malayalam and English. On October 2, an online workshop on abstract painting and cycle flower arrangement will be conducted by artists Deepak and George Fernandes.
As a prelude, cycling enthusiasts will be riding from Thiruvananthapuram to Kochi on October 1 in commemoration of the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. Seminars by eminent personalities will also be held. Films based on cycling will also be screened. Those participating in the competitions will be awarded e-certificates. The last date for registration is September 27. For more details, contact 8089494442 or induscyclingembassy@gmail.com.