A book from the streets. That is the latest idea that has evolved from Manaveeyam Veedhi, the city’s cultural corridor, where a street book fair is currently under way. On Thursday, a new stall was opened as part of the book fair, where visitors could pen down their creations, be it stories or poems or sketches. By the time the book fair concludes on Monday, all of it will be compiled in the form of a book and released to the public.
“Those who wish to contribute can come here to this stall and write or draw whatever they want. Only that, they have to do it from here, standing on the street. We have started this only a few hours back and already we have got 3-4 contributions. Everything including editing, layout work and binding will be done here at this stall. Only the printing will be done outside. We have not decided on a name for the book yet. We are looking for suggestions from visitors, a name which is connected to the street,” says Prakash Gopinath, founder of Indus Cycling Embassy, which along with the Manaveeyam Street Collective is behind the initiative.
The book will be sent to print on Saturday and released on Sunday evening, at the concluding ceremony of the book fair.
The five-day long book fair, organised by the city Corporation, began on Wednesday.
Stretching from one end of the street to the other are stalls of around 30 publishers, including Kerala Sahithya Academy, State Institute of Languages, Kerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishad, DC Books, Chintha Publications, Prabhath Book House and others.
The evenings are dedicated to cultural programmes. A host of programmes including dramas, debates, musical shows, film screenings and poetry recital sessions have been scheduled, in which writers, poets, artists and activists will take part.
During the day, various other programmes including caricature sessions, cycling training for women, magic show and other events have been scheduled.
