WHEN THE HILLS GO LIT

TNIE brings you glimpses of what's in store at Wayanad Lit Festival, touted as India's first and largest rurally held literature festival

- KRISHNA P S

HE looks at you with warmth, quite unexpectedly, from the screen. In her black burqa, her hands adorned with golden bangles, and with her intense eyes, Kamala Surayya - or Kamala Das - speaks in her lilting voice, inviting an astonished viewer to the Wayanad Literature Festival.

"Good literature," she says, "wipes the tears of those in pain and provides hope to those who have lost their dreams."

Madhavikutty, the celebrated poet and writer, is speaking to the masses once again, thanks to artificial intelligence. The tech team of the Wayanad Lit Fest has utilised AI to recreate the beloved author. And it's not just Kamala. Beypore Sultan Vaikom Muhammad Basheer, poet O N V Kurup, orator and critic Sukumar Azhikode and writer-cartoonist O V Vijayan - legends who left an indelible mark on Malayalam literature and social psyche - also speak to people once again.

This is an example of how AI can be used in an ethically creative manner, believes writer Nishad V H, who is one of the festival curators. "It's a new world, a new generation. At a time when discussions rage over the use of AI, we thought: is there a way to use this relatively novel technology in a healthy manner? That's how we arrived at the idea of using AI to bring the literary legends back," he says.