KOLLAM: Devananda S of Carmel Girls Higher Secondary School, Thiruvananthapuram, along with her six team members, had put on heavy makeup and costumes by 1 pm for their group dance competition slotted for 5 pm on Thursday. They waited outside the greenroom, only to be called for the performance around 3.15 am on Friday.
Reason: Initially, there were only 14 teams in the competition. But with appeals, the number rose to 35, resulting in the prolonged delay.
From day one, the organisers of the state school arts festival in Kollam had assured contestants of conducting all events as per schedule.
However, reality proved otherwise for the group dance contestants who had to endure a taxing wait of close to 11 hours, with the heavy make-up adding to their ordeal.
The wait caused fatigue and physical discomfort to several contestants.
In contrast to the previous edition in Kozhikode, when the festival was held like clockwork, appeals are taking the sheen of the fest this time around.
So far, 421 candidates have made it to the state festival through appeals this year, while the total count over five days last year was 362.
‘Long delays affecting performance’
Sources said going by the daily average, the total number of appeals is likely to cross 600 this time. The number of participants in the festival has gone up from 9,528 to 10,000, including the appeal candidates till Friday evening.
The school arts festival held in Kasaragod in 2020 saw a total of 632 appeals. On the first day on Thursday, many competitions ended past midnight. The group dance competition began at 7pm and ended around 5 am on Friday. Many participants were forced to perform in the wee hours. On Friday, too, many competitions were delayed for two hours.
“We were ready in make-up by 1 pm itself. But finally, when our number was called, it was 3.15 in the morning. With heavy makeup and costumes, we couldn’t even take proper breaks or sleep,” Devananda told TNIE.
Pavithra, another contestant, expressed concern over the wait affecting their performance. “We trained for a year for the festival. However, the delay adversely impacted our health, ultimately affecting our performance in the competition,” she said.
Parents pointed out that after late performances, most contestants were too exhausted. “Some of my students are dealing with back pain issues, and one is a diabetic. Waiting for more than 12 hours is unjust. The inability to use the restroom after putting on costumes amounts to mental harassment, thereby demotivating the students from future participation in such events,” said Jomet Arackal, a dance trainer.
‘INCREASING NUMBER OF APPEALS A MAJOR ISSUE’
Education Minister V Sivankutty said the increasing number of appeals is a major issue. “Programmes face inordinate delays due to increasing appeals. The appeals surface just before the commencement of the event, resulting in prolonged hours dedicated solely to the appeal process, causing a disruption in the scheduled timings of the programmes,” he said. The minister said the courts should take a decision in this regard. “A discussion was held with the Advocate General to bring the matter to the attention of the court,” he said. Sivankutty said the students come to the competition with appeals won from the sub-courts to the High Court. He said even those who had bagged the eighth and ninth positions at the district level too had filed appeals.