After a long hiatus owing to the pandemic, festive spirit may be back in the capital city, as Soorya Festival, one of the world’s largest arts festivals, spanning 111 days and featuring thousands of artists, kicks off in early 2021.
However, the 44th edition could be a shortened one of 56 days.
Soorya Krishnamoorthy, founder-director of the Soorya Stage and Film Society, says that the exact date is yet to be decided. “It depends on the Covid-19 situation. A curtain raiser event will be held from December 28 to 30. The 56-day event is also a representation of the 56 letters of Malayalam language,” says Soorya.
He affirms that it won’t be an easy task to conduct the festival in Ganesham, the venue of the festival.
The venue will have safety measures with thermal scanning and sanitisers. Also, it will be fumigated at regular intervals.
“There will be a reduction in the number of spectators. However, conducting the festival will be a huge relief to artists. So, this edition will be a special one for them. Simultaneously, the public misses these fests,” he adds.
However, not one to disrupt the flow of the festival, Soorya had decided to conduct this year’s dance and music fest, online. The main attraction, the Soorya dance and music fest will be conducted online from October 1 to 10.
“Artists will send a recorded video of their performance and the video will be aired through our WhatsApp groups and social media platforms,” says Soorya.
The festival usually begins on September 21 and runs till January.The fest will begin with the performance of singer K J Yesudas and will feature performances of artists like Janaki Rangarajan, Meenakshi Srinivasan, Asha Sarath, Manju Warrier, Lakshmi Gopalaswamy, Priyadarsini Govind and Rama Vaidyanathan, to name a few. “Every year the dance and music fest begins on October 1. The tradition will be upheld this year too,” he adds.