Onam Week Celebrations 2015 from August 25 to 31 in Trivandrum- Events and Venues

TechnoparkToday.com>>August 22, 2015:   Various venues in the capital city will come alive in a cultural extravaganza of music, dance, painting and martial arts programs in the modern, traditional, folk and classical genres of Kerala, said Tourism Minister Shri A P Anilkumar at a function here today.

CM, Oommen Chandy will inaugurate the state-level celebrations at Nishagandhi Auditorium on August 25 by honouring artistes of renown.  The Chief Minister will also take a tour of the renovation work completed at Kannakakunnu grounds, as scheduled in time for the start of the celebrations.

The Onam Week celebrations venues include the Nishagandhi Auditorium, the Central Stadium, Poojapura ground, Museum Hall and Vyloppilly Samskrithi Bhavan. Shankhumukham is also a key new venue this year.

The inaugural function at the main venue, Nishagandhi, is a ‘Magical Melodies’ music performance by a team led by K S Chithra and Sudeep, which will be followed by a tourism theme-song dance performance, and a dance performance by Rajasree Warrier.

A festive procession, jointly organized by the Tourism Department and the Kerala Sports Council, will march through the city on Thursday as a prelude to the Onam celebrations. Home Minister Shri Ramesh Chennithala will unfurl the Onam ‘flag’ at the programme presided by Tourism Minister Shri A P Anilkumar, followed by Health Minister Shri V S Sivakumar  switching on the city illumination, when the procession reaches Kanakakunnu Palace.

Other progammes include ‘Journey of Rhythm’ by percussionist Sivamani and Karunamoorthy, a musical night by playback singer Swetha Mohan and Bennet and Band, ‘Ishal Raavukal’ by playback singer Afsal and group, ‘Dance Dhamaka’ performance by Neerav Bavlecha of the small screen’s D-for dance fame, ‘Ragarasam’ by Mattannur Sankarankutty Marar (chenda) and Prakash Ulleri (keyboard) and drama raga by dancer Methil Devika and cine artist Mukesh.

The Central Stadium will host mega shows starting on August 26 with a musical performance by Venugopal, Anil Bajpai, Rajalakshmi, and Jassie Gift, followed by magic by Gopinath Muthukad and a dance show by Kiran master and Green Shadows. The next day’s show includes key performances with singer Afsal, and actor and presenter Nadir Shah, followed by cinematic dance and comedy show.

Janaki and Najim Arshad will perform with a team of singers at the musical show on August 28, which will be followed by a comedy show and a fire dance performance. Playback singer Naresh Iyer and his band’s performance will lead to cinema choreographer Sajna Najam and team’s dance show on August 29. The penultimate day musical show is by Stephen Devassy and band, Vidhu Prathap and Sayonara, and dance by Ramzan Muhammad. Director, actor, playback singer Vineeth Sreenivasan will lead the musical show on August 31.

The entry gate at Kanakakkunnu Palace will stage chenda recitals (melam and thayambaka), while classical music concerts will be held inside at the palace auditorium. This will also be the site of a painting exhibition and a press photography exhibition. The Museum Hall will host an exhibition of traditional percussions.

VJT Hall shows starting at 4 pm will feature poetry sessions followed by professional drama, while plays will also be staged at the Institute of Engineers Hall.

Shankhumukham beach gets more festive fun this year with programmes by women and children. At 7:15 pm every day, the area gets buzzing with big-name artistes; Mannargudi Vasudevan, Giridhar Udupa, Guruprasanna, Kalpathy Balakrishnan, Anantha R Krishnan, Embar S Kannan, Palakkad Sriram, Sushant and Ebby Michael come together for a classical fusion on August 26; Zia Ul Haq, Janardhanan Puthusherry and Attukal Balasubramaniam perform a fusion the next day, while August 28 has a magic show by Magician Samraj, ‘Sarga Keralam’ special choreography by Malayalam Theatrical and Heritage Arts on August 29 and finally a melody night by Devadas and Lela Joseph on August 30.

The Government Women’s College auditorium will conduct Athapookalam competition for press club members, while the Vyloppilly Samskrithi Bhavan will have Thiruvathirakali competitions for Higher Secondary schools and colleges. The open-air venue and Koothambalam at Samskrithi Bhavan will also stage classical group dance.

Public office vicinity, Poojapura Maidan and Bharath Bhavan will be venues for musical shows.

The fun carries on with magic and comedy shows (Sathyan Memorial Hall), Kathaprasangam (Gandhi Park), Kalaripayattu (Museum), Kathakali, Koodiyattom, Akshrashlokam and Koothu (Theerthapada Mandapam), besides folk arts in Sopanam, Sooryakanthi Mini Stage, Thiruvarangu and Nattarangu.

Other programme venues are Bapuji Library at Peroorkada, Sreevaraham auditorium, Veli tourist village, Nedumangad Koyikkal Palace, Madavoorpara Boat Club premises.

Additionally, trade fairs and exhibitions will be conducted at Suryakanthi ground with the participation of Kudumbasree and government units, along with a food festival. A temporary amusement park for children will be set up at Kanakakkunu.

There will be a special programme for NRKs on August 27.

The celebrations will get a mega closing with a procession, exhibiting art forms from Kerala and other states, that starts at Vellayambalam and goes up to East Fort on August 31.