Kerala Kalolsavam 2026 / From melody to motion, students dazzle on festival stage

They came, and they conquered the stage. One after another.

The light music contest for high school girls lived up to its reputation. There were several excellent performances at the Vivekodayam BHSS on the opening day of the 64th State School Arts Festival.

The event, in which the previous winners include K.S. Chithra, Sujatha, Minmini and Arundhathi, was indeed one of the highlights on the first day of the festival featuring about 14,000 participants. While many music lovers thronged the open-air venue, much bigger crowds turned up for the more glamorous events across the city.

After Chief Minister Pinaryai Vijayan inaugurated the festival, the main venue at Thekkinkadu Maidan, in the presence of General Education Minister V. Sivankutty, Revenue Minister K. Rajan, Electricity Minster K. Krishnankutty, Higher Education Minister R. Bindu, Archaeology Minister Kadannappally Ramachandran, MP and actor Suresh Gopi, Kathakali actor Kalamandalam Gopi and former Indian football captain I.M. Vijayan, saw Mohiniyattam (HS) and group dance (HS), which not surprisingly attracted a huge crowd. Few events could compete with the spectacle and creativity that one gets to see in group dance.

The Chief Minister said art should be the religion of the artistes. “The growth of the State School Arts Festival as Asia’s largest is a testimony to the strength of education in Kerala,” he said. “The changes that have taken place at the State School Festival over seven decades have been amazing.”

The opening day witnessed a wide array of array of art forms delighting art lovers in venues spread across the city. Mimicry, Bharatanatyam, Paniya Dance, Ottanthullal, Chakyar Koothu, Arabana Muttu, Guitar, Sanskrit Drama, Kerala Nadanam, Mappila Pattu and English recitation were among the competitions held on Wednesday.

The race for the Gold Cup – given to the champion district – is already on. Kozhikode and Kannur took an early lead, but they were followed closely behind by the host Thrissur and Palakkad.

Feeding thousands of participants and officials is also a marvel at the festival. For lunch, there were some 18,000. “We served food till 4 p.m.,” said the Food Committee chairman Saju George. “Even those who came very late were fed.”