The Thrissur City Corporation has cancelled this year’s Puli Kali. The Puli Kali is an electrifying performance that is part of the Onam celebrations, which is Kerala’s harvest festival, every year. In Kerala, the Puli Kali is conducted on a grand scale. Puli Kali, meaning tiger dance, is a form of folk art in Kerala. Onam is celebrated every year in the month of Chingam, according to the Malayalam calendar. This year, Onam 2024 will be celebrated between September 6 and 15, 2024. The festival commemorates the end of the year-long wait to welcome Mahabali back to his land and people. The festival is marked by many events and cultural performances, one of which is Puli Kali. For Puli Kali, some performers perform their acts in traditional costumes, while others are painted as lions, tigers, panthers, and leopards. They take over the roads with their lively performances. They perform to the thrilling and exhilarating beats of the udukku, the chenda, and the takil, various instruments used during the Puli Kali. The performance usually takes place in Thrissur. ‘We Stand With the People of Wayanad and Kerala’: PM Narendra Modi Assures All Possible Support to Landslide-Hit Wayanad After Undertaking Survey of Affected Sites in Kerala (Watch Video).

The Puli Kali event takes place every year. The performance includes dances and singing, and the performers are painted as wild animals escaping from hunters. However, the annual performance has been cancelled this year in the wake of the tragic Wayanad landslides. The Thrissur Municipal Corporation has decided to cancel all celebrations for this year’s Onam, including the Puli Kali event. This move has left the artists in a quandary. This year, in July 2024, the Wayanad landslides, which were triggered by extremely heavy rainfall and climate change, claimed the lives of more than 200 people. According to reports, many are still missing. Travel Guide To Kerala During Onam: These 5 Places Will Drench You In The Festive Spirit Of Onam.

As per reports, after the announcement of the cancellation of the Puli Kali event, the organising committee and the teams participating in the event have voiced their objections in regards to the move. The nine teams that had enrolled for Puli Kali, which was slated to take place on September 18, said that they would file a memorandum with the mayor on Wednesday. The move is being made with the aim of requesting the decision be reviewed and for the Puli Kali event to be held as it has been in the past years.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 14, 2024 04:14 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).