Mumbai: The three-day 'Marathi-Malayali Ethnic Fest 2025', a celebration of the cultures of Kerala and Maharashtra, will start on Friday at the Nehru Science Centre, Worli.
Organised by the AMMA (All Mumbai Malayali Associations) Charitable Trust, a group fostering cultural ties among various Indian states, in collaboration with the Nehru Science Centre (National Council of Science Museums), and the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, the festival aims to foster a cultural exchange across geographical boundaries.
About The Festival
The festival, which began in 2017, has been an annual feature except during the Covid pandemic. While the festival is dedicated to showcasing the vibrant cultural heritage of Kerala and Maharashtra in particular, emphasising their unique traditional art forms, Mumbai’s multilingual and multicultural setting has accorded it a pan-India character, said Jojo Thomas, president, AMMA and the festival's Director.
"Like flowers on a garland, the distinct culture and identity of our states unite to form a harmonious ensemble. The Marathi-Malayali Ethnic Fest 2025 is a mirror held up to this rich cultural diversity, and aims to foster a sense of unity and bonding, transcending differences of caste, creed, region and politics," he said.
"The festival is an attempt to showcase India’s rich cultural diversity on a single platform, and there can be no better city to host it than the multicultural cauldron of Mumbai," Thomas added.
This edition of the festival has a lineup of cultural programmes that highlight the essence of both regions. Classical and folk arts like Koli dance, Mohiniyattam, Lavani, Bharatanatyam, Mangalagauri, Gondhal, Thiruvathira, Oppana, and Margamkali will be performed by eminent artists in the evening.
The festival will have a special category of programmes and completions for children, including painting with India's space missions as the subject, rangoli with Indian festivals as the theme, pookalam (rangoli using flowers), dance, elocution, and singing with patriotism as the theme.
Statement Of Nehru Science Centre's Director
Speaking about their collaboration, Nehru Science Centre's Director, Umesh Rustagi, said, "Science is not a subject, it is part of our culture. We feel proud to join hands with AMMA and expand the horizon of scientific culture.
we are united by a common thread: the unbreakable bond of national integration. We commit to respecting each other’s differences and working together to overcome our challenges."
