Varnapakittu, the State Transgender Art and Cultural Festival being organised by the Social Justice department, will be held in the capital on October 15 and 16.
Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, Minister for Social Justice R. Bindu said that the festival, being organised with a tagline 'Nammalil Njangalumund', was aimed at nurturing the creative talents of transgender persons and bringing them to the mainstream.
Ms. Bindu will inaugurate the festival at the Ayyankali Hall on Saturday at 10 a.m. The competitions will be held across three venues at the Ayyankali Hall and the University College. General Education Minister V. Sivankutty will preside over the function in which Minister for Local Self Governments M.B. Rajesh will be the chief guest. Ahead of the festival, a colourful procession will be organised from Museum Junction to the University College on Friday from 4 p.m. onwards.
The competitions will be held in 21 disciplines in two categories of transwomen and transmen. A total of 220 trans persons are expected to participate in the festival. There will be separate trophies for the individual and the district that score highest points. Transport Minister Antony Raju will inaugurate the valedictory function on Sunday. Playback singer Manjari will also participate.
Ms. Bindu also declared the awards for transgender persons for achievements in various sectors. V.S. Priya from Thrissur and Anand C. Rajappan (Chinchu Ashwathi) won the award in education sector, while Sruthi Sithara from Kottayam and Suku from Thiruvananthapuram won the award for social service, Praveen Nath from Palakkad and Sanjana Chandran from Kozhikode won the award in the arts and sports category while Seema Vineeth from Thiruvananthapuram and Varsha Nandini from Palakkad won the awards for best entrepreneurs. The awards, carrying a cash prize of ₹10,000 and citation, will be presented at the valedictory function.
