Garden by the sea

When Kozhikode beach became a fertile ground for ideas with Manorama Hortus

- ANIRUDH MADHAVAN

There are more opinions on earth than salt in the sea. And when schools of fish run parallel to schools of thought, you see a scene of chaos and calm. That was Kerala’s Kozhikode beach from November 1 to 3, at the Malayala Manorama Hortus arts and literature festival.

As sweaty wisdom gatherers rushed from one venue to another, getting their fill of informed opinions, intellectual sparring and insightful commentary, the Arabian Sea stood there, vast and mostly gentle, reminding everyone that in its depths lie bundles of knowledge man is yet to unpack.

The festival saw 500 speakers across 150 sessions in six venues over the weekend. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated the event in the presence of Malayala Manorama Executive Editor and Director Jayant Mammen Mathew, and spoke about how Hortus was a reminder of Malayala Manorama’s historical links to Kerala’s reformation. He said that India needs a united fight for creative freedom, as many of its citizens cannot express their feelings openly.

This, of course, was not too much of a problem at an arts festival, as opinions from all sides flowed freely. In one of the sessions, former BJP general secretary Ram Madhav called for a return to Indian family values. In conversation with THE WEEK’s Resident Editor R. Prasannan, the senior RSS leader spoke about Hinduism being a cultural identity and not a political one.

Shashi Tharoor, a senior Congress MP and a veteran on the literature circuit, said that for a nation to be united, the interests of all communities must be taken into account. He also spoke about caste in India and shared an anecdote about his classmate and later Bollywood hero Rishi Kapoor asking him if he was “a Brahmin or something”.