Rare letters of literary stalwarts to be on display at Kochi International Book Fest

This manuscript and over 120 letters that the stalwarts of Malayalam literature wrote to Payipra will be displayed on December 4 and 5 at the Kochi International Book Festival which begins on Friday at Ernakulathappan Ground.
Rare letters of literary stalwarts to be on display at Kochi International Book Fest
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KOCHI: Payipra, inganthe kathagal ennekondu ezhuthikunnathu mahapapamanu. Punarjanmathil vishvasam undo? Enthengilum sambhavichal enne kuttapeduthukayillallo? - These words were scribbled at the end of the unpublished manuscript of a short story titled ‘Akbar Chakravarty - Padusha’ that writer O V Vijayan wrote at former secretary of Kerala Sahitya Akademi Payipra Radhakrishnan’s request.

This manuscript and over 120 letters that the stalwarts of Malayalam literature wrote to Payipra will be displayed on December 4 and 5 at the Kochi International Book Festival which begins on Friday at Ernakulathappan Ground.

Speaking to TNIE Payipra says, “I have been getting letters from writers since 1974. I had formed Kathasamithi which was based in Muvattupuzha. It published annual anthologies of short stories and I used to be in contact with the authors seeking contributions from them for publication. It was in the manuscript of one such story that I had urged O V Vijayan to write for the magazine, did the author scribbled the message. The story has not been published anywhere.”

The letters include ones by legends such as Vaikom Mohammed Basheer, Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai, M T Vasudevan Nair, Akkitham, M Govindan, Anand, M P Manmadhan, Sethu, Padmarajan, and O V Vijayan.

Radhakrishnan says, “All these letters are personal missives that the authors sent to me. I have not included any that I received when I held the position of secretary of the Sahitya Akademi.”

Radhakrishnan had never thought of compiling these letters as a collection.

World’s smallest book Rasarasika that was printed in Japan
World’s smallest book Rasarasika that was printed in Japan

“I used to have the habit of safekeeping the letters. And it was only many years down the road that I realised the importance of getting these letters out before the public. Many of these big names in Malayalam literature have passed away. These letters are rare and pique the curiosity of those who loved the works of these literary giants,” he says.

But keeping these rare letters at home didn’t seem right for Radhakrishnan, who decided to select one letter written by each author and create a collection. “It was during that time that Ebenezer Higher Secondary School (HSS) at Vettoor near Muvattupuzha approached me requesting a contribution of books to their library.

I thought why not donate the collection of letters? Won’t they safeguard the collection and make it available to the multitude of students who would study at the institution over the years? All these thoughts made me donate the collection,” he adds.

He will also display the world’s smallest book, which is the size of a fingernail, at the book festival. “The book, published in around 1972, is titled ‘Rasarasika’,” he adds.

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