THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: For the first time in its 50-year history, the Kerala Bhasha Institute (State Institute of Languages), is taking its books beyond Kerala in a bid to promote reading among the Malayali diaspora.
The institute is organising book fairs in major Indian cities including Chennai, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Mumbai as part of a first-of-its kind ‘look beyond Kerala’ programme. The first exhibition in Chennai will be held at the Kerala Samajam School from July 1 to 8.
‘’The Bhasha Institute was established in 1968. But this is the first time we are looking beyond the Sahya mountains. We have selected cities that have a huge Malayali population,’’ institute director V Karthikeyan Nair said. The idea is to promote books published by the institute and to encourage the use and study of the Malayalam language. The second exhibition in the series would be held in Bengaluru in October, Karthikeyan Nair said.
The State Institute of Languages, which functions under the Cultural Affairs Department, was established on September 16, 1968, as part of a central scheme aimed at publishing university-level text books in the vernacular languages. The governing body was headed by the then Chief Minister E M S Namboothiripad. N V Krishna Warrier was the first director.
To date, the institute has published - mostly in Malayalam - approximately 5,000 books covering language and literature, science, technology and humanities. This year, the institute is celebrating its 50th anniversary.