The fourth international book fair and cultural festival under the aegis of the Kerala Language Institute will be held in Kozhikode from December 2 to 11.
The 10-day event, at the Jafferkhan Colony Grounds, showcasing publishers in different languages including Malayalam, English and Hindi, will feature famous personalities such as philosopher Sundar Sarukkai, Hindi writer Jitendra Shrivastava and communist ideologue P. Govinda Pillai among others.
The cultural festival will be inaugurated by Cultural Affairs Minister M. A. Baby, while the book fair will be opened by Mayor A. K. Premajam. The book fair, which will witness release of several books, including ‘Vainjanika Viplavam: Oru Samskarika Charitram,' authored by P. Govinda Pillai, will also feature commemorative talks, seminars, discussions and cultural programmes.
Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, Kerala Language Institute director P. K. Poker said that some discussions and seminars on topics that were apparently not connected with books, language or literature such as corruption, domestic violence and the Endosulfan disaster had also been included in this year's list of programmes. “We feel that such topics also need to be discussed on a platform like this,” said Mr. Poker.
A seminar on Rabindranath Tagore in connection with his 150 birth anniversary will also be held during the event on December 3. The Malayalam translation of Geetanjali, published by Kerala Language Institute, will also be released on the occasion. The daily cultural programmes include plays, concerts, ghazals, and Mappilappattu.
