Malappuram: The annual Thunchan Festival, a cultural extravaganza in commemoration of the father of Malayalam language, will begin on Saturday at Thunchanparamba in Tirur. The four-day festival of literature, arts and
culture will be inaugurated by Tamil poet Vairamuthu at 10 am on Saturday.
Thunchan Memorial Trust chairman M.T. Vasudevan Nair will preside over the inaugural session. A slew of programmes will also be held as part of the fest. The Poet’s Meet led by Akkitham on the opening day will be broadcast live by the All India Radio, Kozhikode.
V. Madhusoodhanan Nair, Attoor Ravi Varma, Prabha Varma, P.K. Gopi, Rafeek Ahamed and J. Prameela Devi will recite their poems. The AIR is back this year with the live broadcast of the poet’s meet after more than a decade.
A national seminar on ‘multiculturalism in Indian writing’ will be held on Sunday in association with Sahitya Academy, New Delhi. Historian Ramachandra Guha will deliver the annual Thunchath Ezhuthachan memorial lecture on the concluding day of the festival. A book festival, music concerts and literary competitions will also be held.
