Vice-President to be chief guest at Onam week celebrations this year

Vice-President C.P. Radhakrishnan will take part in this year’s State-level Onam Tourism Week celebrations, organised by the Kerala Tourism department. The event, to be organised extensively at 35 venues in the capital city from August 24 to 30, will be formally opened by Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan on August 24, informed Tourism, Culture and Cinema Minister P.C. Vishnunadh here on Tuesday.

This year’s Onam celebrations have been prepared in a way that showcases Kerala’s cultural diversity, tradition, artistic heritage and tourism potential, said Mr. Vishnunadh. While the total estimated participation of artists will be around 8,000 throughout the State, more than 340 programmes with an estimated participation of over 3,000 artists will be held at various venues in Thiruvananthapuram.

Hundreds of venues are also being set up in various districts. On August 24, the Chief Minister will inaugurate the State-level celebrations at a function to be held at Nishagandhi Auditorium. Cine star Kunchacko Boban will be the special guest at the inauguration ceremony. A special dance performance by Padma Bhushan Shobhana is scheduled for 5.30 p.m.

Prominent singers and musicians like Unni Menon, Harishankar, Anoop Shankar, Vineeth Sreenivasan, Harish Sivaramakrishnan (Agam Band), Sooraj Santhosh, Nithya Maman, Madhu Balakrishnan, Aravind Venugopal, Pandalam Balan, Najim Arshad, Manjari, Vaikom Vijayalakshmi, Abhaya Hiranmayi, Sachin Warrier, Rashmi Sathish, Aparna Rajeev, Athul Narukara will participate in various programmes. Further, Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri and Vayalar Sarath Chandra Varma, along with many other prominent artists, will additionally be a part of the Onam celebrations.

The Onam procession to be held on the August 30 will be an unforgettable visual feast. Vice-President C.P. Radhakrishnan will participate as the special guest. Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar will be the chief guest. Prominent figures, including the Chief Minister, will attend the event. The procession will start at 5 p.m. from Manaveeyam Veedhi and end at the East Fort. As many as 62 administration departments will participate. More than 100 art forms, including folk art forms from various States, will be showcased during the procession.

Kochi Navy Band

Along with this, the Kochi Navy Band will be present at the inauguration of the procession. Special importance is being given to the unique art heritage of Kerala this time. Various folk art forms will be performed at the main venue, Nishagandhi, from August 25 to 30, every day from 6 to 7 p.m., said the Minister.

The main programmes presented at Nishagandhi are Mudiyettu, Tholpavakoothu, Padayani, Arjuna Nritham, Poothanum Thirayum, and a folklore fusion of Samskara Sahithi. A variety of art programmes, including folk art forms, will also be performed at the Sopanam and Nattaranga venues in Kanakakunnu. This time, Kovalam has also been included as a new venue for Onam celebrations.

Extensive illuminations

As part of the Onam celebrations, extensive illuminations will be arranged to provide the capital city a festive look. From Kowdiar to Attakulangara and from Sasthamangalam to Vellayambalam, the government will directly, and in collaboration with various public sector institutions and private institutions, arrange attractive illumination, stated the Minister.

Onam celebrations will be organised in full compliance with the green protocol. For this purpose, the necessary arrangements have been made in collaboration with the Suchitwa Mission. A trade fair and exhibition will be organised at Kanakakunnu as part of the celebrations. It will be inaugurated on August 21 by the Minister for Tourism.