Kanakakunnu to be hub of Onam festivities

The Kanakakunnu palace will be the hub of festivities for the week-long Onam celebrations to commence on September 5.

The Nishagandhi auditorium on the palace premises will be the centre of cultural programmes to be organised in 26 venues in the capital. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy will inaugurate Kerala Tourism’s State-level Onam celebrations at 6.30 p.m. on Friday.

Ganamela by K.J. Yesudas and M. G. Sreekumar; dance by actor Shobana; ‘Journey of Rhythm’ led by Mattannur Sankarankutty Marar; fusion show by Ishan Dev; and a magic show by Gopinath Muthukad are the programmes scheduled at Nishagandhi.

‘Vadya Melangal’ will be staged at the palace gate. The palace auditorium will be the venue of Classical music programmes. Folk art forms will be staged at ‘Sopanam,’ ‘Thiruvarangu,’ ‘Nattarangu,’ and the mini stage. A painting and picture exhibition will be held at ‘Akathalam,’ a space within the palace.

The hub of festivities was once the Chandrasekharan Nair stadium with many Malayalam television channels opting to stage their ‘mega shows’ there.

In the 2014 edition, the ‘mega shows’ have been shifted to Central Stadium. Singers P. Jayachandran, Hariharan, Manjari, Vidhu Pratap, and Sayanora will render popular songs at this venue.

Plays will be staged at VJT Hall and Institution of Engineers Hall. The Ganamela events will be at the Peroorkada Bappuji Library stage, Public Office premises, Bharat Bhavan, and Poojappura grounds. Group dance will be staged at Nupura Mandapam of Vyloppilly Samskrithi Bhavan and ‘solo dance’ at the Koothambalam on the premises. Sathyan Memorial Hall will be the venue for a Hasya Vedi. Gandhi Park will host Kathaprasangam.

The lawns of the museum will see Kalaripayattu and Theerthapadamandapam at East Fort, Kathakali. Poets will assemble at VJT Hall for Kaviyarangu for five days from September 6.

The N. Krishna Pillai Foundation will be the venue for programmes for women and children. Cultural programmes will be staged at Koyikkal Palace, Sreevaraham, and the Veli Tourist village. A trade fair and Thalaserry food festival by the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) are the other attractions of the seven-day fete.

The avenue trees along the Vellayambalam-LMS stretch and the festival venues will be lit up. The festivities will conclude with a pageantry on September 11.