The District School Arts Festival got under way at Attingal in the district on Monday.
The five-day festival began with hoisting of the flag in the morning by deputy director of education Sreeja Gopinath who is the festival organising committee general convener.
Teachers from the district rendered the welcome song written by lyricist Premjith and tuned by music teacher Krishnalal. Following this, General Education additional director R.S. Shibu inaugurated the festival. As the model code of conduct is in force, the inauguration was held in the absence of people’s representatives.
Delay in the inaugural further delayed the start of many competitions. Other issues too reared their head on the first day of the festival.
The Kathakali event was delayed for hours after some contestants and their guardians protested against the distance from the green room to the stage. Though the event was scheduled to be held at venue no. 5, the green room was neared venue no 4. The contestants argued that they could not walk that far in costume and wanted venue four earmarked for Poorakali to be freed up for them. However, the organisers did not agree to their demand. In the end, Ms. Gopinath held talks with the protesters, following which the contestants agree to proceed with the event.
Published – December 01, 2025 10:14 pm IST
