Kollam: The five day Ashtamudi Water Gate Music Festival, organised by the Cultural Department as part of the state government’s 100-day action plan, will begin on Wednesday at the Sree Narayana Guru Cultural Complex in Kollam.

Music programmes will be held daily at 7 p.m. until October 11. Tourism and Culture Minister P.C. Vishnunath said the festival was conceived to revive the inactive cultural complex and transform it into a vibrant public cultural space. The festival will blend the natural beauty of Ashtamudi Lake and Kollam’s cultural heritage with diverse musical traditions, while highlighting the connection between water, human life and culture.

The opening programme will be “Masheenmar Gandharva Sandhya”, followed by performances by Aca Woods Cherka Band on the October 8, Fuzzy and Band on October 9, Shahala Trend Band on October 10 and Indian Ocean Band on the October 11. Entry to the music programmes will be free but regulated through passes. Music-related films will also be screened daily from 2 p.m. from the October 8 under the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy.

Vishnunath said the rental rates of the cultural complex would also be reduced to make it more accessible to the public, with an official notification to follow. A proclamation rally would be held on Tuesday at 4 p.m., starting near the Kollam KSRTC bus stand and concluding at Chinnakkada, with ministers, public representatives and various cultural and student organisations participating.

The Cultural Department’s affiliated institutions, including the Tak Academy and Folklore Academy, will organise additional programmes. The minister said a website for the cultural complex would soon be launched to provide information on upcoming programmes and that efforts would be made to conduct cultural activities there regularly.