The third edition of Kerala Literature Festival was officially inaugurated by the renowned author of Malayalam literature M T Vasudevan Nair. The event began at 5.30 pm and concluded at 7.30. Readers across the world witnessed along with a wide range of celebrities and pearls of literature
The inaugural session was started by Ravi Deecee chief facilitator of the committee of KLF by welcoming the gathering and continued by the Presidential address by Pradeep Kumar MLA, Chairman of the organizing committee. The session went on with the opening speech by the festival director K Satchidanandan. The audience was awakened by the traditional art form performed by Njeralathu Harigovindan. He dedicated the performance for the female audience for making their known in the crowd. The festival lamp was lit by the Chief Guest of the day. M T Vasudevan Nair along with renowned author Prakash Raj along with district collector of Kozhikode U V Jose IAS, Brian McElduff (Ambassador of Ireland to India), Thottathil Raveendran Mayor of Kozhikode district, Kadakampally Surendran (Ministry of Archeology). The felicitation was done by Kadakampally Surendran. He spoke about the history of Indian Subcontinent arousing Patriotic feelings among the audience.
The ambassadors of Ireland, Japan spoke about their respective cultures enriching the gathering with new facts. They also expressed their wonder in finding the resemblance of literature with that of Indian Context. The audience rose to their feet when the much awaited voice of renowned Film Actor Prakash Raj embraced their ears. He expressed his happiness for being in the land of Basheer’s stories. HE approached the audience in friendly manner as he felt free to speak about any topic in Kerala, and that his state blamed him for supporting Kerala. HE explained about the power and beauty of literature which can transform anything. He highlighted the need for the freedom of expression, the importance of civil rights and empowering the citizens of India. The session concluded by Surendra Ramachandran delivering Vote of Thanks.