Dawn of cultural spring

As the world wakes up to autumn in September, figuratively it’s ‘spring’ that awaits people in Thiruvananthapuram ahead of the biting cold of winter. For decades, this time of the season had been setting the festooned median along the Vazhuthacaud- Vellayamabalam stretch in ‘full bloom’, a picture that tugs at the heartstrings of most capital natives at the start of Soorya Festival.

At its 40th birthday, Soorya Festival, without question, is one of the best and most sought-after cultural spectacle India can boast of. If the culturati looks to this modest South Indian city now, none better than Soorya Krishnamoorthy is worth the credit. No wonder if Wikipedia acknowledges this man for placing the city onto the ‘cultural and film map of India’.

From a 21-day cultural extravaganza restricted to a single venue, it grew into an annual event of 50 to 75 days duration and Soorya Fest happens now all year round somewhere in the world with its roots spread out to 38 countries. In Kerala, curtains just went up for the 111-day jamboree beginning with the Soorya Film Festival.

It’s a given that the fest is announced on the first day of a fresh financial year — April 1st — and preparations start from the very next day of Ganesh Chathurthi every year so that the fest starts rolling on September 21. This has been a code Krishnamoorthy has set and follows without fail.

The fest though has outgrown its humble venue — Tagore theatre — Soorya Stage and Film Society is proudly hosting the fest for the first time in town stage, the Ganesham open air theatre in Thycaud — one of the several venues.   

“The current tariff is not affordable for a cultural society of our stature to hire Tagore theatre. This shouldn't be the scene. Actually the sum has to be rationalised for every artiste's sake. Else, we need to find huge sponsorship to spend money for this stage. Our theory is to pick the most cheaply accessible venue to accommodate maximum audience to watch our programmes. Only if there are larger venues could we accommodate all who have taken a membership with the society,” says Krishnamoorthy. The chain of tradition     remained unbroken at this fete with Soorya’s grand opening ceremony taking place at Tagore theatre.

“We began with invoking Lord Ganesha and the culmination is to be marked with a stage show dedicated to Jesus Christ. That itself is sending out a message of communal harmony,”  says Krishnamoorthy.

The Ganesham theatre is set to host the special six-day Ramayana series in December. A 30 trained dancers’ team from Kalakshethra are coming down to present the six kandas of Ramayana in these days.

The 40th year fete’s highlight event is an international painting exhibition with the participation of 40 painters from across the world. A 10-day ‘arangu’ series is another specialty.

What’s it that Krishnamoorthy would like to call the milestone in the four-decade history? The awards and honours? Wide-mouthed publicity? Big headlines? Not any of these. He would attribute the success to “the emergence of some new artistes is the achievement of each fest.” “Soorya Fest has been a turning point  for several artistes and some of whom have acknowledged it in public. Especially for youngsters, the fest it is a jumpstart.”

Every year and this time too, singer K.J. Yesudas’s concert is on October 1. Other two regular faces, dancer/actor Shobhana and classical danseuse Padma Subramaniam won’t make it to the fest in the current edition. Shobhana has the record of dancing for 25 long years and Padma has been a constant presence for 39 editions. Soorya Fest walked into the Limca Book of Records for the longest and largest festival of Asia the time when it was expanded to a 75-day programme.

What does he look forward to? “The popularity of the fest must be retained. We have no VIP reservation or long-winding speeches at the start of our programmes. Artistes are our guests. We keep no office or paid staff. Everyone functions without any profit intent. My prayer is to maintain this style when Soorya festival runs into 50 years, 100 years or more,” Krishnamoorthy ruminates on the future.