StatesKeralam
Keralam turns 70 today; Satheesan to open Festival Kerala at Nishagandhi
The state marks its 70th Kerala Piravi with a festival that will travel to five big Indian cities and bring investor meets with it. The Chief Minister opens it in Thiruvananthapuram this evening.
Key points
- Keralam marks its 70th formation day on Sunday, 1 November.
- Chief Minister V D Satheesan will open the state festival at Nishagandhi Auditorium at 4 pm.
- The festival will go to Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and Kolkata, with investor meets.
Keralam turns 70 today. The state was formed on 1 November 1956, and this year’s Kerala Piravi is being marked with a festival meant to carry the state to the rest of India.
Chief Minister V D Satheesan will open the state-level celebration at Nishagandhi Auditorium in Thiruvananthapuram at 4 pm. Health Minister K Muraleedharan will preside, and Chief Secretary Biswanath Sinha will give the welcome address. Ministers, officials, artists, cultural figures and sportspersons have been invited. The government says the festival will showcase the state’s cultural heritage, art traditions, sporting achievements and social progress.
A festival on the road
Satheesan announced the plan in September. Under the name Festival Kerala, the government will stage programmes in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and Kolkata as well as at home, with indigenous art forms, discussions and pitches for tourism and investment. “There will be investor meets in major Indian cities as part of the first edition of the festival,” he told reporters then. Whether a later edition goes abroad will be decided after the first one.
A cabinet sub-committee chaired by the Chief Minister is running the festival, with Cultural Minister P C Vishnunadh as convener. The name itself drew debate. Satheesan said the event was called Festival Kerala rather than Festival Keralam because some grammar experts objected to using “Keralam” in that form, even as the state now goes by its new name.
Keralam is not alone in celebrating. Karnataka marks Rajyotsava today, and Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Haryana also observe their formation days on 1 November.