Over 13,000 students participated Over 13,000 students participated

Policemen guarded judges, contestants arrived armed with court orders, parents splurged up to Rs 1 lakh on a single dance costume and a 61-year-old jumped onto the stage to fight for her granddaughter.

It was that time of the year in India’s most literate state when, as always, reality edged out reality TV before the curtains finally fell on the latest edition of the Kerala school youth festival on Wednesday.

Considered to be the largest event of its kind in Asia, the stakes were high for the 55th edition, the numbers too: 14 revenue districts, 17 venues, 232 on- and off-stage events, 12,000 students plus 1,300 more for the Sanskrit and Arabic festivals held on the side, and around 5 lakh meal tickets across seven days.

And the prize? An ‘A’ grade means 30 “grace marks” over what is available in the annual examination.

Not just the students, it’s a nightmare for the parents and teachers too. But nothing compares to what the judges go through. This time, three of them had to sit through 30 hours of the higher-secondary drama competition which began at 10.30 am on Sunday and continued up to Monday afternoon to accommodate 39 teams.

That’s not all.

With agitated parents alleging malpractice in grading almost every year, the judges were kept under police watch. They were not allowed to mingle with anyone else during the contest or the intervals. They were not even allowed to use their mobile phones while the contests were going on.

Gopala Krishna Bhatt, Kerala’s Director of Public Instruction, said that a special unit of the vigilance and anti-corruption bureau kept an eye on the judges this year.

“They were under constant vigil. If necessary, police would examine their mobile call details,” Bhatt said.

For instance, during that 30-hour marathon, the three judges were taken to a hotel for breakfast and brought back, both under police escort. And while they were away, their scoring sheets were under police protection.

As for the 39 entries in one event, that’s the other angle to this bizarre government exercise.

With 14 revenue districts in the fray, an event should ideally have one or two contestants from each. But here’s the catch. The organisers have to include students who arrive waving successful appeals —- from district courts, High Court, Education Department, Lokayukta and even the state commission for protection of children’s rights.

This edition had 1,504 contestants who landed up with such “appeals”.

“Those who do not top at the district level move appeals pointing out various arguments. On many occasions, those who come with appeals emerge as winners while the top scorer from that district goes down,” says a member of the organising committee.

With all this action, could the media have been far behind? All the newspapers and a dozen TV channels in Malayalam had erected stalls at the venue. Leading newspapers had deployed at least a dozen reporters each and an almost equal number of photographs to cover the festival. A TV channel crew typically numbered around 60, and news channels erected temporary studios with facilities for live telecast.

Spare a thought, now, for the contestants. Referring to what they undergo every year, one participant from Pathanamthitta district says, “Participants in dance events have to apply make-up at least three hours before their turn at the stage. If there is a delay, we have to wait further. We cannot have food, and the only option is glucose or a few sips of energy drinks. Once the competition is over, we have to move to the TV studios without changing our attire. If that ambience is not enough, we have to go along with the crew for outdoor shoots.” At the end of it all, everyone agrees, one group always emerges as the winner —- the trainers.

Says Shashi Lal, team manager of Kozhikode’s Silver Hills Higher Secondary School, “We try to get the best trainers in Kerala. Most probably, that trainer would have trained the best team at the state level in the previous year. The same trainer can train different schools, but we will not allow him or her to train other schools in the same district.”

Lal adds, “If a team wins, the credit goes to the trainer. His market would go up in the coming year.”

He goes on to explain the costs involved in this annual jamboree. “For an individual classical dance item, the cost would come to Rs 1 lakh, which would include the trainer’s charge, cost of recording the song, ornaments and costumes. These expenses are borne by the participants’ parents.’’

This means it must have cost the 49 girls from the high school category and 38 from the higher secondary segment at least Rs 87 lakh to take part in the Bharatnatyam contest alone.

No wonder then, that late last Tuesday night, Chandrika Shivaraman jumped on to the stage after the power went off when her granddaughter was performing a folk dance routine. The organisers refused to let Pavithra carry on later, citing norms. Shivaraman first protested loudly, then fainted on stage —- Pavithra was allowed to continue.

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