Kraft festival returns to make us think, talk and transform
Longtime residents of Kochi would recall the success of the Krithi International Book Festival, held in 2018 and 2019. Coming as it did during a time when concerns abound about the decline in reading culture among city residents, the festival was a game-changer.
However, with the Covid pandemic throwing a spanner into its operations, the festival died a quiet death, robbing Kochiites of an avenue to discuss everything creative.
Perhaps filling this void, if not in scale but in spirit, is Kraft 2025 — a ‘festival of thought’ organised by the Kottakkakam Residents Association in Tripunithura.
Held in the inspiring environs of the Kalikotta Palace, the festival has grown into one of the most anticipated events in the city. Now, in its third year, Kraft boasts prolific speakers and poignant discussions, but its organisers maintain that they are “a very small festival”.
Likely so, if you take into account that it is a residents association handling its affairs. On how that came to be, its team of 10 says, “Even we were surprised. Usually, resident associations don’t engage with such projects. But given Tripunithura’s natural inclination for everything arts and culture, we thought why not?”
A stronghold of the erstwhile Cochin royal family, Kottakkakam houses a number of prominent personalities, including writers, thinkers, artists and scholars. Prasanna K Varma, a resident, is the translator of Manu S Pillai’s Ivory Throne. Renowned Indian animation filmmaker Suresh Eriyat, who graced the festival’s first edition, also hails from the area.
“Ours is a small festival, done mostly through crowdfunding. We don’t have the finances to bring speakers from outside the state. So we look within our immediate circles first and then, at what conversations we can make happen with the lot,” elaborates team Kraft.
As in previous years, preparations for the festival began as early as November. Each programme was planned meticulously and great care was taken to match speakers with moderators that enable them, thus paving the way for a meaningful discussion.
This is one-half of why so many speakers are now eager to attend Kraft despite its smaller audience turnout. The other is the sense of warmth that envelops the event.
“This concept of a ‘good festival is a ‘crowded festival’ is a misguided one. Ideally, festivals should be small gatherings, intimate and interactive,” says K Pradeep, a veteran journalist and one of the festival organisers.
That said, with how Kraft has grown over the years, there are now plans to add one more day to the programming to fit a few more sessions. Maybe some more performances. “There are also proposals to make this a multi-venue festival. But Kalikotta Palace will remain a venue,” says an organiser.
In these ways, Kraft has inadvertently also brought to the fore the rich heritage of Tripunithura — a fact that the organisers maintain was not their intention at first.
This year, one session in particular stands out: a discussion on Kevy, a famous cartoonist of the ’50s and ’60s. “Sadly, not many recall him now. We hope that with the session, that will change. It is his centenary year after all,” team Kraft says.
The festival begins at 9.30am on Saturday and concludes on Sunday. This time, taking into consideration the prevalent heatwave conditions in the city, the festival committee has decided to have the main venue air-conditioned.
Programmes highlights:
FEBRUARY 22
10.15am: Inauguration & Honouring Dr K G Paulose
Winner of Kendra Sahitya Akademi Bhasha Samman
11.30am: Tales of Lands
A discussion between M K Das, V M Girija, N S Madhavan and Anjana Varma
12.30pm: Gazing Beyond Kevy
A discussion between E P Unny and Gokul Gopalakrishnan
2.30pm: The World is Their Stage
A discussion between Manu Jose, Muthumani Somasundaran, V R Selvaraj and Sumithra Sunil
5.30pm: Crossing Borders
A discussion between Kapila Venu and Sankar Venkateswaran
Other speakers on the day:
Sibi Malayil, Subhash Chandran, Rammohan Paliyath, G R Indugopan, S N Swamy, Sreeparvathy, Priyaraj Govindraj, V N Haridas, Harish Vasudevan, and K S Sudhi
FEBRUARY 23
10am: A Decade of History Writing
Manu S Pillai in conversation with Prasanna Varma
11am: From Text to Screen
A discussion between P F Mathews, P V Shajikumar and Vishnu Raj P
12pm: Call of the Mountains
Sheikh Hassan Khan in conversation with K Pradeep
2.30pm: Please Don’t Act!
A discussion between Anand Ekarshi, P R Jijoy and Shabu K Madhavan
5.30pm: Kochi, Music, Films…
Jerry Amaldev in conversation with Sudeep Kumar
Other speakers on the day:
Dr C J John, Joseph Annamkutty Jose, Aarcha Gowri Varma, Rafeeq Ahamed, Bijibal, B K Harinarayanan, Devanand, Rajan Poduval, Radhakrishnan Chakyat, Mahesh Harilal and Rameshan Thampuran