KERALA TOURISM NEWSLETTER
Soorya Festival
Soorya Festival, an annual cultural event organised by the Soorya Stage and Film Society, is one of the longest and most prestigious cultural events in India. The festival which lasts for more than a hundred days is held in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala. Soorya festival endeavors to achieve "Integration through Culture" and aspires to propagate the rich Indian culture around the globe.
The festival, marked with the presence of several distinguished personalities in various fields of Indian art and culture, is organised with the sole purpose of promoting Indian arts and culture. Dance, music, poetry, drama, cinema, documentary - anything and everything that flaunts the rich artistic tradition of India is featured in the 100- day-long festival. By showcasing the best of Indian art forms, the festival aims to enlighten the people about the value of Indian tradition and culture.
Nataraja Krishnamoorthy, popularly known as Soorya Krishnamoorthy, a pioneer of Light and Sound show in Malayalam, is the founder of the Soorya Stage and Film Society. Krishnamoorthy who was a scientist at ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) brought Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, into the cultural and film map of India, through various cultural and film festivals.
He founded the society some 35 years ago as a non-profit, non-commercial voluntary organisation based in Thiruvananthapuram. The society also brought the wealth of world cinema to the soil of Kerala. By conducting various film festivals, presenting film directors and holding their retrospectives and also conducting seminars and discussions on cinema it taught the Keralites the real worth of world cinema.
Since its inception the society has opened chapters in 22 countries in Europe, Gulf and Asia. The total membership of the society now exceeds 30,000. Not only this, Soorya also has it's actively working chapters in 60 centers in India, 30 villages and also 14 districts of Kerala. Recently the Limca Book of Records has recognised the festival as the longest festival of Asia and the society as the largest cultural society in Asia.
