From prizewinner to composer of welcome song, a five-decade-old connection for Kavalam Sreekumar with school festival

Kavalam Sreekumar, a veteran musician, composes welcome song for 63rd Kerala State School Arts Festival after 50 years.

Kavalam Sreekumar has composed the welcome song for the 63rd Kerala State School Arts Festival. His association with the festival, however, goes a long way back, to more than five decades to be precise. Sreekumar was the second-prize winner in the boys’ classical music competition at the 13th festival held in Alappuzha in 1971. That victory tasted particularly sweet, as he was representing TDHSS, Alappuzha.

“It was also special because the judges were great musicians like V. Dakshinamoorthy, M.G. Radhakrishnan and Cherthala Gopalan Nair,” Sreekumar told The Hindu. “The standard of the competition was pretty high those days.”

The contestant who pushed Sreekumar to the second slot also went on to become a successful musician—Carnatic vocalist Mavelikara P. Subramaniam. In the next edition of the festival, when Sreekumar came third, the first prize was won by Srinivas, who went on to became a popular playback singer.

“Participating at the school festival and winning prizes certainly helped me grow as a singer,” Sreekumar says. “It was a huge recognition for me as a boy.”

He is delighted that some 50 years later, he has been selected to compose the festival’s welcome song. “It is an honour,” he says. “I enjoyed the challenge of tuning the song. For the first time in my career, I got the tune ready first as I had to bear in my mind the choreography. Then the lyrics was written by Sreenivasn Thuneri.”

Sreekumar hopes to watch some programmes during the festival held in his hometown.