Kerala Kalolsavam 2026 | When the melody found its creator, unexpectedly

She was the last contestant, and certainly one of the best.

Shincy Siju has a sweet voice, good diction and that not-so-common ability to give the right emotion to the lyrics. After her performance, in the Light Music (HSS Girls) competition at the State School Arts Festival on Thursday, many went up to her to express their appreciation. Among them, at the Kerala Bank Auditorium in Thrissur, was the man who had tuned the melody.

It was indeed a pleasant surprise for Shincy, a student of GVHSS, Kadavoor. She had no idea that the song, Radhike ghanashyama varnante…, was composed by Anand Kavumvattam from Kozhikode.

“I had no teacher for the song and I decided to sing it after watching another contestant performing it on YouTube,” she said. “It was indeed nice to meet the song’s composer.”

The composer was really impressed by the way Shincy sang it. “I had no idea that this song of mine would be rendered by someone here at the School School Arts Festival,” Anand said. “The song was originally tuned for All India Radio, Kozhikode, several years ago, and minor changes were made to it when I recorded it for an album for playback singer Alka Ajith. She had in fact sung this song and won a prize at the school festival. It was written by Janamma Kunjunni.”

Anand is disappointed that he was not given credit when the album was released on YouTube. “Nothing happened even after I spoke to the people concerned,” he said. “But incidents like this—Shincy sang it beautifully—are truly rewarding. Nothing gives an artiste more joy. Many of my songs have been performed at school and university competitions before.”