Krithi Festival: A celebration of books, says Malayalam writer M Mukundan

KOCHI:The biggest message conveyed by this book festival is the increasing trend of appetite for reading among the new generation, M Mukundan, one of the pioneers of modernity in Malayalam literature, told Express. “The participation of youth in the book fest and the literary conclave has been amazing. This proves the fact that despite the clamour over the social media killing reading culture, the new generation has not lost the appetite for books. Not only did they throng the festival, many youngsters eagerly participated in the debates. The enthusiasm shown by the youth is encouraging,” he said.

According to Mukundan, the Literary Fest provided an opportunity for the writers and book lovers in Kerala to connect with those in other languages.“Though Indian English writers got good exposure across the world, regional authors are isolated since their writings are confined within the language barriers. These writers got a big exposure at Krithi Book Festival as they could meet foreign authors and those from other Indian languages.

Their interactions will open the doors for more translations. The debates helped them to get a ringside view of world literature and understand the trends. There are intense writings in Indian literature and the barriers of language leave them unnoticed. Krithi has helped bridge this gap,” he said.

Marine Drive
Though the organisers were going gaga over the success of the book festival, allegations that it turned out to be a conclave to promote leftist ideology were doing the rounds. Participants in most of the debates were vociferous about the need to spread leftist ideology and did not forget to lash out against the ‘fascist’ attitude of the ruling party at Centre.

Krithi can grow as India’s best literary conclave
Krithi Festival has carved a niche for itself among the book festivals in India with the professional manner in which it was organised and the huge turn out of book lovers, said writer and Kerala Sahitya Akademi president Vaisakhan. “It has turned out to be an interdisciplinary knowledge festival with titles from literature, life sciences, environment, gender justice, health and a variety of subjects. The turnout has been amazing. The sight of book lovers waiting in long queues to enter the exhibition hall was indeed a proud moment for writers in Kerala, he told Express. “The debates at the Literary festival saw active participation from the youngsters. This festival ushers in a new era in Malayalam literature. The revelation the youngsters have an appetite for quality literature is encouraging for the writers. It has been an international book fair by all standards,” he said.