ludhiana the malayalee community living in the city celebrated makar sankranti with complete zeal and gusto the day was marked by the event of makaravilakku maholsavam at the ayyappa temple at focal point on friday while the celebrations began right in the morning the evening saw shobha yatra being performed for the first time by as many as 50 artistes who had come all the way from kerala to present traditional art forms like theyyam and shingari melam by male and female groups all the art forms mesmerized the spectators but the piece de resistance was shingari melam being performed by female artistes for the very first time as the art form has traditionally been a male preserve so far talking to toi subhash from mundiaa kalan who had brought in the kerala artistes to the city said the reason for calling in the female artistes was to encourage them in every field and aspect though earlier due to the heavy weight of the drum male artists used to perform the shingari melam but now with an aim to empower women we have encouraged and planned their trip for this act here to be in their purest form women fast for three consecutive days before the actual performance out of the 18member group of stree shakti vanita vadya sangam with members ranging from 19 to 58 years 11 came down to the city to perform adorning a beautiful set mundu which is the dress code for performing the act sangam president shantha 58 said the prime reason to perform is the festive spirit which we want to live up through our act basically we are all housewives who get nominal charges to perform here but that hardly bothers our spirit as the aim is just to perform shivering in the chilly friday afternoon 43yearold savitri added the major difference between punjab and kerala is the climate which has forced us to wear pullovers and caps while performing the youngest member of the sangam was 19yearold divya who shared her experience though i am studying fashion designing being an ardent follower of culture and rituals i have been a part of the group for the past three years the members looked highly excited about their twoday visit to the state to which the team coordinator ajai added once the celebrations are complete we will head our way towards the golden temple and wagah border tomorrow before returning to kerala on sundaythe malayalee festive spirit marked by the sitting of lord ayyapa at sabrimala temple in kerala the members of malayalee community celebrated makar sankranti with makaravilakku maholsavam literally meaning lighting the lamp as the prayers began early in the morning with rituals of makarsankrama abhishekam nirmalya darshanam ashtdravya ganpati homam and bhagvata prayanam the evening prayers commenced with a shobha yatra where as many as 101 women and children adorning traditional kerala dresses performed thalapoli in the procession the southern artistes perform theyyam and shingari melam by male