Tarang Season-3 @ Infopark: Minister Opens Fortnight-long Art Festival

KOCHI:
The third season of Tarang began today on a colourful note, with Industries Minister P. Rajeeve inaugurating the fortnight-long celebrations aimed at augmenting artistic creativity within the IT community of the state’s commercial capital.

Highlighting the need for cultural get-togethers, the Minister said such events strengthen personal relationships and reduce work pressure. “The government is trying to create quality jobs and a work environment in Kerala,” he pointed out, declaring open the All Kerala Techies Kalolsavam that features competitions in 100-plus categories.

Infopark CEO Susanth Kurunthil said Malayalis and art festivals continue to share a unique bond no matter the circumstances. “This is visible on a global scale,” he underscored at the opening ceremony of the multi-venue Tarang (April 21 to May 9), which has 5,000 competitors from more than 300 companies. The contests are in the categories of dance, music, literary writing, theatre and visual art, among others.

The festival began with a procession of contestants and artists from various companies. A flash mob in the courtyard of the Vismaya building, which hosted the inaugural ceremony, added to the excitement. Some employees, dressed in costumes inspired by certain movies and their characters, particularly entertained the crowd.

Chenda Melam, Kavadi, and band-melam of various groups heightened the festive atmosphere. The procession, which started from the Vismaya and ended at the Athulya Building through the main gate of Infopark, was joined by special guests: film actor Vinay Forrt and singer Hesham Abdul Wahab.

Present on the occasion were Progressive Techies President Anish Panthalani, Thrikkakara municipality vice-chairman Abdu Shana and sponsors of the event. The function saw the handing over of a cheque for Rs 8,69,816 to Rebuild Wayanad. The money was collected from Infopark for the financial assistance to those who lost their homes in the Wayanad disaster.

As for Tarang-3, the music category will have individual and group competitions in poem recitation, classical music (westernand eastern), folk songs, cinematic songs, mappila songs, light music, Kathakali music, ghazals, sopanam music, group songs, Vrindavadyam, vanchipattu, patriotic songs and ganamela.

In the dance category, the competitions are in Bharatanatyam, Mohiniyattam, Kerala Natanam, folk dance, Kuchipudi, Kathak, Spot Choreography, Hip Hop, Freestyle, Robot Dance, Indian Semi-Classical, Thiruvathira, Oppana, Margamkali, Group Dance, Step and Synchro, and Vattapattu.

There will also be competitions in mono act, stand-up comedy, mimicry, spot dubbing, pencil drawing, watercolor, cartoon-caricature, oil painting, face painting, henna, bottle art, nail art, embroidery and T-shirt art. The other contests include design, digital art, story writing, poetry writing, essay writing, photography, fashion show and for Mr and Miss Techie.