So what else is happening this February? I’ll tell you of one important one. In the first week, for four days, it is MBIFL time. That’s the Mathrubhumi International Festival of Letters for you, where you get to hear stalwarts from various fields, speak, artists do live shows and so on.

Two days are behind me already. The discussions and speeches by authors, writers, artists et al are so thought-provoking and enlightening. The daily fare on the television is so demeaning to the intelligence of humans. Nothing but staged shouting matches. This is such a change from all that.

There was one session about dance forms, the traditional ones, and an impromptu performance by the artistes too on stage, much to the delight of the audience. I was lucky enough to be present there, thanks to my friend who opted for it. Things are happening simultaneously in different venues that one has to pick and choose and prioritise. You regretfully miss some when you choose a particular one.

Yesterday I happened to catch a session at the venue called Under The Tree. The stage is set under a huge tree. Unfortunately the branches above the stage were bare and the speakers were in the sun and had to request for umbrellas. Meanwhile the audience were seated comfortably under temporary thatched roof with ceiling fans as well. Organisers, a little bit of thinking ahead would have been nice!

Anyway, this particular session entitled The Atlas of Imagination had Ranjit Hoskote and Alvin Pang, both contemporary poets and of whom regretfully so I hadn’t heard of until then, reading out poetry from their latest books and also discussing the world in general. It was an unexpected gem of a session my friend and I chanced upon.

This year, I once again had the good fortune to listen to the young writer and historian Manu S Pillai. His first book that I read (and loved reading) was The Ivory Throne which covers most of the history of Travancore (the southern part of my state). I have two more of his books lying around waiting for my attention.

I missed the chance to listen to my favourite, or should I say MOST FAVOURITE, travel story teller (through videos) Santosh George Kulangara. His videos feel like a family member sitting across you and telling you, very interestingly, of his travels. It was a bummer to have missed hearing him talk live.

Obviously I cannot cover all that’s happening at the venue, the traditional (some of them dying) art forms, the live artists at work (I have a good mind to get a caricature done, if I do, I’ll definitely share it here), activities for children, the various sessions with national and international personalities from various fields, and of course, THE BOOK SHOP where there are books galore (duh!) and where book-signing by the authors happen.

I have only one serious complaint against the organisers. You need to spruce up the washrooms. AND ALSO HAVE MORE OF THEM. Look at the strength of the gathering. Is this really a sufficient number of restrooms for a crowd of this magnitude? And what’s with the no water (as in no water even to flush) in any of them yesterday? People have to use the facility after others have gone in, you know. Good heavens, you are taking money from us, GIVE US SOME SERVICE!

Having said that, let me get ready and rush off for today’s session. Two more days to go and then I’ll have to wait one long year for the next one. I sincerely hope though that the restrooms have water today. Sigh.

Please head to my Insta page shailzen if you’d like to see more photos and snippets from the event, in the coming days.

©️ Shail Mohan 2025