Keraleeyam all set to showcase state’s cultural, social achievements to world

ALL arrangements for Keraleeyam, a week-long festival organised by the State government to showcase the State’s achievements, are complete, reports The Hindu.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurare Keraleeyam at Central Stadium at 10 am. Minister for General Education V. Sivankutty who is the chairman of the organising committee will deliver the welcome address. Chief Secretary V. Venu who is also the Keraleeyam general convener will present the report.

Minister for Revenue K. Rajan will preside. Minister for Finance K. N. Balagopal will deliver the introductory address. Speaker A.N. Shamseer will release the Keraleeyam brochure.

Besides ministers, actors Mammootty, Mohanlal, Sobhana, Manju Warrier and various ambassadors will speak. Video messages by academics such as Amartya Sen and Romila Thapar and ISRO chairman S. Somanath will be screened.

The Keraleeyam venues will be thrown open to the public at 2 pm. From Thursday, the public will be admitted to the venues from 10 am to 10 pm. Entry to all venues, including the film festival, is free.

Construction at the venues has been completed. Seminars that are a highlight of Keraleeyam will begin on Thursday. These will be held from 9.30 am to 1.30 pm.

Cultural programmes will kick off with Sobhana’s dance performance on Wednesday evening.

The police have made elaborate security arrangements for the festival. Services of the Health Department and the Fire and Rescue Services have been arranged at all the main venues.

Traffic regulations have been put in place in the city on account of the festival. Traffic will be restricted from Vellayambalam to GPO from 6 pm to 10 pm. Parking other than in designated areas will not be allowed. Free services of Kerala State Road Transport Corporation SWIFT buses linking various venues will be available.

The Chief Minister inaugurated a ‘living museum’ that provides a glimpse of the tribal culture at Kanakakkunnu on Tuesday. This is the first time that a living museum that showcases the tribal cultural experience is being arranged in the State. The museum arranged by the Kerala Folklore Academy will present the lifestyle and ecosystem of five tribes. A ‘forest’ has been set up around the Kanakakkunnu Palace and five huts put up.

Minister for Health Veena George on Tuesday launched videos as part of branding the State’s own dishes as part of the Keraleeyam food festival. The minister said Kerala should become a tourist destination where regional culinary flavours can be enjoyed in a safe and hygienic manner. It was a matter of pride that the State had been able to brand regional dishes, she said.

Mr. Balagopal who, along with other ministers, reviewed the arrangements for Keraleeyam said the week-long event would open the doors to the State’s achievements and culture. It would result in the State taking huge strides forward. It was expected that lakhs from within and outside the State would visit Keraleeyam. International experts, including economists and social scientists, would participate in the seminars, he said.