THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The international literature festival of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi will be expanded into a major cultural festival bringing together the state’s cultural institutions, Cultural Affairs Minister P C Vishnunadh has said.
Addressing mediapersons here on Sunday, the minister said the literature festival was not being dropped. The Sangeetha Nataka Akademi, Sahitya Akademi, Folklore Akademi, Lalithakala Akademi, Kerala Kalamandalam and Chalachitra Academy will all be part of the expanded event.
Future editions will also follow the same model. He said bringing the cultural institutions together would benefit all of them. As a first step, the Lalithakala Akademi will play a major role in this year’s IFFK.
Asked whether expanding the literature festival would dilute the importance of literature, the minister said it would not. He added that the festival would be held in different parts of Keralam, moving to a different district each time to ensure representation.
Poet and Akademi president Kalpatta Narayanan said the festival would be held over two or three days. Artists from different fields would participate, adding variety to the event and setting it apart from routine festivals, he said.
‘Why is Idukki left out of cultural events?’
The minister questioned why Idukki was often left out of the state’s major cultural events. “We have often felt that nothing ever happens in Idukki,” he said. “Idukki too is a child born of the same mother. The cultural activities of Kerala must reach every part of the state,” he said.