KOCHI: The second edition of the Yuvadhara Youth Literature Festival, organised by the DYFI, will commence on Thursday and will continue until January 12.
Set at Fort Kochi, the event will feature prominent personalities from the fields of art, literature, culture, and politics. Jnanpith Award winner Damodar Mauzo will be inaugurating the festival. Former union minister and MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi is the chief guest.
The four-day festival will begin with a session featuring N S Madhavan, M Mukundan, Benyamin, and Dr A K Abdul Hakim, discussing ‘The Legacy of M T Vasudevan Nair.’
In total, around 82 sessions will be held, with prominent figures such as Magsaysay Award winners P Sainath and Bezwada Wilson.
Other featured writers and personalities include Jeet Thayil, Jerry Pinto, Vivek Shanbhag, Revathi Laul, Ram Rahman, Mahmood Kooria, Manu S Pillai, Padmapriya, Paul Zacharia, Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, Gurvinder Singh, Divya S Iyer, S Hareesh, Vinil Paul, Sreenath Perur, Suvenkatesan, Chamanlal, among others. More than 250 guests will be participating in four venues named after the works of M T Vasudevan Nair — Kadav, Kaalam, Manju, and Nirmalyam.
According to Benyamin, the festival’s director, this year’s event places a greater focus on the younger generation, compared to the previous edition. “The edition centres around the theme ‘Gen Z Kaalavum Lokavum’. Catering to this, panel discussions will be held on the reading habits of Gen Z, gender perspectives, writing in the digital age, songs of the alpha generation, new age work culture and challenges, etc,” he says.
In addition to the discussions, the festival will feature music performances each evening, including the Thakara musical band and DJ Alexandra. As part of the Youth literature festival, state level competitions will be held at Venue 4, featuring finalists of art and literary contests conducted by DYFI units at regional, block, and district levels.
Opening day schedule
January 9
5 pm to 5:40 pm
Venue 1: Kadavu
Discussion: M T Kaalathinte Ithihasam, featuring N S Madhavan, M Mukundan, Benyamin, and moderated by Dr A K Abdul Hakim.
Festival inauguration by Jnanpith award winner Damodar Mauzo: 6pm
Following the inauguration, a performance by the music band, ‘Thakara’