Students of Kozhikode district team cheer as they receive the Gold Cup of State School Youth Festival for winning the Kalolsavam. Photo: ManoramaKannur: Kozhikode reigned supreme yet again as the 57th Kerala State Kalolsavam came to an end here on Sunday.
Kozhikode retained the Gold Cup for the overall champions with 939 points, followed by Palakkad (936) and Kannur (933). It was Kozhikode's 11th consecutive triumph in the school youth festival after a tight race with Palakkad and Kannur.
Around 1,295 appeals and 50 higher appeals were registered in this edition. The title race turned exciting after Kozhikode marched ahead of Palakkad on Saturday. Palakkad was in the lead till Saturday morning.
B.S.S. Gurukulam Higher Secondary School, Palakkad (113 points in HS category and 123 points in HSS category) came up trumps among the schools, followed by M.K.N.M. H. S. Kumaramangalam, Idukki, (83 points in HS category and 131 in HSS category).
Education minister C. Raveendranath speaks at the closing ceremony of 57th State School Kalolsavam at Kannur on Sunday. Photo: Aravind VenugopalThe 58th Kalolsavam will be held at Thrissur, announced K.V. Mohan Kumar, director of public instruction (DPI).
Neck and neck race
The competition was very exciting on the last day as people were waiting to get the results of the last event Vanchipattu. The higher appeals were considered after all the results were announced.
Students of Kozhikode district team cheer as they receive the Gold Cup of State School Youth Festival for winning the Kalolsavam. Photo: ManoramaOpposition leader Ramesh Chennithala inaugurated the closing ceremony held at the Police Ground, while magician Gopinath Muthukad was the chief guest. Education minister C. Raveendranath, minister of ports Kadannapally Ramachandran, district collector Mir Mohammed Ali, mayor E.P. Latha, district panchayat president K.B. Sumesh, K.V. Mohan Kumar (DPI), P.K. Sreemathi (MP) and James Mathew (MLA) were also present.
While inaugurating the closing ceremony, Chennithala said that the unity shown here at Kalolsavam was beyond politics. Mentioning Anargha, Drupad and many others who were denied justice, Chennithala said they came out as winners at this Kalolsavam only because of the appeal system. "Appeal system should not be stopped, instead can be controlled. We cannot deny justice to those who deserve," added Chennithala.
Magician Gopinath Muthukad performed a magic through which he asked parents to stay united and encourage their kids to have a healthy competition. "Everyone should compete with oneself and not with others," he said.
Kadannapally also entertained the audience by singing Chandrakalabham asking to conduct more school festivals in Kannur. Education minister Prof C. Raveendranath also gave a water purifier for the students of Kannur Sports unit for helping the authorities make the event a grand success.
While Thrissur, Kozhikode, Kannur, and Kollam shared the first place in Arabic Kalolsavam, Kannur Kasargod, Malappuram, and Ernakulam shared first prize for Sanskrit Kalolsavam.
About 15,000 students from schools across Kerala participated in 232 items at 20 venues across the district in the week-long competition.
Results were announced in the IT@School app with record speed.
The organizers had made the necessary arrangements to provide emergency medical care for the participating students during the mega event. The green protocol made compulsory in this festival was also well received by students and the audience.
The complaint cell headed by the district education officer cleared most of the complaints in a very short time with the help of IT@School.
The events on the final day were Chendamelam, Nadanpattu, Desabhakthiganam and Vanchipattu.
