THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Around 150 people took part in the bicycle rally organised ahead of Keraleeyam — a week-long celebration that will kick off on Keralappiravi Day (November 1) to highlight the achievements of the state.
Cycling enthusiasts took the ‘Keraleeyam Rally’ as an opportunity to promote and encourage women to take up the activity. Forty-five-year-old Zeenath M A, came all the way from Fort Kochi to attend the event. She is on a mission to promote cycling in the state. Zeenath, a homemaker and the mother of two children in their twenties took up cycling just two years back.
Events like this would help promote cycling, she gushes. “I have trained over 750 women in all age groups in the past two years. I wanted to attend the event to promote and encourage cycling among women. It helps build confidence, and every woman, irrespective of age should learn cycling,” says Zeenath, who dreams to coach women across Kerala.
“I encourage everyone to cycle at least 30 minutes every day. This will help improve our health and it’s also a good stress-buster.” The bicycle rally was a soft launch to the week-long ‘Keraleeyam’ festivities. The rally was flagged off from Manaveeyam Veedhi and was attended by cycling enthusiasts and students. Organisers say a majority of the participants were women.
According to Prakash P Gopinath of the Indian Cycling Embassy, the event was a success and many from NCC and PRD participated in the rally at Kanakakunnu. ‘Keraleeyam’ aims to showcase the Kerala development model on a global stage. The festival will feature a slew of events including seminars, exhibitions, trade fairs, food festivals, film festivals, flower shows, cultural festivals, installations and street performances. Events will be held at over 40 venues.