Kerala will be switched on to a festive mode in the peak tourism season as the whole state prepares to enthrall both domestic and foreign tourists as well as its own citizens in a nearly month-long cultural fiesta.
Organised by the state tourism department, the ‘Utsavam’cultural extravaganza will kick off on December 29. It will be staged in 60 venues across all the 14 districts of Kerala.
‘Utsavam’ (meaning festival in Malayalam), which was launched as an annual event in 2007 to promote traditional performing art forms of the state, will run up to January 19next year.
“’Utsavam’ is an event on a grand scale aimed to sustain and popularize the traditional art forms of Kerala, some of which are on the verge of decline,” said Kerala Tourism Minister Shri A P Anilkumar.
“The festival is for the people of Kerala and our guests from outside the state and country,” added Shri Anilkumar, who inaugurated the event on December 26 at the picturesque Bekal Fort in Kasargode. The inaugural day of ‘Utsavam’ saw the performance of ‘Rhythm of Kerala’, a dance medley based on tribal, classical and folk arts by seasoned artistes.
The first edition of ‘Utsavam’, held from December 2007 to March 2008 drew enthusiastic response from domestic and international travelers, marking a phenomenal debut. ‘Utsavam’ 2007 fetched Kerala Tourism the prestigious Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Gold Award in the heritage and culture category in 2008.
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