Bhubaneswar, Sept. 30: Members of the Malayali community in the city celebrated Onam at Bhanja Kala Mandap on Saturday evening with an array of entertaining cultural programmes.
The Kerala Kala Samiti had invited a troupe from Kerala for the occasion. About 400 members had thronged the auditorium for the cultural event. The artistes performed a Malayali play, which left the viewers rolling with laughter. They also presented an array of Malayali songs.
While senior members of Kerala Kala Samiti clapped and lip-synced to timeless classics sung by the artistes, youngsters whistled and hit the stage to dance with the singers to popular songs such as Kolaveri Di, Nilave Nilave, Oorum Perum.
“The troupe gave a very entertaining performance. Be it uttering witty one-liners in between songs, enacting a humourous play or performing to the latest Malayalam hit songs, the artistes were impressive. It was nice to see them inviting the viewers on stage and dancing and playing games with them,” said Sunitha, a young Malayali student.
One of the most applauded shows of the evening was the figure show featuring mimics dressed as superstars of the Kerala film industry.
The auditorium resonated with claps and whistles as soon as an artiste entered as Mohanlal and danced to a hit song of the star. Artistes also appeared as Mammooty and romantic hero Prem Nazir. But Rajnikanth’s look-alike created cheers among the viewers.
The artistes also invited audience members and performed the Muslim bridal dance of Kerala. While a young girl enacted the bride’s role, viewers and artistes circled around her clapping, dancing and singing the traditional foot-tapping songs.
Although Onam was held in the first week of September in Kerala, the community here organised a feast a couple of weeks ago and the cultural segment of the festival was conducted on Saturday.
“Every year, we organise the feast on a Sunday close to Onam. But we conduct the cultural programmes only when most members find time to participate,” said V.M. Mani, president of Kerala Kala Samiti.
