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Draft:Wayanad Literature Festival

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Wayanad Literature Festival.[1] (WLF) is India's largest rurally-held literature festival. It is organized every alternate December in a village by name Dwaraka situated in Manathavady taluk in Wayanad district, Kerala. The first edition was held in 2022 on December 28 and 29th.  The 2024 edition is scheduled to take place from 26 to 29 December.  

The festival is conducted by the Wayanad Literary Foundation. The Festival Director is Dr Vinod K Jose and curators are Dr Joseph K Job, VH Nishad and Leena Gita Reghunath.

The recurring theme of the festival is Resilience, Expression, and Representation.

The 2022 edition was inaugurated by Chief Minister of Kerala, Shri Pinarayi Vijayan with Shri Rahul Gandhi, MP from Wayanad giving a special message.

The logo of the festival captures the ubiquitous wetland bird crane flying with a book on its long bill[2]. The iconic Thamarassery mountain pass takes the shape of the bird's neck and body.

The 150-member organising committee of the festival in 2024 is led by Samshad Marakkar, (President of Wayanad District Panchayat) and Justin Baby, the President of Mananthavady Block Panchayat. The Vice chairperson of the committee is CK Ratnavalli, Chairperson, Mananthavady municipality, along with Joint convener, Ahmedkutty Bran, President, Edavaka grama panchayat.

In the 2022 edition, over 100 authors were part of the festival, including Arundhati Roy, Sanjay Kak, K. Satchidanandan, KR Meera, and many others, which saw a footfall of over 40,000 people. The audience included a large number of who is who of Wayanad and the adjoining districts and the visiting population of tourists from Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mysore, Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai during that year-end weekend.

One of the highlights of the 2022 festival was an early morning heritage walk along the Kabani River guided by Cheruvayal Ramettan, popularly known as the “Guardian of Native Paddy” credited for having preserved 50 indigenous paddy varieties. Ramettan is also among the best storytellers in Wayanad.

The 2022 WLF also included a 3-day film festival held in partnership with the Kerala Chalachitra Academy featuring some of the best in world cinema along with a food festival in association with the women self-help groups[3].

The organisers of the festival said the 2024 edition will include a Literature Festival, International Academic Conference, All India Arts & Crafts Fair, Film Festival, Book Exhibition, Food Festival, Farmers Market, Heritage Walk, Art Biennale, Children’s Arena, Chess Tournament, Masterclasses in Fashion, Photography & Entrepreneurship, Etc. It is expected to have over one lakh participants to attend in person, and over two lakhs to attend via digital platforms[4][5][6]

References

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  1. ^ "Wayanad Literature Festival. When the world comes to an Indian village to think, listen, read and talk". Retrieved 2024-10-29.
  2. ^ "Kerala's newest lit fest germinates in the fertile land of Wayanad". Onmanorama. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
  3. ^ Shaji, Sukanya (2023-01-27). "The booming lit fests of Kerala: Keeping alive the tradition of reading". The News Minute. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
  4. ^ Service, Express News (2022-12-05). "Mananthavady in Wayanad all set to host literary festival on December 29-30". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
  5. ^ Service, Express News (2022-11-29). "Wayanad village to host national literature festival". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
  6. ^ Service, Express News (2024-10-06). "250 writers, cultural figures to take part in Wayanad Literature Festival". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2024-10-29.