Kerala State School Arts Festival: Kannur takes early, slender lead in race for Gold Cup

Kannur leads in the battle for Gold Cup at 63rd State School Arts Festival with thrilling performances.

The race is on for the Gold Cup at the 63rd State School Arts Festival. And Kannur has taken the slenderest of leads in the battle for the title as the champion district in the world’s biggest festival of its kind.

Kannur, the defending champion, has 268 points half-way through the second day of the festival, when the results of 49 events were available. Thrissur is on 267, followed by Palakkad and Kozhikode, with 265 points each. The host, Thiruvananthapuram, has 244 points and is placed seventh.

The second day of the festival is witnessing a host of popular events, such as Drama, Oppana, Folk Dance, Mohiniyattam, Kuchipudi and Light Music. Some of the programmes could go late into the night, just as did on the opening day on Sunday.

It was close to midnight when the Group Dance (HSS) concluded at the main venue, the Central Stadium. Quite a good crowd stayed back and they were treated to some scintillating performances, including the one by a local school, Carmel HSS. The tale of the star-crossed lovers Moitheen and Kanchana were well-choreographed and superbly executed by the girls, who displayed grace and vigour.