Thanjavur: A riot of colours, hair-raising stunts and scintillating dance sequences by highly talented artistes enthralled spectators during the nine day ‘Salangai Naadam’, the annual national folk arts festival, organised by the South Zone Cultural Centre (SZCC) in Thanjavur from December 23 to 31.

Clad in bright costumes, around 2,000 artistes and artisans from 64 troupes put up amazing, memorable performances. The performers evoked an overwhelming response from the public and one had to wade through the milling crowds in the SZCC premises, as people turned up in large numbers not only for the folk art performances, but also to visit the handicraft stalls.

Colourfully illuminated, the sprawling campus of the centre pulled in children and women in big numbers. The gigantic dolls placed in the premises attracted the young and old.

Collector A Annadurai, who inaugurated the cultural festival, said that the myriad art forms that reflect the diverse culture of the various regions of the country has turned out to be the integral factor binding the nation. It was a great sight to see varied art forms from different places in one centre. It is apt that Thanjavur, which is the cradle of culture, is hosting the annual event in a grand manner, he added.

Besides the SZCC premises, cultural programmes were also held in rural milieus like Kallanai, Anaikkarai and Mallippattinam (Manora) and Vaduvoor, besides BHEL in Trichy.
Artistes and artisans came from Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra, Telengana, Puducherry, Tripura, Assam, Manipur, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, West Bengal, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.

“Though all the folk arts forms received huge applause from visitors, including the many foreigners, dances like Chaau from Purulia district of West Bengal, and Koomar from Rajasthan were particularly enthralling for the audience,” said S Muthukumar of the Forum of Friends of SZCC.

“The ‘Thorpaavai koothu’ (a puppet show) and ‘Villupattu’ from Tamil Nadu, which were not part of the last festival, were there this time around,” Muthukumar said.