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It's carnival time
EVERY YEAR, West Kochi looks forward to the Cochin Carnival, its annual December event. From a small affair hosted by some Fort Kochi youth clubs to showcase their traditions, the Carnival has grown to become an event which has had enthusiastic participants from the whole of the western part of Kochithat are outside Fort Kochi ,the hub of carnival activities.
Retaining, discarding, or adding new events every year, it reflects the traditions of not only Fort Kochi but of the various communities in West Kochi. This makes the Carnival more colourful and spreads it declared message of brotherhood and participation to a wider audience. The venues have correspondingly increased making it impossible to attend all the events much as one would like to. More institutions have been roped in and occasional events have attracted major sponsors. Attempts to make it a tourism-friendly event have contributed to a change in its conception. Coinciding as it does with the traditional Christmas-New Year festivities, the Carnival has taken advantage of the atmosphere of celebration in the area to enhance its own ambience of cheer.
The concept of annual Carnival has yet to be replicated in a lasting manner in any other place in the State. A Carnival means different things to different people all over the world but it has its own typical associations. The mood and the settings are as important to its success as any other element. While the mood it conjures is always one of gaiety, fun and frolic, the setting and ambience of Fort Kochi might be different to copy elsewhere.
The carnival has been a folk tradition and folk entertainment has always been a part of its repertoire. In European culture, the carnival was often associated with festivals and holidays. The setting was rarely indoors. It was in large open spaces like grounds or squares, which were accessible to all. Its traditional forms of entertainment and participation included processions, music and dancing, poetry, juggling, mime and acrobatics, sporting events and impromptu theatre reflecting topical themes often laced with satire, lavish spectacles and so on.
The carnival was a great leveller of men and soon the gay atmosphere and its variety entertainment attracted all classes with the higher social strata taking advantage of its open atmosphere to mingle with crowds. Very often people would come disguised, wearing masks, which would make it difficult to distinguish their identity or rank. The wearing of masks soon became an intrinsic feature of carnivals and is typical to them to this day. It is interesting to note that the tradition of holding a carnival has been retained or revived in several countries with a past influenced by colonial traditions where transmitted customs have mingled with local ones to produce a culture, which is at once both alien as well as rooted in the soil.
Goa is an archetypal example, which can be used to illustrate this point. Considered in the light of this statement Fort Kochi too has a long colonial history as well as a strong local culture. The setting has the right ambience, which the word carnival evokes, which is why the ideas of holding a carnival here has never appeared to be misplaced.
Some of the organisers of the Cochin Carnival once talked of the success of the Goan Carnival and hoped that Kochi would have an equally famous one. One can definitely claim that they have been instrumental in adding this annual event to the cultural traditions of West Kochi.
PRATIMA ASHER
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