Tribute to Kerala culture at Brisbane Malayali Association

The festival, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, takes place every two years and is held from July 5-28.
Brisbane Malayali Association
Brisbane Malayali Association

KOCHI: How often can one brag about being a part of an international music festival? Rarely to none.

However, lady luck shone on Geetha Anil, a registered nurse in Brisbane, Australia, when she was asked to represent the Brisbane Malayali Association and don an artist’s cape for the Queensland Music Festival (QMF).

The festival, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, takes place every two years and is held from July 5-28.

With a plethora of art and music extravaganza headlined every year, the festival is mighty popular in the continent.

Ranging from art to culinary, Geetha’s talents are innumerable. These are showcased on the Thodupuzha native’s YouTube channel ‘Gees Passions’. The QMF will portray an extension of Geetha’s art. But, how was Geetha incorporated into the festival?

"‘Play Me I’m Yours’, a project of the Brisbane City Council, was introduced in 2008 by British artist Luke Jerome. The initiative which comprises of placing street pianos in different parts of the city for the public had garnered much applause.

As part of the project, 2,000 pianos were kept in 90 cities, from New York to Japan. However, these pianos are an amalgamation of art and music - they are painted with motifs which represent the diversity of various countries along with other picturesque elements," she says. 

Enter Geetha, whose handicraft plays a rather important role. She was assigned the piano at Red Note Cafe, Southbank, Queensland, wherein the structure was her canvas.

Representing her state, a kathakali figurine and ‘pookalam’ was painted on the piano, thereby hinting at the tradition and heritage of her state. Geetha was the sole Indian among the 20 artists chosen to paint on 20 pianos.

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