Viswa Malayala Mahotsavam, the noble initiative for the sake of the native language, which the Department of Culture and Kerala Sahitya Akademi have jointly conceived with the objective to position the literary and artistic tradition of the state in the world map, will be set into motion on October 30, at the University Senate Hall, by President Pranab Mukherjee.
Cultural Affairs Minister K C Joseph told a news conference here on Saturday that the three-day event would be noted for the confluence of language,literature and culture through seminars, debates and other events.
“The presence of well-known literary and cultural figures from the country and abroad, including Booker Prize winner African novelist Ben Okri, Chinese litterateur Tiyamin,Tamil writers Indira Parthasarathy and Dr Sirpi Subramaniam,
Bengali writer Sharmila Ray will also be the highlight of the three-day conclave,” the Minister said.
The programmes will be spread across three venues in the city-Chandrasekharan Nair Stadium,which will be the main venue, VJT Hall and Kanakakunnu Palace Grounds. Sixteen seminars have been planned as part of the event.
On October 31,renowned literary figures of Malayalam will be honoured. A pravasi meet would be held on Wednesday afternoon.
Speaker G Karthikeyan will preside over the seminar titled ‘Tomorrow’s Kerala : Development Perspective’ on November 1, at the Chandrasekharan Nair Stadium. Prominent political leaders will participate and present their views on the topic.
A session on the new trends in the media by mediaperson Sasikumar, a children’s book fair under the aegis of the State Institute of Children’s Literature,photo exhibition organised by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi, a painting contest for children and cartoon-caricature sessions for the public are also planned.
The President will inaugurate the event on Tuesday, at 10.30 a m. Governor H R Bharadwaj will preside over the function. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, Ministers P K Abdu Rabb, K M Mani and Opposition leader V S Achuthanandan will offer felicitations.