'Indian English writers get fewer readers'

Writer Anita Nair inaugurated the Indian Ruminations literary festival in  Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday.

Nearly 70 delegates, including writers and poets from around the country, are participating in the two-day event, organised by online Indian English writers' journal Indian Ruminations.

The theme of the festival is ‘Exploring Indian Alternatives in Reading and Writing.'

Ms. Nair said although more and more young talents were coming up, Indian English writers did not get acceptance like foreign writers in India. “I think the whole idea of contemporary Indian English writing is a misnomer. A large section of people, especially the academia, do not recognise Indian writers post 1960s. Although Indian English writers are accepted elsewhere, in our own country we have fewer and fewer readers,” she said.

Additional Chief Secretary K. Jayakumar delivered the presidential address. Mr. Jayakumar said world writers were edging native writers out of the shelf in Kerala as world literature invaded the Malayalam literary space. “The space that is taken away does not belong to established writers but the struggling young writers of Kerala,” he said. Mr. Jayakumar said that with the advent of the Internet and blogging, the hierarchies of publishing had been shaken and the publishing business had become more democratised. “Our publishers should take up the responsibility of familiarising our writers to the world. Having good translations is equally important. Translation has to be encouraged and promoted as a highly paid profession,” Mr. Jayakumar said.

Full report here Hindu

Writer with a royal lineage

Princess Aswathi Thirunal Gouri Lakshmi Bayi has authored books on the Padmanabha Swamy and Travancore temples, culture and heritage.

The palatial building, with its gigantic pillars and imposing veranda, lies in the heart of Adyar. In a city whose physical and cultural contours are changing every hour, the structure, showing signs of age, is a reminder of a past era. I am here at the palace to interview Princess Aswathi Thirunal Gouri Lakshmi Bayi, niece of the late Maharaja Chithira Thirunal Rama Varma and his brother, Sri Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma, the present head of the royal House of Travancore.

Sri Marthanda Varma won widespread admiration for renouncing the claim of the royal family to the enormous riches discovered recently in the Sri Padmanabha Swamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram. The Travancore rulers, the hereditary trustees of the temple, have considered themselves as rulers on behalf of the Lord for hundreds of years.

Full report here Hindu

Russian language fest inaugurated

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Thursday inaugurated a four-day-long festival of Russian Language, Literature and Science here expressing the hope that the festival would help forge closer ties between India and Russia.

Despite the huge changes that have occurred, the relationship between the two nations has endured. The relationship, Chandy said, was not merely diplomatic in nature, but had an emotional dimension to it.
When in 1962 China attacked India, it was Russia that gave India hope by taking a favourable stand.
The stand was above a mere diplomatic relationship. During the 1971 war with Pakistan, Russia again stood solidly behind India when other countries sought to isolate our nation, Chandy said. In recent times, Russian tourists have accounted for a major share of the foreign tourist inflow into India, he said.

Education Minister P K Abdu Rabb, who presided over the function, expressed the hope that the festival would help attract more people to the study of the Russian language.

Echoing the Minister’s words, senior counsellor of the Russian Embassy Sergey Karmalito said that the festival would open up new vistas of humanitarian, cultural and scientific ties between Russia and India.

Full report here IBNLive

Pakistan, Lanka, Bangladesh writers at India literary fest

Authors from Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are among star attractions at the upcoming fourth annual Kovalm Literary festival in Thiruvanthapuram.

Fatima Bhutto, Mohammed Hanif, David Davidar, Amit Chaudhuri Mirza Wahid Arvind Mehrortra and Shehan Karunatileka are among the lineup for the festival being held in Kerala on October 1 and 2. A curtain raiser would be organised at India International Centre here on September 29.

“Pakistani writer Hanif will read from his second novel “Our Lady of Alice Bhatti” being released next month. Extracts from the novel was published in the Granta Pakistan special early this year,” Binoo K John, founder director, Kovalam Literary Festival told PTI.

Sri Lankan writer Karunatileke is expected to read from his debut novel “Chinaman” based on search of a forgotten but brilliant Sri Lankan cricketer called Pradeep Mathew.

“Suresh Menon’’s exciting new biography of Bishen Singh Bedi and Anita Nair’’s new anthology of poems ”Malabar Mind” will be launched at the festival,” says John.

The festival will conclude on October 2 in Thiruvananthapuram with London-based Tamil fusion rock singer Susheela Raman’’s performance.

Full report here Sana

Carnival of books

Lyndy Cooke, executive director of The Hay Festival of the Literature and the Arts, talks about the event that comes to Thiruvananthapuram in November

It will be carnival time in the city in November as The Hay Festival of the Literature and the Arts hits the shores of Kerala. An annual festival held in Hay-on-Wye, Powys, Wales, it is one of the world's most prestigious literary festivals and it's hosting its first India edition in Kerala with around 40 leading authors.

The festival, which is on from November 12 to 14 at Kanakakunnu Palace promises to be a delight for bibliophiles. Besides literature, it will also explore new ideas on arts, poetry et al.

An annual event
Says Lyndy Cooke, executive director of the event: “The Hay Festival in the United Kingdom covers a range of ideas, thoughts and topics. Environment, arts, history, politics, fiction…With around 500 events across 11 days it attracts record audience each year. At the previous Hay Festival, we registered an attendance of 200,000. In Kerala, the Hay Festival will be an annual event and we will invite the best international authors, thinkers, publishers and up-and-coming authors. The focus of the fete this year will be more specific, centering on literature, environment, culture, health and education. We will start it small and then let it grow.”

Full report here Hindu

Two Pakistani writers miss Kerala literary fest

The third edition of the Kovalam Literary Festival that began here Saturday will be attended by only one Pakistani author - instead of three invited - because of delay in home ministry clearances and outbreak of violence in Pakistan's Punjab province.

The union home ministry had cleared the visit of writer Ali Sethi and H.M. Naqvi to Kerala Sep 29, almost a month after the organisers of the festival moved the government to clear their visit.

Pakistani citizens are usually allowed to land in three Indian cities - Delhi, Chennai and Mumbai - according to home ministry norms, organisers of the festival said.

Young Pakistan-based writer Ali Sethi, the author of 'The Wish Maker', was unable to cross the border at Wagah checkpost in Punjab Friday afternoon from where he was to arrive in New Delhi via Amritsar and fly to Thiruvananthapuram Saturday night.

Full report here Sify

Warm welcome for Jnanpith award winner

Malayalam poet and film lyricist ONV Kurup, who won India's prestigious literary prize Jnanpith, was given a rousing reception.

Malayalam poet and film lyricist ONV Kurup, who won India's prestigious literary prize Jnanpith, was given a rousing reception in Thiruvananthapuram, on Saturday, Sep 25 when he flew down to Thiruvananthapuram after a visit abroad. He was in the Gulf when the award was announced on Friday.

ONV Kurup was awarded the 43rd Jnanpith award. ONV, as he is better known in literary and social circles, is the fifth writer from Kerala to win the award.

A large crowd including political leaders and well-wishers from social and literary circles gathered at the airport  when ONV arrived.

Kerala Minister for Culture M.A. Baby was also at hand to congratulate the poet. Baby said the government would seek to have the award bestowed in Kerala, instead of in Delhi as usual.

Full report here Gulfnews

Esenin a prophetic poet: Puthussery

Poet Puthussery Ramachandran on Thursday, Sep 23 remembered Sergei Esenin as a ‘’prophetic poet’’ whose meteoric passage through Russian and world poetry left an indelible mark.

Puthussery was speaking after receiving the second Esenin Award here on Thursday. Instituted by the Moscow State Esenin Museum and the Russian Cultural Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, the award commemorates Russian poet Sergei Esenin and is given every year for promoting Russian language and literature in Kerala.

‘’Esenin started writing at the age of nine and courted fame by the time he was 15. In fact, it was in St Petersburg that he became famous as a poet. As he had come to Petersburg from the country, many called him a farmer poet. But he pointed out that he was not a farmer poet, but a poet. Esenin was a prophetic poet,’’ Puthussery, who has translated several Russian works, including the poetry of Anna Akhmatova, said.

Full report here New Indian Epxress

Kovalam fest to focus on Pakistani literature

The spotlight will be on contemporary literature from Pakistan as over a dozen writers, thinkers and political analysts from India and abroad converge in Kerala for the two-day Kovalam Literary Festival from Oct 2.

To be held in Thiruvananthapuram, the festival will feature a global panel of writers for the first time. This is the third edition of the festival that will bring contemporary literature, culture and cuisine under one roof.

The high point of the festival will be a sneak peek into writer Deborah Baker-Ghosh's new book, 'The Convert: A Parable of Islam and America' to be published next year. Baker-Ghosh is the wife of novelist Amitav Ghosh.

The two-day gala will be inaugurated by Kerala Minister of Education and Culture M.A. Baby at the Kanakakunnj Palace Oct 2. Writer Paul Zachariah will address the inauguration as the keynote speaker. The KLF emerging writer's award will be presented to upcoming Malayali writer Saheera Thangal followed by readings from her book.

Full report here Sify

"Dalit literature an integral part of Indian literary history"

Dalit literature, whether oral or written, has been an integral and enlivening part of Indian literary tradtions for centuries, eminent writer and academic U R Ananthamurthy has said. For the depressed classes like tribals and those destined to live in the lower rungs of the social hierarchy literature had always been a means to achieve "self-respect", the Jnanpith laureate said in Thiruvanathapuram last evening.

He was delivering a lecture on the "Contributions of Dalits to Indian literature", organised by Dr K Ayyappa Panicker Foundation, in honour of the late Malayalam poet and scholar. Quoting from Kannada and other Indian languages, Ananthamurthy said while non-Dalits could write about the Dalit situation they could not claim to represent the Dalits.

There had been several examples of non-Dalits writing on Dalit situation, like the famous Kannada novel "Chomana Dudi" by Shivaram Karanth. But there was a kind of arrogance when non-Dalits claimed to represent Dalits, he noted.

Full report here Hindustan Times

Remembering Ayyappa Panicker

The friends and disciples of poet Ayyappa Panicker are planning to celebrate his 80th birth anniversary in a big way. A function will be organised at 5 pm on September 12 at VJT Hall to commemorate the late poet.

Eminent Kannada writer and Jnanpith Award winner U R Ananthamoorthy will deliver this year’s Ayyappa Panicker Memorial Lecture on the topic  ‘Indian Literature: Dalit Contribution.’ The lecture will be followed by a discussion on the subject.  Ayyappa Panicker Foundation president K Satchidanandan will preside over the function and vice- president T P Sreenivasan will be the moderator.

Poetry at Midnight, an English translation by P Ravindran Nayar of  Ayyappa Panicker’s last anthology of poems, ‘Pathumanipookkal , will be formally released at the function by Ananthamoorthy.

The function will be followed by a visual representation of selected poems by Ayyappa Panicker on stage. Groups of students from the All-Saints’ College; Mar Ivanios College; NSS College for Women, Karamana and the Departments of English and Malayalam of the Kerala University will compete with their adaptations of chosen poems of Panicker. The team selected for the best performance will be presented with the Ayyappa Panicker Poetry Trophy.

Full report here New Indian Express

Pak flavour at 3rd Kovalam Fest

Three major Pakistani writers and a Chinese author who has achieved global celebrity with her take on socialism are among the literary stars set to attend the third Kovalam Literary Festival in Thiruvananthapuram Oct 1-3.

Mohammed Hanif, whose Case of Exploding Mangoes is an international bestseller, and debut novelists Ali Sethi (The Wish Maker) and H.M. Naqvi (Home Boy) lead the Pakistan contingent, which will also include journalist Najam Sethi.

China's Lijia Zhang, who is making her first appearance in India, is the author of the best selling 'Socialism Is Great'. A regular speaker at major literary festivals, Lijia was also a participant of the writer-in-residence programme at Switzerland's Chateau Lagviny.

The festival will also feature a reading by Deborah Baker-Ghosh from her forthcoming book on Islam and Pakistan.

Baker-Ghosh, wife of writer Amitav Ghosh, will read from her The Convert: A Parable of Islam and America, which will be released next year in India by Penguin.

Full report here Sify

Funny book penned by KV Thomas released

A book penned by Union minister of state for food KV Thomas based on some jokes and funny moments in Kerala assembly when he was the member of the house was released at a function in Thirucvananthapuram on August 8, Sunday.

Veteran congress leader K Karunakaran handed over a copy of the book titled Order, Order, Order, to former Kerala Speaker Vakkom Purushothaman.

This was the nineth book written by Thomas. Earlier books were mainy based on social life of the people of 'Kubalangi', his native village in Kochi. He also published a book on Karunakaran named 'Leader'.

Speaking on the occasion,92-year old Karunakaran regretted that nowadays "only the number of walkouts were increasing". The legislators take no interest in studying the issues, he said.

Full report here DNA

A tribute to P G Tenzing

It was not a very appropriate time to share a reading experience. And it did not turn out to be so either. Sheela Thomas, secretary to the Chief Minister, only took some time off to talk to about P G Tenzing, a friend who always followed his heart - when he crash-landed into the Civil Services at age 22, when he waded through the bureaucratic labyrinth relying on his own instincts to function as a beacon light, when he junked the cozy IAS moorings to set off on an Enfield Thunderbird for those miles he had to go before he slept.

“The book is a reflection of the man he was, someone who took life head on and made inconveniences and difficulties seem like enjoyable escapades. A journey on a bike all around the country will not be all about fun, but he talks about things like the bike needing a repair as if it was part of the fun he was on the look out for.”

The Sikkim-born Palden Gyatso Tenzing, an officer in the Kerala cadre, happened to get acquainted with Sheela Thomas when they served as sub collectors in the neighbouring sub-divisions of Chengannur and Adoor. They became family friends who visited each other whenever they had a chance. When he was posted in Thiruvananthapuram in 2005, he chose to live in the same apartment as that of the Thomas family. “His voluntary retirement came as a bolt from the blue, many of us friends tried to dissuade him saying that it was a loss to the Civil Services and the State.”

Full report here New Indian Express

Laying siege to language

She was 8 months in the family way when she finalised the draft of her poetry collection. The ‘champaka’ tree in front of Nayanathara’s home in Thiruvananthapuram was in full bloom, spreading it’s effervescent fragrance.

“It was the fragrance that I revelled in all through my growing up years. And the flowers had again blossomed as if to celebrate the arrival of my son. So that is how I wrote the title poem,” says Nayanathara. Her soon-to-be-released collection is named ‘Scent of Frangipani’, frangipani being ‘champaka’, the flower with the heady fragrance that has stirred creative souls before like Madhavikkutty’s.

The book, dedicated to her one-year-old son Abhinav has 43 poems in all. One comes across musings on the simple joys of life like the view from the balcony of her home which Nayanathara chooses to call as ‘Glimpses of paradise’.

Full report here New Indian Express

Will Kerala Remain A Malayalam Reading Crowd: ONV

Inaugurating the 10-day book fair organised by the Kerala Bhasha  Institute at the VJT  Hall in Thiruvananthapuram, veteran poet ONV Kurup said that he feared if the people in Kerala will remain as a Malayalam reading crowd.

The poet appreciated the Bhasha Institute for entering into a new phase of production with improved layouts on its books.

"We are now self-sufficient to compete with private publishers," said Dr. PK Pokker, director of the Kerala Bhasha Institute. "We are not conducting the book fair for commercial interests. We want to spread information and encourage people to read," he added.

At the inaugural function, the director of C-DIT, Rathan Kelkar IAS, sold the first book to Kerala State Encyclopedia Institute Director Professor K Paapputty, using the open source software that C-DIT has designed for the Bhasha Institute.

Full report here Yentha.com

Kerala institute willing to translate Tamil literary works

The International Institute of Dravidian Linguistics in Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala is willing to translate Tamil literary works into Kannada, Telugu and Malayalam, said Puthusseri Ramachandran, honorary professor of the Institute, here on Friday.

Speaking to TheHindu on the sidelines of the World Classical Tamil Conference (WCTC), he explained: “This is in response to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi's call on Thursday for translating Tamil literary works into other languages.”

A poet and writer, Mr. Ramachandran has done extensive research on the evolution of the Dravidian languages. “We have the expertise and the infrastructure to carry out the translation. This will be discussed by the institute's board and a formal proposal will be sent to the Tamil Nadu government,” he said.

Translation was important to enable each linguistic section understand the language and culture of the other. As a first step, at least the States in South India, which was the cradle of the Dravidian culture, should know each other through their literary works.

Full report here Hindu

Desktop library turns a big hit

The state of school libraries is no different from the plight of extinct animals or dying art forms. Hardly appealing and no takers. And why should they, when students can read as much as they please by sitting in front of computers at home.

So, why not take a library online and make it available to students at their desktop? Faizal, the librarian at the Library Media Centre at Kendriya Vidyalaya Pattom, Thiruvananthapuram, had this idea one fine day in September 2007. Things have never been the same after that. The library took to web world with a blog of its own, which has been hailed as the first Indian library blog. Log on to www.librarykvpattom.wordpress.com and you know why it has many takers.

The whole concept revolves around the idea that a library should be a friend, says Faizal. He, a qualified librarian, manages the blogs and all the other web initiatives of KV Pattom. “Children spend more time before computers logging on to social networking sites. On an experimental basis, we began this library blog, which was a way of reaching out to these kids online. If they don’t come to the library, then let’s reach them where they are,” Faizal says.

Full report here New Indian Express

Kerala's ancient glory revealed, but creators untraced

A multi-disciplinary project launched three years ago has yielded archaeological evidence of Kerala's ancient glory. The official establishment plans to exploit the find to boost tourism but has little interest in identifying its creators.

Kerala has boasted of a long history on the basis of references in ancient Tamil texts and the accounts of foreign travellers. However, barring a stray find of Roman coins, no tangible proof of its antiquity was available until now.

Tamil literature of 2,000 years ago contains references to a prosperous port city of Muchiri, where ships from distant lands came with gold to fetch pepper. Romans called it Muziris and said there was a temple of Augustus Caesar north of the city.

Apparently, it was through Muziris that Christianity and Islam entered the subcontinent. Jews fleeing from Jerusalem found refuge there. The younger generation having migrated to Israel, the Jewish community is now almost extinct. Muziris, which according to foreign accounts could be reached from Egypt in 40 days under favourable wind conditions, disappeared 10 or 12 centuries ago in circumstances that are unclear. Until recently scholars believed Kodungallur, 35 km north of Kochi, was the legendary port city but no evidence of maritime mercantile activity could be found there.

Full report here Little About

‘Indian woman’s life is full of paradoxes’

"In France, most people do not know the meaning of the word dowry,’’ said French writer Dominique Hoeltgen, author of the book India, the Revolution by Women. Dominique was speaking at the open forum at the Asian Women’s Film Festival in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday, March 14.

She said that the condition of women in India was full of paradoxes.

There are several Indian States governed by women, she said. Even the President is a woman. Also, there are several corporate firms and political parties headed by women. But still, life is difficult for most of the women in the country, she observed from her vast experience of travelling across the length and breadth of the country. Jai Chandiram, former president of International Association for Women in Radio and Television, said that most of the Indian women blindly followed the traditions without understanding their real concerns.

Full report here Express Buzz