THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The 63rd State School Arts Festival which began in the state capital on Saturday, turned out to be a display of the spirit of survival. The group dance performance by students from Government High School at Vellarmala which was destroyed in the landslide, had the spectators enthralled. Yet another dance group of students from Kozhikode paid tributes to literary giant M T Vasudevan Nair, who passed away recently.
A couple of events got delayed at the main venues. However, only a few technical issues were reported. In Kuchipudi HS girls category held at Agora Theatre, one participant had to stop performing due to a glitch in the sound system. She was later given another chance to complete her performance. In another incident, the Mangalamkali HS category event at Nishaganthi auditorium was delayed, due to the lag in setting up of the stage. The pavilion and seats for judges and audience were not prepared in time, leading to a delay of over an hour.
In a marked difference from the usual scenario, the number of appeals filed was fewer, compared to the previous editions. On the first day of the festival, the appeals committee received a total of 242 appeals. However, the committee expects more appeals in the coming days. As many as 222 lower appeals from various districts were filed till 9 pm.
It included 166 approved by deputy directors of education and 55 by courts and other judicial bodies. Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated the event at a colourful function held at Central Stadium. The Arts Festival is a display of the spirit of survival, said the CM who pointed out that the current edition was noted for inclusion of five dance forms of ethnic communities.
Pinarayi expressed joy over the participation of students from the Government High School at Vellarmala. “They are presenting a group dance here. It is more of a show of survival than an art performance,” he said, expressing hope that the participants would make performances that revolutionise the cultural sphere and the way of art appreciation.
Unexpected heavy rain that lashed the state capital on Saturday night failed to dampen the spirits of the contestants, as competitions continued at six venues late into the night.
