World Book and Copyright Day: Here’s how Kerala’s Kozhikode got UNESCO’s ‘City of Literature’ tag

The study was done by members of the Department of Architecture and Planning whose head Mohammad Firoz said the students conducted a survey, studied the area’s literary penetration, and documented literary assets, spaces, and important personalities as part of an academic project. “They mapped libraries and publishing houses in the area, and did a buffer analysis. The documentation was endorsed by the Union Ministry of Culture and was later submitted to UNESCO,” he shared.

From annual debates in 1400s to ‘Kolaya’ culture

Kozhikode’s literary legacy dates back to the 1400s to the time of Revathi Pattathanam, a debating event held every year by its erstwhile rulers, the Zamorins. The event brought together Vedic intellectuals who were, in the end, bestowed with the title ‘bhatta’ and given ‘pannakkizhis’ or bundles of cash as prizes.

Years later, Philip said, Russian traveller Afanasy Nikitin landed in the city and documented his experiences in India in the book ‘The Journey Beyond Three Seas’. The Customs Road in Kozhikode was, in fact, renamed after Nikitin. She also mentioned the contributions of Hermann Gundert, a German missionary and scholar known for compiling the first Malayalam-English dictionary. The 1960s saw the rise of the “Kolaya” culture, in which writers used to gather at kolayas (verandah) and discuss literature, cultural incidents and art. However, it later diminished.

Not surprisingly, writers from various regions of Kerala started settling in Kozhikode over the years. The city is also home to two Jnanpith awardees – S K Pottekkat and M T Vasudevan Nair. “Writers from Ponnani and other parts of Kerala, like Uroob, K P Ramanunni, Vaikom Muhammad Basheer and MT Vasudevan Nair fell in love with Kozhikode and made it their home. Kozhikode’s culture is accommodative and open-minded,” said writer Khadeeja Mumtaz, adding that she too came to Kozhikode from Thrissur and did not “feel like going back.”

Today, it is not uncommon to find large private libraries in people’s homes. “Individuals own vast libraries here with shelves filled with books, and rare collections. They do not just read newspapers, but novels, magazines as well,” Firoz said.

Spaces that embrace literature

From Mananchira Square and Town Hall to Beypore beach, spaces and events that embrace literature are aplenty in Kozhikode. Literary aesthetics set in when one steps into SM Street where S K Pottekat’s novel ‘Oru Theruvinte Kadha’ is written on the walls on one side while his statue towers on the other.

Literary aesthetics set in when one steps into SM Street where S K Pottekat’s novel ‘Oru Theruvinte Kadha’ is written on the walls.

Besides, Kerala Literature Festival (KLF), where writers from different parts of the world engage in discussions, takes place on Kozhikode beach. Govind D C of DC Books, the organiser of KLF told indianexpress.com, “Kozhikode is a very welcoming place and so it was chosen as the venue for the literary festival. There is a culture of engaging in literary discussions already.”

On the shore of the scenic beach lies Freedom Park and as a tribute to the struggle for Independence, key events from the period are inscribed on the top of a vast rock erected there.

Notably, the house where writer Basheer lived has been turned into a museum. The list does not end there. There is a library for the visually impaired at Farook College with about 150 volumes of books in Braille. The murals at Tali temple pond depict the history of the Zamorins along with glimpses of the Revathi Pattathanam. The district also has over 545 libraries out of which 62 public libraries are affiliated to the Kerala State Library Council. With 70 publication houses and 100 bookstores, Kozhikode is also where today’s major Malayalam publications like Deshabhimani and Mathrubhumi started out.

Manchira square is a park surrounding freshwater pond, situated in the heart of Kozhikode city, built during Zamorins rule (Source: Wikimedia commons)

Sharing an anecdote during his role as the executive committee member of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi, writer Kunhammed said, “I had once gone to interview C N Ahmed, an Islamic scholar. At that time, he used to run a readymade dress shop in SM Street. Despite his stature as a scholar, he used to walk through the street like a common person. His books are used to teach students in Saudi Arabia, but he did not walk like a celebrity. What caught my attention was that the front portion of the shop was full of items for sale while its back side was stacked with his books. The shop seemed like an intersection of trade, food and literature.”

 

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“Each beedi company, tailor shop, small tea shop, and the bus stands here are all centres of debate. People don’t just read casually here, they do it productively and engage in discussions,” he said.

Most notable writers

S K Pottekkat

Pottekkatt’s novel ‘Oru Theruvinte Katha’ set in S M Street won him the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award and his biography ‘Oru Deshathinte Kadha’ won him the Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award in 1972. (Express photo by Nandagopal Rajan)

S K Pottekat, an avid traveller and journalist, penned down his emotions in unparalleled travelogues. The Jnanpith awardee’s notable works include ‘Nepal Yatra’, ‘Kappirikalude Nattil’, ‘London Notebook’, ‘Indonesian Diary’, ‘Pathirasuryante Naattil’, ‘Bohemian Chitrangal’, ‘Bali Dweep’. His novel ‘Oru Theruvinte Katha’ set in S M Street won him the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award and his biography ‘Oru Deshathinte Kadha’ won him the Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award in 1972.

M T Vasudevan Nair

MT Vasudevan Nair (Credit: T Mohandas)

Straddling both literature and cinema, M T Vasudevan Nair’s works are timeless. ‘Randamoozham’, the novel widely credited as his masterpiece, is a retelling of the Indian epic Mahabharata. MT, as the writer is affectionately known, never failed to amuse his readers with the lyrical beauty of language and the portrayal of characters in his works like ‘Asuravithu’, ‘Kalam’, ‘Manju’ and ‘Nalukettu’. Meanwhile, films like ‘Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha’, ‘Parinayam’, ‘Sadayam’, and ‘Amrutham Gamaya’ showcase his prowess in the visual medium.

Vaikom Muhammad Basheer

Writer Vaikom Mohammed Basheer. (Credit: iemalayalam.com)

Vaikom Muhammad Basheer immortalised lines in Malayalam with his heartful and dialectic writing. Popularly known as Beypore Sultan, the writer, novelist and short story writer did not care for grammatical rules or literary conventions. The statement “Ninte lodukkoos aakhyaadam! (Your ‘silly stupid’ grammar!)” in his novel ‘Pathummayude Aadu’ exemplifies his contempt for grammatical correctness. Basheer’s other notable works include ‘Balyakalasakhi’, ‘Shabdangal’, ‘Mathilukal’, and ‘Janmadinam’.

Other prolific writers from Kozhikode include Uroob, Thikkodiyan, P Valsala, K V Krishna Iyer, Kuttikrishna Marar, Sukumar Azhikode, U A Khader, T Damodaran, and K Satchidanandan.