A week-long national poetry festival will be organised in memory of poet A. Ayyappan here from Saturday.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate the festival, being organised under the umbrella of the Kodungalloor-based A. Ayyappan Kavitha Padhana Kendram, in association with the Bharat Bhavan and the Kerala Sahitya Akademi. Trust chairman K. Jayakumar will preside over the function. The Neralakattu Rukminiamma poetry award will be presented to poet Kureepuzha Sreekumar on the occasion. It carries a purse of Rs.15,000.
Following this, renowned poets will recite Ayyappan’s poems.
At 2 p.m., J. Devika will talk on poetry in literature. At 3 p.m., poets from other States and from Kerala will take part in a national poetry festival. Other lectures will follow. A flute concert will be held at night.
On October 16, a lecture on challenges in modern literature will be followed by a poetry session in which Malayalis living outside the State will take part. At 3 p.m., Tamil writer Charu Nivedita will deliver the Ayyappan memorial lecture. Minister for Culture A.K. Balan will inaugurate the function.
On October 17, Ayyappan memorial programmes will be held at six places that had a connection with the poet. At Statue, Communist Party of India leader Pannian Ravindran will inaugurate an exhibition of Ayyappan’s books.
On October 18, Minister for Public Works G. Sudhakaran will inaugurate ‘Kavyarchana’ in which prominent poets such as Ezhacheri Ramachandran will take part.
On October 19, an exhibition of paintings on Ayyappan’s poems will be inaugurated by poet and artist George. On October 20, a poetry festival will be held at Nedumangad town lower primary school in which poets in Nedumangad will take part. The next day, a meeting will be held at Pravachambalam junction, Nemom. I.B. Satheesh, MLA, will inaugurate the programme. On October 22, Ayyappan remembrance will be held at the Thampanoor bus-station near the spot where the poet died. Minister for Ports Kadanappally Ramachandran will inaugurate the function, in which prominent literary and social figures wouldtake part, trust secretary Sebastian said at a press conference here.
