The State’s biggest campus literary festival, Sahiti 2017, began at the Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University, Tirur, on Tuesday. The three-day festival will bring writers and readers from across the State to the Aksharam campus at Vakkad, near Tirur, to celebrate Malayalam language and literature. Inaugurating the festival, novelist Sethu called upon Malayalis not to despise their language, even if they do not love it. “Malayalis in Kerala, not outside, are responsible for the neglect of Malayalam language,” he said.
“There has been a string of literary festivals across the country. Although it started with the famous Jaipur festival, literary festivals have begun to take undesirable forms,” Mr. Sethu said. However, he added that the literary festival held in Kozhikode in recent weeks was an exemplary event.
According to him, children are keen to learn their mother tongue. “Sadly, their parents are imposing restraints on them, turning them away from Malayalam language,” he said.
He called upon the government and the Sahitya Akademi to take the initiative to introduce more Indian authors and their works to global literature. “The translation project taken up by the Malayalam University is a great one,” he said.
Delivering the keynote address, critic P.K. Rajasekharan underscored the importance of little magazines for the growth of Malayalam language. “Although they have been short-lived, little magazines played and will continue to play a significant role in our literature,” he said.
Mr. Rajasekharan described O.V. Vijayan’s Khazakkinte Ithihasam as a work that served as a milestone in the march of Malayalam literature since the formation of Kerala in 1956. “Knowing so many languages is no big deal; but using them is. Former Prime Minister Narasimha Rao was a polyglot; but he used no language when the Babri Masjid was razed down,” he said.
Presiding over the function, Malayalam University Vice Chancellor K. Jayakumar said the fears and tribulations being displayed by writers are pointers of future disaster. Veteran photographer Punalur Rajan was felicitated on the occasion. Registrar K.M. Bharatan, Students Welfare Dean T. Anita Kumari, university representative in Germany Jose Punnamparambil, and Anvar Abdulla spoke.
