THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: On Wednesday, the 68th Kerala Piravi Day, the capital city was at the helm of the socio-cultural and literary spectrum. Various artists, writers, and scientists flocked to Thiruvananthapuram to take part in the Keraleeyam 2023 event.
The day also witnessed the opening of the Kerala Legislative International Book Festival (KLIBF).
There will be various literary gatherings with around 125 prominent personalities attending. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will hand over the Kerala Legislative Assembly Award to the prominent writer M T Vasudevan Nair on Thursday for his contributions to the field of art, culture and literature.
There is a profusion of books awaiting readers as one enters the assembly premises. Around the verandah of the assembly building, 255 stalls of 160 publishers have opened their doors. From the first day of the festival, the book fair witnessed an inflow of book lovers. Stalls of Penguin Books, DC Books, Prism Books, Current Books and more saw people searching for their favourites.
Santhosh, a staff member of Kochi-based ‘Prism Books’, says the first day of the festival saw good business compared to last year. “So far, we have sold books worth Rs 50,000 — an excellent response. So we expect good business on all seven days of the festival. Another uniqueness is that people are selecting various genres like novels, fiction, nonfiction, and even spiritual books,” he says.
In addition to the book stalls, the festival has four venues for book release functions and seminars. With this, the readers can also see and listen to their favourite authors. “This is a great opportunity to see my favourite novelists, poets and other prominent people, apart from buying books. So far, I have bought three books. I will be visiting almost every day,” says K P Vandana, a research associate who came all the way from Kozhikode.
In line with the campaign against substance abuse, the book fest’s message is: ‘Reading is an addiction’.
Students attending the festival can visit the assembly hall and the museum. Free visits to the zoo, planetarium, palm-leaf manuscript museum, and a city tour on a KSRTC bus can also be availed.