THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Little magazines that were once part of the literary and cultural scenario of the state in the sixties, seventies and eighties were essentially reflections of avant-garde thought and action, poet K Satchidanandan said on Friday.
He was speaking after releasing ‘Malayala Samanthara Masika Charithram’ (State Institute of Languages) written by Pradeep Panangad.
“They conversed directly to a small ring of subscribers, in a small voice, without the help of microphones, about new things. Without the declared objective of doing so, they helped in shaping the intellectual leadership of tomorrow,’’ he said.
These magazines made possible a dialogue among art, literature and music.
“Their motto was ‘Make it New’. That’s what they told the writer, musician and artist,’’ Satchidanandan said.
They were never intended to propagate the contemporary and established knowledge, rather, their aim was to spread new thought, approach and aesthetic sensibility, he said.
He lauded Pradeep’s book as important in understanding these periodicals that played a major role in shaping the cultural, intellectual and social sensibility of Malayalees at the time. V Karthikeyan Nair, director State Institute of Languages, presided over the function.
For nearly 25 years, these magazines published in the state energised the thought process and reading habits of its readers, he said.
“It won’t be an exaggeration if you were to say that they led the intellectual life of the state,’’ he said.
Sheeba Ameer received the first copy of the book. A discussion on the role of the magazines also was
held.