Karaikal carnival provides platform for craftsmen, artisans and musicians

KARAIKAL

A sense of euphoria prevailed among Pongal revellers at Karaikal Carnival 2023, a four-day extravaganza of art and culture, that culminated on Wednesday.

Carnival run, cycle race, boat and rekhla race, dog show, traditional art performances, sculpture art, street painting with people’s participation, and dramas were a feast of entertainment for the participants and spectators alike.

The activities catered to people with myriad tastes. For sports enthusiasts, there was beach volleyball, beach kabadi, badminton for veterans. Food street and farm festival with flower show attracted participation of people in large numbers.

The carnival featured a Cultural Road show on the first day, involving participation of heads of government departments, autonomous institutions, public sector undertakings, and corporate entities. The road show, according to Karaikal Collector L. Mohamed Mansoor, was an ideal opportunity for the local people to come together on the street and reflect the increasing cultural pluralism of the district, and its expanding multi-ethnic communities and their heritages.

On Tuesday, the rekla race, with separate events for carts drawn by horses and bullocks, was flagged off by Puducherry Transport Minister Chandra Priyanka. The spectators cheered the participants from the sides of the 16-km and 12-km routes for horses and bullocks respectively.

An initiative of the Karaikal Tourism Department and the district administration to promote tourism through art and culture, the four-day carnival served as a platform for craftsmen, artisans, musicians and folk artistes to showcase their trade and craft.

The denouement was indeed fulfilling for the organisers who had conceptualised Karaikal Carnival as a ‘safe space for fantastic ideas’ on the theme ‘Captivating Karaikal – Sojourn at Riviera de Karaikal’, integrating it with that of G20 and Puducherry Tourism.