KOZHIKODE: The students and faculty of the Department of Architecture and Planning at the National Institute of Technology Calicut (NITC) are on cloud nine as their academic work has helped bring the prestigious ‘UNESCO City of Literature’ title to Kozhikode. A team from NITC had done a comprehensive documentation of the literary resources and assets of Kozhikode as part of the study.
The literary history of Kozhikode started in the 14th century, the study revealed. The team also worked untiringly to gather details and literary documents to prove that the city was home to many celebrated writers. The study revealed that Kozhikode has the highest concentration of libraries in India with 550, excluding personal libraries.
“The city also houses 70 publishing houses and has 100 plus book stores, which no other city can boast of,” said Mohammed Firoz, the head of the Department of architecture and Planning and a faculty coordinator of the study. “We found a large number of literary enthusiasts from different social strata, which helped us grab the title.”
The department of Architecture at NITC is the second-best architecture department in India, said the institution’s director, Prasad Krishna. “We are happy that our efforts to highlight the literary tradition of the city have yielded positive results,” he said. A team of students comprising Promiti Mallick, Athira Ashokan, Bharat Reddy, Nimil Hussain and Lavanya P K completed the documentation by interviewing several people from all strata of society. They included writers, doctors, working women and housewives.
The project was guided by department head Mohammed Firoz, faculty member Shyni Anil Kumar and research scholar Susan Cyriac. It was completed with the support of Ajith Kaliyath, urban chair at KILA, Thrissur, and Kozhikode Mayor Beena Philip. The study also proposed to enhance the literary culture of the city, with the addition of a literature museum, reading street, children’s literature fest and the revamp of ‘Kolaya Culture’ (the use of veranda to discuss literary topics).
According to the experts from NITC, the UNESCO tag as the City of Literature will boost the literary culture of Kozhikode and brighten tourism prospects. Besides, the tag is expected to enhance the social fabric of the city. “We have learnt that the Kozhikode Corporation has already earmarked Rs 1 crore in the budget to begin work related to the proposals mentioned in the study,” Firoz said.
CITY OF LITERATURE