Onam celebrations end with colourful pageantry
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Thiruvananthapuram: The week-long tourism celebrations organised as part of the Onam festival ended Saturday with a colourful pageantry witnessed by hundreds of revelers who thronged the streets of the state capital.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan flagged off the pageantry that contained nearly 100 floats with socially relevent themes and 64 dance-music performance by nearly 1,000 artistes.
The procession started from Vellayambalam and ended at East Fort after passing through the main roads of the city.
Kerala's traditional arts such as Theyyam, Kathakali, Padayani, Pulikali, (tiger dance), Neelakkavadi, Pookkavadi, Chinth Kavadi, Ammankuda were performed in the background of Panchavadyam (percussion instruments), bands as well as Chendamelam and Shingarimelam were some of the highlights of the procession.
A significant feature to highlight the cultural and religious diversity of the state, the pageantry also had Margamkali, a Christian dance, Duff mutt and Oppana, both muslim dance form and Thiruvathira, a traditional hindu group dance.
Besides Kerala art forms, teams of traditional artistes from Assam, Rajasthan, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir,West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu also participated in the pageantry.
Around 200 audio-visual art forms based of different subjects,including those by various government departments and other agencies, also entertained the spectators.
Security in and around the city was also tight with nearly 1,200 police personnel deployed at various points.