Kalabhavan to hold its 12th Annual Day celebration on Feb. 2

MUSCAT: Kalabhavan School of Music & Arts, the franchisee of Kochin Kalabhavan, will be celebrating its 12th Annual Day on February 2 at The Grand Hall, Al Falaj Hotel.

A large number of students and teachers of Kalabhavan will be participating in this mega event which is free entry and starts at 6.30pm. Indra Mani Pandey, the Indian Ambassador to the Sultanate of Oman, will be the chief guest. Sayyid Said bin Sultan Al Busaidy, Dy. Director General of Arts, Ministry of Heritage and Culture will attend as Guest of Honour along with Rajan, chief executive officer of Al Jadeed Exchange.

Shankar Panicker, popularly known as Shankar in Malayalam films, will be the celebrity guest on the occasion. Shankar had acted in numerous Malayalam and Tamil films. He was one of the most sought-after and loved stars of the 80’s. Shankar became a hero in the Malayalam films through the romantic film of Fasil Manjil Virinja Pookkal. His first film was Sarapanjaram directed by Hariharan.

Shankar was one among hundreds of newcomers who had done an audition for Oru Thalai Ragam, a super hit Tamil movie, and he was selected as the lead actor. Oru Thalai Ragam not only completed 365 days run in theatres but also became the cult romantic film of Tamil film history.

Kalabhavan made its humble beginning in Muscat in the year 2006 with its first institute at Al Ghubra and later it has established two more branches at Ruwi and Al Hail. Professionally qualified and experienced teachers operate all branches. Kalabhavan has always been in the forefront of providing quality training to students – be it dance, music or any other performing arts.

Currently, it provides training in Indian classical dance, cinematic dance, Carnatic music, Tabala, Mridangam, drums, Congo, guitar, keyboard, drawing and karate.

Karate training is done in association with India’s Ko-In-Chi Academy of Martial Marts, which is one of the very well known martial arts academies in Kerala. The instructor who trains the students in Kalabhavan Muscat is deputed by the Academy, is a highly professional karate trainer who received the most prestigious ‘Hall of Fame’ award from the US. He is one of the very few recipients from India to receive such an accolade from the US.

Kalabhavan follows the Trinity College of London syllabus for Guitar, Keyboard and Drums. It also facilitates its students to ap- pear for the Trinity Examination in Muscat.

The institute is going to commence magic class for children and adults from March this year. In Oman, there is no institution, which teaches magic right now, and it is going to be an excellent opportunity for those who aspire to learn this fascinating art, which will be conducted in all branches of Kalabhavan.

Kalabhavan is a household name for the south Indians, especially Keralites. The institution is almost 5 decades old. Its contribution to the south Indian film industry is immeasurable.

Presently Kalabhavan has student strength of more than 1,000. Throughout the year, it conducts different events to provide stage opportunities for students.

Such participation on stage is inevitable for students to progress in their artistic field and to help build their confidence.

For the last one month, the students and teachers have been tirelessly rehearsing for the annual day programme, which includes classical dance, fusion dance, cinematic dance and musical instruments. A percussion feast consisting of more than 10 musical instruments will be an added attraction of the show. Coinciding with the celebration, an art exhibition is also being arranged at the venue. The art of work of Kalabhavan students will be exhibited at the venue.

The main sponsor of the event is Al Jadeed Exchange.

The entry for the programme is free and seating will be on first come first served basis.