Poets conjure up a diverse India at Kochi book fest

KOCHI: An eclectic gathering of writers from Northeast and South India on Thursday at the Kochi literary fest, organised by the Kochi International Book Festival committee in association with the Sahitya Akademi, was notable as it emerged as a rendezvous of the diverse lives, loves, expectations and hopes of the country through letters.Critic M Thomas Mathew inaugurated the meeting, which was presided over by writer C Radhakrishnan, who is the convener of the Malayalam advisory council.

"Everyone is an aspirant to being a role model. However, the history is creativity has never accepted anyone as a role model; writers are those who live without getting worried about that life," said Mathew.According to Radhakrishnan, no other language carries as much variety as Malayalam."Malayalam has at least one word each from all the languages of the world. Take the case of any religion or language. It reaches Kerala first," he said.

He affirmed that the concept of a united India is becoming a reality with literature. "Literature is the strongest medium to unite people and erase differences," he said.Writers representing various languages recited poems at the gathering. Poet Prabha Varma was received with applause as he recited his poems. According to some of the writers present, the rhythm and swiftness of Malayalam language added grandeur to his poems.

Mihir Mausam Roy (Assam,) Arabindo Usir (Bodo), P Chandrika (Kannada), Loytham Inobi Devi (Manipuri), Sheela Thamang (Nepali), Nellai S Muthu (Tamil) and Adi Gopula Venkita Ratnam (Telugu) also presented their poems. Sahitya Akademi secretary K Sreenivasa Rao welcomed the gathering, while regional secretary S P Mahalingeswar delivered the vote of thanks.