Visitors at the Kerala Lalithakala Akademi’s State-level visual arts exhibition at Durbar Hall Art Gallery in Kochi on Monday.
| Photo Credit: H VIBHU
Artists need to resist the new spectre of monarchy resting on colonial mindset to save democracy in the country, P. Rajeeve, Minister for Industries, has said.
“Artists need to introspect whether they are able to speak against the challenges posed by the times in which we live in,” he said in his inaugural address at the presentation of fellowships and annual State awards organised by the Kerala Lalithakala Akademi at the Durbar Hall ground here on Monday.
Mr. Rajeeve said that the inauguration of the new Parliament building by the Prime Minister instead of the President denoted a shift in the nature of the house from a place for democracy to an appendix of the executive. “We should not forget the fact that the Constituent Assembly had decided to include ‘We the People’ in the Preamble instead of ‘In the name of God’. Sixty-eight members voted for ‘We the People’ against the forty-one who wanted to include ‘In the name of God’. This was annulled by the way in which the inauguration of the new Parliament building was held on Sunday,” he said.
Artist Namboodiri was felicitated on the occasion for his overall contributions. His son Devan Namboodiri received the honour in his absence. The State awards and fellowships instituted by the Akademi were presented to various artists. An exhibition organised by the Akademi featuring works of 271 artists has begun at the Durbar Hall art gallery.