Bringing alive Kerala&rsquos rich and diverse folk and ritualistic art traditions before a wider audience in 30 venues across the state, the 7-day annual cultural festival, Utsavam 2021, is all set to get off to a colourful start today.
Hundreds of artistes, representing a wide variety of folk, tribal and ethnic traditions that flourished in different parts of the state, will perform during the 13th edition of the event, being organised by Kerala Tourism together with Kerala Folklore Academy, Bharat Bhavan and District Tourism Promotion Councils.
The Minister for Co-operation,Tourism and Devaswoms, Kadakampally Surendran, will inaugurate the festival at Nishagandhi Auditorium at Kanakakunnu Palace grounds at 6pm.
The inaugural function will also see the launch of the Utsavam signature song rendered by Kavalam Sreekumar.
Leading folklore artists representing various traditions will be honoured at the function with the Utsavam Puraskaram. They include Smt T K Baby (Onamkali Pattu), Shri Pramod TA (Pattu & Kaalakali), Shri Padmanabhan TR (Ambatheeradikalari), Shri Sudarshanakumar T (Padayani), Smt Bindu Pazhur (Mudiyettu), Smt Malathi Balan (Uralikoothu), Smt Rajamma A (Pooppada Thullal), Shri K Kunhi Koran (Poorakkali), Shri Dineshan Thekkankooran Peruvannan (Theyyam) and Smt Umbichi K (Mangalam Kali).
The festival aims at providing a platform to folk arts, many of which are on the verge of being pushed into oblivion.
This edition of the event assumes added significance as it comes as a big support to artists hit by the sweeping recession triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has had its adverse impact on the cultural domain as well.