Malappuram Etches Memories of Youthful Art

ASHWIN KV NAMBOODIRI spends time in different venues of the 53rd Kerala State Youth Festival recently held in Malappuram. Photographs by SHAMNAS RAHMAN. 

Malappuram: Leaving the rhythm and pace of a Pooram of arts, the curtain of Asia’s largest festival of youths fell here at Malappuram. When Kozhikode bagged the overall championship, the 53rd Kerala State School Youth Festival sowed seeds of hope for the next year to be held in Palakkad.

There was an umpteen number of performers: young artists from across the state, all with a zeal to triumph. As usual, many performances were clichéd. However, the seven days from January 14 – January 20, 2013, remain etched as shining and glorious visual feast to the land of Mappilas. The judges as well as the viewers from every nook and corner of the world were eagerly looking for outstanding performances of students from High school and Higher Secondary sections, particularly on 15 newly introduced items ranging from Mushara(Arabic poem recitation in which every competitor has to begin from the last letter of the previous line), dictionary making, Chavittu Naadakam etc. Obviously, Chavittu Nadakam, one of the oldest art forms, was the main highlight. A participation of 16 teams is undoubtedly a good start for this new entry. Almost all teams have put their best possible effort to recreate the charm of this historical art of the Latin Catholic clan.

Responsibility Re-defined:

Today, rules are being rewritten so that it is easy to break them. Here is an example from the main stage of the youth festival where the concept of responsibility is re-defined. Since plastic has become a main threat to our environment, the festival committee declared it waste-free environment, aiming cleanliness. But the message went wrong as it failed to make an effective implementation. At many places, boards were erected with a request to put the waste there. But, in the first day, no baskets or bins were kept beside the boards for the waste. No wonder, the people were in doubt if the organisers have seriously mistaken about the concept of waste disposal.

An important thing that the visitors from other parts of the State noticed was the etiquette of the people in Malappuram, particularly in a moral sense. The whole police force opined that they couldn’t find even a single misbehavior from the part of the Malappuram natives in the visuals captured on hidden cameras. Despite the uncertainties of various kinds, the hospitality of the people was deeply touched by many visitors.

Veils Lifted:

Walking through the different exhibitions set in the Kalolsavam venues in this year, one will feel really happy to realise that the veils of Malayalee’s ignorance are slowly being lifted, seeking new paths of enlightenment.Mathrubhumi daily exhibited a huge collection of their archives from their starting era and also paid salutes to their photojournalists by displaying their selected photos based on social issues.

Old is Gold:

A captivating smile of Mr. Beerankutti welcomed the visitors’ attention to his never-ending world of antique collections which ranged from the old Thaliyola and Quran scriptures to Nannangadis and coin collections. Gramaphones and other ancient articles were kept intact for the understanding of the new generation. His love and passion for such ‘originality’ even in his old age is a great inspiration to the visitors.

Innovative Ways of Education:

In this postmodern society with confusing theories and puzzling philosophies, the God’s own country’s Education Department is seeking new ways of thought in order to bring the students to the mainstream discussion platforms where they would feel confident and equipped to face an ever-changing global scenario or knowledge and wisdom. There was an undecorated hall, which simply invited everyone with an attractive board ‘Akathekku Varu’(Come inside). It was a new initiative that gained special attention among an endless number of exhibitions in the venue.

The initiative named Sarga Vedi was coordinated by Sarva Siksha Abhiyaan in support of Vidyarangam Kala Sahithya Vedi. Coordinators Mr. Rajesh and Mr. Somasundaram made it clear that the initiative aims at creating a platform for the students to respond to the happenings in the society through their creative writings as well as drawings. Apart from the objective of improving the creative skills and imaginative ability, the assessment of their creativity is done on five levels to evoke a competitive spirit among the students. The levels are class, school, block, district and state levels. Selected works from the block level competitions were displayed there; it included collections of short stories, poems, articles, essays etc. The coordinators merrily shared the happiness of the victory of the joint venture. It was really beautiful to see those excellent writings with artistic caliber, written by gifted young minds from 1000 panchayats in Kerala, becoming the center of attraction of the hall. The huge collection gave hope to the dawn of a new educated world, free from the darkness of ignorance.

Even though Malappuram was dipped in the sea of endless celebrations throughout the festival, we can’t deny the truth that there were several organisational deficiencies regarding the transportation facilities, food distribution and stage programs. Such issues often reduced the punch and flow of the over all festive mood.

However, when the dust is settled, what one remembers is the beauty and grace of those wonderful young artists from across Kerala who proved their talents, though in a cut-throat competition. The spirit often went unhealthy as the innumerable appeals suggested. A festival of hope and hospitality, a mela with unprecedented people’s participation, is now a sweet memory for the people of Malappuram as well as for everyone who witnessed it.