Mathrubhumi international festival of letters from February 2

Over 150 writers, including from some from abroad, will attend the Mathrubhumi International Festival of Letters - one of the largest and most polyphonic cultural events in Kerala- in Thiruvananthapuram next month. It would bring together over 150 national and international writers with sessions devoted to divergent topics, trends, ideas and genres ranging from fiction, poetry, non-fiction, politics, environment, travel and cinema prominently, the organisers said in a release here today. Some of the writers coming for the festival include Oksana Zabuzho , Shashi Tharoor, William Dalrymple, Bigao Chuol, Deepak Unnikrishnan, Felicia Yap, Kurkov, Mohammed Hanif, Andrei Kurkov, Balachandran Chullikad and Raghu Rai.

The three-day event would commence on February two and celebrate Indian, Malayalam, and world literature from more than 15 countries, the release said. Musical and visual performances, narrations, various literary exercises, plays for children, augmented reality sessions, exploration of traditional Kerala cuisine along with interactive sessions for youth would be part of the festival. Festival Committee Chairman M P Veerendra Kumar said "Mathrubhumi wishes to transform the Mathrubhumi festival of Letters in to a strong and powerful cultural platform in the world where serious discussions happen around literature.

What envision this enterprise as a cultural rendezvous that will spark off new thoughts and writings." Tharoor, one of the patrons of the festival, expects that the event would excite the imagination of people coming from outside the state. It would also inspire the Malayali community who possess an enviable reading culture. The festival directors include writer-editor C P Surendran, senior journalist Sebin Iqbal and Mathrubhumi Executive Editor P I Rajeev.

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