Onam Week fete ends amid tight security

By Our Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, SEPT. 5. A colourful procession dominated by over two dozen floats showcasing the cultural traditions and achievements of "God's Own Country" brought the curtains down on the week-long Onam celebrations in the capital today.

The "Great Onam Pageant" covered the six-km-long stretch from Kowdiar to East Fort amidst tight security which was clamped in the wake of the Adivasi-Dalit Action Council's decision to obstruct the pageant in protest against the alleged neglect of Adivasis by the Government.

The roads leading to the starting point, TTC Junction, were colonised by floats and the participants well before the pageant was flagged off by the Tourism Minister, Prof. K. V. Thomas, at 5.05 p.m. A large number of people had positioned themselves all along the route at vantage points to witness the colourful finale.

The pageantry committee chairman, Mr. K. Mohankumar, the publicity committee chairman, Mr. Varkala Kahar, the Tourism Secretary, Mr. T. Balakrishnan, and the Tourism Director, Mr. Alkesh Kumar Sharmam, were present on the occasion.

In a departure from the previous editions of the pageantry, the procession was headed by the members of the Kerala Two-Wheelers' Association, attired in fancy dress and riding motorcycles and scooters.

They were trailed by over a dozen young roller-skaters, some of them sporting masks of Gandhiji and Maveli.

The "Vajra" jeep of the elite Rapid Action Force, occupied by the personnel in riot-gear, followed. An elephant with the "Nagaraavu" (beating of drums fixed on its back) was followed by a 19-member troupe of Panchavadyam artistes.

Five caparisoned elephants walked behind, but the "thidambu" of the Onam Week celebrations, which is usually carried by a pachyderm at the vanguard of the procession, was missing this time.

As many as 15 CRPF jawans in Kerala attire and bearing the colourful "muthukkudas" marched in front of other jawans dressed in the traditional costumes of eight other States. The mounted police contingent and the Kerala Police band troupe followed them playing music.

Hundreds of students from the Cotton Hill Girls High School, SMV High School, Model High School, Manacaud VHSS and other schools in the city presented Bhangra, Qawali and "Kolattam" and other dance forms as well as band displays.

The inmates of the Sree Chithra Home, dressed in the traditional Kerala attire and bearing "thalappoli", were cheered by the viewers.

The float presented by Kasaragod district was titled, "Rannipuram", which is often called the "Ooty of Malabar" led the procession. The float of Thrissur district, titled "Anachamayam", Malappuram's "Musical heritage of Malabar", the "Parachi Petta Panthirukulam" of Palakkad and "Kuravilangad kappal pradikshanam" of Kottayam stood out among the floats presented by the districts.

The onlookers were silent when a float showing a huge camera and a depiction of the landslip at Vellimannu, near Idukki, rolled past. The photographs of Victor George, the photo journalist who was killed in the landslip, adorned the float.

Government departments, quasi-Government organisations, the Rotary, Y's Men International, the Motor Driving Schools Association and Motor Workshops Association also presented floats.

The "Koodiyattom" float of the Tourism Department, "Ruchiyude Kalavara" of the KTDC, "Agasthya Muni" of Forest Department, Fruits of Kerala of Farm Information Bureau, the float of Titanium and the Polio Eradication theme presented by Rotary were impressive.

The Edakkal caves presented by Wayanad was the last of the lot. The folk art form, Theyyam, Karate, Chendamelam, Thappu Kali, Old men's dance, "Karshaka nritham" and Ochirakkali were presented by groups of dancers in between the floats, which numbered 26 in all.

The martial art form of Kerala, Kalarippayattu, was demonstrated at eight junctions on the procession route from Kowdiar to East Fort. The Army Band played music in front of the VIP pavilion before the procession arrived.

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Section  : Southern States
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