KOCHI: As Kerala gears up to celebrate Onam, Tripunithura municipality is set to go grand by scaling up its Athachamayam procession on August 16.
Chairman P L Babu said efforts are being made to transform the municipality’s Atham celebrations into a heritage festival with the recognition of Unesco and tourism department.
“We have decided to expand the Athachamayam procession by including more art forms. Every year, around 25 folk and traditional art forms are performed by respective teams.
This time, we have invited more than 50 teams, including folk artists from Palakkad and Thrissur districts. Demonstrations of classical and traditional artforms like kathakali, theyyam, pulikkali, melam, among others will be present,” Babu said.
Chief Minister V D Satheesan will inaugurate the event at 9 am, and actor Manoj K Jayan will flag off the Athachamayam procession. Tripunithura MLA Deepak Joy will preside over the event. Civil Supplies Minister Anoop Jacob will hoist the flag, signalling the start of the celebrations.
Ernakulam MP Hibi Eden, Kottayam MP Francis George, District Collector G Priyanka will be among those present. The Athachamayam procession in Tripunithura, which marks the beginning of the 10-day Onam celebrations in the city, is a colourful combination of art, culture and heritage, with people from across the state coming together to witness the festivities. This year’s procession will be followed by cultural performances until August 25.
Route & parking
The procession will start from Tripunithura Boys High School ground and pass through the bus stand, SN Junction, Poornathrayeesa temple surroundings before ending back at the high school ground. Parking will be available at Sanskrit College ground, Sanskrit School ground, Government Girls High School ground, NSS College ground, Karingachira Church ground and Sreevenkiteswara School ground.
Major attractions
Aug 17: Performance by Asha Sharath & team at 8pm
Aug 18: Kathakali performance on ‘Karnasapatham’ by Sree Bhuvaneswari Kathakali Yogam, Eroor, at 5pm
Aug 21: World of Whistlers Association’s Whistle Vismaya at 4.30pm
Aug 22: Veena performance by Dharmatheerthan at 5pm
Aug 23: Classical music concert by Mr and Mrs Benny Krishnakumar at 5.30pm. Ganamela by Cochin Guinness at 7.30pm
Aug 24: Ghazal performance by Ashbel Peter at 8pm
Aug 25: Ganamela by singer Avirbhav S & team at 6.30pm
