Kerala govt’s G20 meeting prep an ode to its roots

The Kerala government’s preparations for the G20 sherpas’ meeting have given a prominent place to the state’s culture, music and cuisine, with an official lunch for the delegates on Thursday comprising local delicacies such as avial, puttu, appam, thoran, malabar parotta and fish.

Banners with colourful images of elephants and Kathakali dancers and billboards with the cliched description of Kerala as “God’s own country” greeted senior G20 officials as they gathered in the backwaters of Kottayam district on Thursday for a crucial meeting.

The G20 delegates along with artistes during an event, in Kerala. (HT)

The narrow road leading to resorts that will house the G20 sherpas or personal representatives of heads of state and government of the world’s largest economies has been freshly refurbished, and the idyllic surroundings of the venue – green paddy fields and towering coconut palms swaying in the breeze blowing in from the sea – were in sharp contrast to the divisive issues that have created fractures within the G20 in recent weeks.

While interacting with reporters on Thursday evening, India’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant jokingly said he hoped that the serenity of Kumarakom will help bridge the divisions within the G20 so that the grouping can focus on pressing global economic challenges.

The Kerala government’s preparations for the G20 sherpas’ meeting have given a prominent place to the state’s culture, music and cuisine, with an official lunch for the delegates on Thursday comprising local delicacies such as avial, puttu, appam, thoran, malabar parotta and fish.

Images of elephants, which are a key part of rituals in Kerala’s temples, figured prominently on banners on both sides of the road, along with silhouettes of Kathakali dancers. “Welcome delegates to God’s own country” was the message on numerous billboards.

After several official sessions during the day, the G20 officials joined a cultural event at Kumarakom Lake Resort with the theme of “Parakaya Pravesha” or one’s soul entering the body of another person. The event also allowed the delegates to experience the game of dice in the Mahabharata through Kathakali, the dance drama of Kerala.

Conch players welcomed the guests, who were garlanded and taken into the “Aniyara” or make-up room for the Kathakali performers. The delegates interacted with the performers, who were in different stages of their make-up, to get a feel of way in which the elaborate masks of the dancers are created.

This was followed by dance and musical performances before the main Kathakali performance by 18 dancers.