Artistes perform a folk dance from Kerala

Jorhat, April 19: The cultural capital of Assam, Jorhat, will host a cultural troupe from Kerala, in a bid to strengthen cultural connections with the southern state.

A 37-member troupe from Kerala, Cultural Colleagues, will perform folk dances and songs at a two-day cultural meet which begins tomorrow.

The troupe will also stage a short play and interact with local folk artistes, who will perform at the programme to be held at the Kala Bhawan, Normal School hall and the district library auditorium.

The team has been invited by four literary and cultural organisations of Jorhat — Maharathi, Suraj Drama Productions, Sanskriti and Maya Sound and Movies — that have jointly organised the meet.

Syed Parviz Hussain, the secretary of the organising committee, told this correspondent today that the programme aims at establishing a cultural link with Kerala, which has a vast ancient heritage of performing arts that have evolved through the ages.

Hussain said the meet could showcase the cultures of Kerala and Assam.

Similar exchange programmes can be organised in Kerala for troupes from Assam.

“We hope our initiative will forge cultural ties between distant cultures and we plan to arrange such exchange visits between the states,” Hussain said.

He said the amateur troupe members were mostly from Calicut.

They were professionals in different fields who had formed the troupe to promote their own culture.

Hussain said they came into contact with the Kerala-based troupe during visits to the state. His friend Bipul Reagan and he — both budding poets — had been visiting Kerala for poets’ meets for the past four years.

The troupe will perform paattum kaliyum (Malayalam songs for kids), thiruvathirakkali (a folk dance performed by women) and vanchippaaattu (a folk song sung in a traditional boat race during Onam).

A one-act play, Kurukku (The knot), Velutha kutti (The white child), a play, while an animation film made by the troupe, Pachilakkood, (My home is green) and a mime show, A Doctor’s Cabin, are also part of the programme.

The organising secretary said Xattriya and Bihu dances would be performed by a group of local artistes. He said there would be an interactive session between the members of the visiting troupe and local artistes.