A crescent moon hunglow over the sprawling grounds of Govt. Higher Secondary School in Veloor, a small village nestled between Kunnamkulam and Vadakkanchery in Thrissur district.
At 10 o’clock families with kids in tow, wandered around colourful papier-mâché sculptures , gazing atpaintings displayed in a make-shift exhibition hall, sipping black tea from paper cups and gaping in wonder at a small water fountain that spewed forth when you pedalled a bicycle. At this poorapparambu – the festival ground- a theatre festival, or more broadly, a cultural festival was on. ‘Gramakam - 2019 ’ lined up eight Malayalam plays within a span of five days, conducted an art camp with 20 painters, organised an acting workshop for children, presented Mohiniyattam, Kathak and gazal performances..
Artists join hands
Into its fourth edition this year, ‘Gramakam,’ was born from a vision and desire of a group of people from the village of Veloor who dreamt of bringing back the vibrant cultural fabric that was once part of their village life.
‘Gramakam,’ kicked off with a book festival, which acted as a fund raiser, held one month in advance. Artists joined hands in giving publicity to the festival by making paintings on a public well . The painters including Sharma, Jyothiraj and Prashanth created works that spoke of the importance of water conservation and cleanliness.
The festival was inaugurated by the Malayalam novelist T .D. Ramakrishnan who highlighted the necessity for creating cultural spaces in rural areas.
The inaugural play was ‘Chakkarappanthal,’ a well-presented solo performance by Appunni Sasi, Kozhikode-based performer. ‘Sun Glass,’ directed by Varun Madhav attempted to present the fragmented realities of everyday life.
On the third day of the festival, the audience were treated to three plays, based on the short stories of the well-known Malayalam writer Asokan Charuvil.
‘Veendum Bhagavante Maranam,’ based on the short story by K.R. Meera and directed by Hazim Amaravila for Kanal Samskarika Vedi was the last play of the festival.
The works created by the twenty participants of the artists camp were displayed at the festival venue.
The organisers created a beautiful ambience with papier mache sculptures by local artists depicting erstwhile village life along a meandering path that directed the audience towards the stage. Welcoming the audience was the cycle fountain, created by Francis, who hails from Veloor.
‘Gramakam,’ means ‘within the village.’ The organising committeehopes that the festival will help to make inroads into their village and touch the souls of the people with a fresh vision of life.