Kerala - Kochi   

Beach tourism mela

Special Correspondent

KOCHI: The weeklong year-end Cherayi tourism mela, which last year had been cut short by the tsunami waves, is back this year with added attractions.

Starting on the Christmas day, the festivities will last until the final hours of this year.

The Cherayi mela, the first beach carnival in Kerala held to promote beach tourism and to cash in on the tourism potential of the State's seashore, is being organised by the Pallipuram grama panchayat of the Vypeen island.

Chenda melam

This year's mela presents an exciting variety of programmes on all the seven days.

On the opening day, there is an extensive Chenda melam by about 50 artistes.

They will drum up all the four varieties of the chenda melam - `panchaari,' `adantha,' `chempada' and `paandi' - along with lecture-demonstrations, for the benefit of the uninitiated. The next day will see a Carnatic music concert and a `mimicry' show.

Highlights

The highlights of the following days are: Sopaana Sangeetham, ganamela, Bharatanatyam, Mohiniyattom, Kathakali, Perumbara melam, elephants' rally and fireworks.

A painting show, poetry recitation, seminars and symposia will also be held.

Ceremony

There will be a ceremony in memory of the people who lost their lives in the tsunami. There will be a "people's drawing programme" in which spectators will draw on a 50-metre canvas as a memorial to the tsunami victims.

The tsunami had washed out not only the mela but also the infrastructure and amenities created by the Ernakulam District Tourism Promotion Council to woo tourists, including the lavatories on the beach.

Gone is the `beach beautification project' too.

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