'Art is religion of artists'; Chief Minister inaugurates 64th State School Arts Festival

THRISSUR: The 64th State School Arts Festival was inaugurated today. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan lit the ceremonial lamp at the main venue, Suryakanthi, around 11 am to mark the opening. Ministers K Rajan, V Sivankutty and R Bindu, Union Minister of State and Thrissur MP Suresh Gopi, actress Riya Shibu and several other dignitaries were present on the stage. The programme began at 9 am after the Director of General Education, N S K Umesh, hoisted the flag.

After the inauguration, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan spoke about the history of the arts festival. He said the first State School Arts Festival lasted only one day and had just 200 students participating. "The change the festival has undergone is amazing. Today, more than 14,000 students are taking part. Over the past few years, the festival has been conducted without room for complaints. I hope everyone's cooperation will ensure the same this year as well," he said.

"Artists are people who create happiness, and art has played a major role in reshaping society. Earlier, art was not performed for prizes, but talents came out naturally, sometimes without the artists even realising it. That led to the creation of cave paintings and folk songs. In the past, each art form belonged to a particular community, but in modern times, all art belongs to everyone. Art is the religion of artists,” the Chief Minister said.

The Chief Minister also recalled experiences shared by Kathakali musician Kalamandalam Hyderali. He pointed out that in cinema, P Bhaskaran created the most Mappila songs, while Vayalar wrote Christian devotional songs. "In recent times, we saw some groups attacking Christmas carols, and in some places, holidays were cancelled. Naming film characters as Rama or Sita has also become controversial. It is important to reject divisive ideologies that pit people against each other and uphold art that unites everyone. Participating in art festivals plays a key role in this," he added.

The arts festival will be held from today until the 18th. Competitions will take place at 25 venues, which have been named after different flowers. Earlier, there was controversy over the omission of the name “Thamara” (lotus), with allegations that it was politically motivated. Following this, venue number 15 was named Thamara. Minister V Sivankutty announced the change a few days ago.