Eminent singers and dancers to take part in the 40th edition of Soorya Festival

Over 2000 artistes, including eminent singers and dancers from all parts of the country and abroad, will take part in the 40th edition of Soorya Festival, a 111-day art and cultural fiesta beginning on Wednesday.

An array of programmes including dance and music festivals, national theatre fest, film festival, Hindustani concerts, traditional art shows, Mohiniyattam and Ramayana festivals and painting and photo exhibitions would be held as part of the annual event at various venues in Thiruvananthapuram.

The sought-after event of art buffs would commence with a mega show, titled 'Ganesham' at Tagore theatre in Thiruvananthapuram, in which around 50 artistes would perform, said Soorya Krishnamoorthy, founder of SOORYA Stage and Film Society, the organiser of the annual event. "Over 2000 artistes from and outside the country will take part in this year's festival.

It will begin with Ganesham show on Wednesday and conclude on January 11," he said. The classical concert of eminent singer K J Yesudas, who had performed in all previous editions of the event, is one of the major highlights of the festival. Other highlights include a concert of Nityashree Mahadevan, performances of Lakshmi Gopalaswamy and Shobhana (both Baharatanatyam), Manju Warrier (Kuchupudi), Sharmila Mukherji (Odissi) and Madhumita Roy (Kathak).

Popular singers like Pandit Ramesh Narayan, Gayathri, Manjari, Shahabaz Aman, Umbayi, Anita Sheik and Abradita Banarjee are among those who would perform in 'Jalsa Ghar', the Hindustani concert series, he said. Organised with the support of Directorate of Film Festivals in New Delhi, the film festival will have a slice of regional movies including Tamil, Kannada, Bodo, Bengali and Marathi besides Malayalam films.

The 'Meet the Masters' section will have the screening of selected classical movies by eminent filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan, he said. 'Mithuna', a French ballet by Annette Leday, would be another attraction, the organisers said adding 'Ente Rakshakan' (My Saviour), a mega Bible show, would mark the end of the festival on January 11. A non-profit, non-commercial voluntary organization, 'Soorya', functioning with its headquarters here, has its chapters in 36 countries.