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The 2nd time of question literate festival Yaanam 2025, organised by Kerala Tourism astatine Ranga Kala Kendram astatine Varkala Cliff, got disconnected to a agleam commencement connected Saturday with enriching sessions narrating breathtaking stories and experiences of wanderlusts.
According to Writer V. Muzafer Ahamed, who spoke connected “Desert Crossings: Stories of Migration and Travel,” deserts archer stories of sustainability and resilience. “Deserts are not each barren and dead. Their ecology and civilization is arsenic sustainable, inclusive and fascinating arsenic that of Kerala, famed for its greenery and taste diversity,” helium said. Coming from an each greenish situation blessed with 44 rivers and plentifulness of rains successful 2 monsoon cycles, it is earthy for Keralites to person a incorrect content astir deserts, said Mr. Ahamed, who has explored heavy into the Arabian godforsaken and near vivid accounts of his journeys successful widely-read and translated travelogues.
Author of 20 books, including the globally appreciated Marubhumiyude Atmakatha (Autobiography of the Desert), Mr. Ahamed, said: “It whitethorn dependable a spot ironic that overmuch of the contiguous prosperity of Kerala has travel from the Arabian desert, whose blistery and arid trails had been treaded by the pioneers of the Gulf migration,” helium noted. The wide content of the godforsaken and beingness connected it is mostly formed by the accounts of occidental writers and filmmakers, who often missed oregon distorted the ecosystem’s existent life, diversity, culture, sustainability and resilience, helium said.
“I was astounded to spot during my precise archetypal travel into the godforsaken however the world sharply differed from what we person gathered done these writings. Deserts person their ain biodiversity and its quality communities person zealously preserved their culture, traditions and resilient ways to survive. When I settled down to constitute my experience, I decided that I should convey to readers what I had seen and experienced conscientiously,” said Mr. Ahamed, a writer by profession. Like immoderate different ecosystem, godforsaken besides faces problems of degradation resulting from quality encroachment, helium noted.
Mr. Ahamed’s 2 travelogues, Marubhumiyude Atmakatha , which won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi award, and Maru Marangal, person been translated into English arsenic well.
In a league connected “Over the Mountain, Under the Sea,” Sri Lankan writer and question writer Andrew Fidel Fernando said determination are stories successful each country of India, which is simply a superb destination. According to Mr. Fernando, who is besides a noted cricket writer connected the ESPN Cricinfo website, India is an under-travelled country. Mr. Fernando was eloquent astir the panoramic quality and surfing activities connected the Varkala beach.
In different league connected “The Cross-Culturists,’’ writer and writer Sudeep Chakravarti said question crossed cultures is simply a benignant of obsession that makes 1 pen down the experiences. As a globe-trotter who has visited 70-plus countries, Mr. Chakravarti noted that India is excessively ample to explore. While sharing his explorations, Sri Lankan writer Pramudith Rupasinghe said travels crossed cultures are to sorb and stock experiences.
Calling himself a ‘slow writer’ successful the league “The Time –Traveller,’’ Booker Prize winning Sri Lankan writer Shehan Karunathilaka said stories find writers and they ne'er permission them until written. The writer revealed that helium had to constitute 4 drafts of The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida that fetched him the Booker Prize successful 2022.
Mr. Karunatilaka said question penning has immense possibilities arsenic the genre carries a wide spectrum successful it. “Travel penning tin beryllium anything, it tin beryllium political, subjective, and sometimes it reveals who the writer truly is alternatively than the destination,” helium said successful an interactive session.
Journalist and writer Sabin Iqbal, besides the festival director, said arsenic a writer, helium depends a batch connected emotions portion depicting his characters, mostly from his location municipality Varkala. According to him, penning is simply a mode of survival.
The festival volition reason connected Sunday.
