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| The cultural feast at the opening of the 55th State Schools Athletics Championship at Maharaja's College Stadium in Kochi on Thursday. Photo: Thulasi Kakkat |
A riot of colour and pomp marked the opening of the 55th State school athletic meet at the Maharaja's College Stadium here on Thursday.
And truly, it was a great evening to remember for the packed house as children from schools across the city treated them with some deft movements to the tilting background score.
As is usual on similar occasions, the earlier part of the nearly 130-minute show was restricted to the sports protocol, which included a march-past of the participating teams from the 14 districts and the arrival of the games torch.
Having started its journey from Thiruvananthapuram, where the last year's meet took place, the torch was brought to the venue from SRV Higher Secondary School by a batch of athletes and received by Olympian Mercy Kuttan.
She then relayed it over to Melby T. Manuel and Jithin Vijayan, both national junior champions, who took a lap of honour around the stadium and then translated the flame to the cauldron amid a standing ovation.
Claudio K. John, captain of the host Ernakulam side, took the oath on behalf of the participants.
The attention thereafter shifted to main dais as Director of Public Instruction A. Shajahan welcomed the dignitaries and invited Excise Minister K. Babu to formally inaugurate the four-day meet.
The Minister, in his short speech, called upon the participating athletes to strive hard so as to keep the State's flag flying high at the national level and beyond.
Then, it was turn of the real heroes and heroines of the day to take the centre stage. The tempo of the cultural pageant which followed was set by the theme song presented by students of Government Girls HSS, Ernakulam. If their rendering was mellifluous and soul-soothing, it certainly was only starters.
The Queen of the Arabian Sea, Kochi's sobriquet, was the next presentation which brought to attention the great ocean and its high waves. It was followed by popular traditional art forms such as Thiruvathira Kali, Oppanna, Panchavadyam, and Chenda and the arrival of King Mahabali in all his splendour.
Next it was the turn of the King of Kochi to make his appearance, even as popular film songs blared in the background.
Main course
The main course of the evening, which was served next, was a brilliant display of aerobics by over a thousand children, all dressed in white.
The crowd could not have asked for more as Santa Claus too joined the fun and distributed Christmas gifts to the onlookers. Equally eye-catching was the karate display and the fishermen dance which brought the curtain down finally.
A better coordination and time-management, however, could have made the show still more colourful.
