Tourism News

Nishagandhi Festival to commence on April 5

The much-awaited Nishagandhi Festival organized by Kerala Tourism, will be held from April 5 to 12 this year at Nishagandhi and Suryakanthi auditoriums in Thiruvananthapuram.

According to the Director of Kerala Tourism, Mr. Alkesh Kumar Sharma, the major attractions of the festival would be classical dances, music festival, folk dance festival, crafts bazaar, food festival and an ethnic plant and flower show. A large number of craftsmen and artisans from different Indian States will assemble at Suryakanthi to exhibit their products. Andhra Pradesh will be the partner State for this year's festival. The Tourism Director of Andhra Pradesh, Mr. Kishen Rao and Assistant Director, Mr. Radhakrishna Moorthy would attend the festival. A 20 member Kuchipudi troupe will perform at the inaugural function. The backdrop of the Suryakanthi auditorium during the festival will be based on the theme of Golconda Fort of Andhra Pradesh.

The eight-day festival would be a brilliant gathering of renowned artistes from the different parts of the country. The inaugural function would commence with a fabulous Bharatanatyam performance by the cine artistes, Vineeth and Lakshmi Gopalaswami.

The diverse Indian classical dance forms and music that will be presented at the festival would, indeed, offer a fabulous treat to the connoisseur of art. Paushali Chatterji & Group will perform Odissi and Manipuri group 'Jugalbandhi', Rajendra Ganani and Dr. Deepti Omchery Bhalla will perform Kathak and Mohiniyattom group 'Jugalbandhi'. Anoop Jalota would render ghazals and bhajans, Shila Mehta Group 'Kathak' and Vikku Vinayakram would perform the Sapthakshara, a 'ghatam' percussion ensemble, Malayasia group will perform Lion dance and dancers from Andhra Pradesh will perform folk dance of Andhra Pradesh.

The food festival that would be held at Sooryakanthi auditorium will be attended by 15 leading hotels in the State. A wide variety of cuisines will be displayed at the food festival. Local flowers, plants and herbs of various species will be showcased by over a dozen nurseries in the Suryakanthi grounds. The Kanakakunnu Palace and the Museum- Vellayambalam junction would be fully illuminated during the festival.