KANNUR: The days during the run up to the Sharjah Book Festival can be hectic beyond words. But, P V Mohan Kumar, 65, External Affairs Executive of Sharjah Book Authority, under the Department of Culture and Information, Sharjah, which organises the festival, takes all this in his stride. For him, there is nothing more enjoyable than organising one of the biggest book festivals in the world.
Mohan Kumar from Peringome near Payyannur reached Sharjah in 1982 --the year in which the Sharjah Book Festival was started. He set off for the emirate at the insistence of his uncle. "Those days, I used to work as an accountant for some companies part-time. I used to visit a tea shop run by a Vadakara native Madhavettan, who told me about a vacancy in the department of external affairs. After being cajoled by him, I put in an application and was called for an interview," said Mohan.
This was how he became a government official in the department of culture and tourism. Later, the tourism department was hived off and the information department was added in its place. By sheer coincidence, the department decided to stage Sharjah book festival in the very year in which Mohan joined. "During the early days, it was more or less an Islamic book fair. But, as the festival grew in stature, its nature and colour underwent a drastic transformation and now, it has become one of the most important international book fairs like the Frankfurt l and London Book Festivals," said Mohan.
What makes the Sharjah Book Festival all the more important to Malayalis is the strong presence of publishers and writers from Kerala. "For the last couple of years, the festival has become an important event for publishers in Kerala," said Mohan. The festival begins on November 2 and concludes on November 13. "Everyday, the activities start at 9 am and they conclude at 11 pm. Around 400 books will be released this year at the Writers' Forum," he said. "I have received around 500 requests for this segment and this has resulted in more enemies, unnecessarily," he said.
"We cannot accept all the requests due to time constraints. Still, people feel they are being ignored. Such things happen when you conduct these sort of festivals," Mohan said.
This year 2,213 publishers, including 120 Indians, from across the world are scheduled to participate in the festival. Apart from the book launches, around 2000 activities are scheduled to be held at different halls during the 12 days of the festival. "The concept of book release of Malayalam authors was an idea of mine. Now, it has become the biggest attraction for Malayalis," he said.
Covid spread was so far the biggest challenge that Mohan encountered as a key functionary engaged in organising the Sharjah Book Festival. "Though we had thought of cancelling the event, Sharjah ruler HH Sheikh Sultan Bin Muhammad Al Qasimi stepped in . He wanted us to conduct the festival and provided the kind of support which we could never forget. Even when the festival had a gloomy beginning, he had poured in 10 million dirhams to ensure that the participating publishers would not get affected. Apart from that, he waived the fee charged from publishers for participating in the festival. It was an emotional event,' said Mohan.
The biggest contribution of Sharjah Festival is the growth in the reading community in Sharjah, especially students. "Around 4 lakh students visit the festival every year. Most of them buy books. Of this, we reckon that at least 20% of students will become avid readers," Mohan said.
Celebrated writers attend the festival as special guests every year. The list of prominent authors, who have graced the festival with their presence, includes Shashi Tharoor, APJ Abdul Kalam, Chetan Bhagat, M T Vasudevan Nair etc. This year, Booker Prize winner Geetanjali Shree, Deepak Chopra, Pico Iyer and former Pakistani speedster Shoaib Aktar will participate. From Kerala, writers C V Balakrishnan, T D Ramakrishnan, Sunil P Ilayidom, Murukan Kattakkada, actors Jayasurya, Balachandra Menon, Kottayam Nazeer and singer Usha Uthup will participate as special guests.
Mohan betrays none of the tensions associated with the gruelling task of drawing up the festival schedule. "Despite my professional commitments, I never compromise on my daily routine," he said. He wakes up at 4.30 am and starts the day with yoga, meditation, jogging and reading. He also finds some time for his daily sadhaka of Carnatic music. "That music part is a trick to keep myself young. I feel like a student when I learn music and I do it with great passion," he said.
Geetha Mohan is his wife and the couple has a daughter, who is a dentist by profession