All India Radio (AIR) will revive the live broadcast of a poets meet being held as part of the Thunchan Festival at Tirur.
History will be restored on Saturday afternoon when known Malayalam poets led by Akkitham go on air with their poems on the inaugural day of the Thunchan Festival at Thunchan Paramba, Tirur.
The decision of the AIR Kozhikode to revive the poets meet has cheered the poets and radio listeners across the State. Jnanpith laureate M.T. Vasudevan Nair, who is chairman of Thunchan Memorial Trust, has been on cloud nine after the AIR obliged his long-standing demand.
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“It’s a great moment to cheer for the Malayalam lovers. It will be a restoration of history,” said poet Alankode Leelakrishnan, reminiscing his childhood days when he attended the poets meet with great excitement.
His friend and poet Manambur Rajanbabu too shared the same excitement, remembering the incidents which led to the cessation of the event.
“Once Vailoppilli Sreedhara Menon presented a poem, taking more than half an hour and upsetting the entire schedule. Although sweet and memorable, it led to the suspension of the live event,” said Mr. Rajanbabu.
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AIR Kozhikode unit head Mira Rani said that many listeners and poets were excited about the decision to revive the event. “We have got a fair representation of poets from across the State,” she said.
Apart from Akkitham, poets Attoor Ravi Varma, V. Madhusoodhanan Nair, Prabha Varma, P.P. Sreedharanunni, P.K. Gopi, Manambur Rajanbabu, Alankode Leelakrishnan, V.M. Girija, Rafeek Ahamed, P.P. Ramachandran and J. Prameela Devi will recite poems on Saturday.
Mr. Vasudevan Nair will give an introduction.
The AIR poets meet, begun in 1953 under the leadership of Uroob, used to be the only cultural event of Thunchan Festival for many years. All great poets of Malayalam, including Edassery Govindan Nair, had presented their poems at the AIR Thunchan meet.
Later, the AIR poets meet became part of the Thunchan Vidyarambham Festival. In the 1980s, the poets meet stopped, giving way for symposia as part of the Thunchan Literary Festival.