KOCHI: Kochiites, be ready for a first-of-its kind cultural extravaganza on the lines of Soorya Fest, the 111-day flagship annual event hosted by the state capital. The month-long ‘Changampuzha Festival’ (Changampuzha Mahotsavam) is set to kick off from December 1, featuring an array of performing arts, classical music, dance, traditional art forms, and other shows, and boasting the participation of ‘Who is Who’ from the cultural and arts arena. Moreover, there are plans of making it an annual affair on the cultural diary of the city residents.
“Like the Soorya Fest, we plan to host Changampuzha Festival every year, hoping to raise the event into a major attraction for cultural enthusiasts worldwide in due course. The Soorya Fest too initially began as a 15-day event and went on to become one of the longest and most prestigious cultural events in India,” said P Prakash, president of Changampuzha Cultural Centre (CCC).
According to the organisers, the inaugural edition of the cultural fiesta, to be held at the refurbished Changampuzha Park, will be inaugurated by a Mollywood superstar. Art lovers will be dished out special performances on each of the 31 days, with the performances scheduled to start at 6pm daily.
The likes of Asha Sharath, Dr Rajashree Warrier and Vaikom Vijayalakshmi among others will be performing. Seven classical dance forms, six classical music concerts, three drama plays, koodiyattom, and edakka-thayambaka concert will be staged among many others events.
“December 24 will be fully dedicated to legendary Indian playback singer Mohammed Rafi on the occasion of his centenary birth anniversary. The entire day will feature competitions and live concerts comprising the evergreen, timeless and captivating music of Rafi. We will also be organising a ‘gazal’ evening as part of the festival,” Prakash said.
Four kathakali plays, authored by renowned court poet Irayimman Thampi will be staged. Another attraction will be the chavittu natakam, a popular Latin Christian dance form. The Gothuruth Chavittu Natakam performance centre will stage the play ‘Sri Ayyappan’.
“We will also dedicate an entire day to traditional mappila artforms like duffmuttu, oppana and arabana muttu. There will be also three lectures by former DGP Rishi Raj Singh, Shoukath Sahajotsu (writer, and orator who is the disciple of Guru Nitya Chaitanya Yati) and motivational speaker V K Suresh Babu,” he said.
Recently, the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) in a tie up with the Cochin Smartcity Mission Limited (CSML) carried out a Rs 4.31-crore renovation of the Changampuzha Park, which was set up in 1977 and has since then grown as the city’s cultural hub. It now boasts a refurbished auditorium that can accommodate a larger audience, an amphitheatre, noise barriers on both sides of the auditorium and the like.
“We will also set up a good acoustics system in the auditorium soon, to enhance the audience’s experience. Tenders have also been floated for the operation of ‘Pay & Use Toilet complex’ as well,” said a senior GCDA official.