Artistes' Guru: Thunchath Ezhuthachan

"We all need a guru to take us ahead! Artistes should give Malayalam's patriarch Thunchath Ezhuthachan the honour of a guru," said actor Madhupal, who recently made a stunning directorial debut with Prithviraj starrer Thalappavu, portraying the story of Naxal Varghese who led the Naxal movements in 1960"s. Madhupal was inaugurating the five-day Thunchan art and cultural festival at Thunchanparambu, Tirur on Wednesday evening. This festival is held as a part of the ongoing Thunchan literary festival, the biggest literary festival in Kerala.

Inaugurating the Thunchan literary festival on Wednesday morning, writer and former diplomat Shashi Tharoor said English has succeeded in bringing the various threads of Indian culture together though it was mastered by only two per cent of the Indian population. "No writer chooses a language the language chooses the writer. O.V. Vijayan may be an exception. As long as translations exist, language is a mere vehicle and not a destination. We can reach a destination using any vehicle."

Borrowing the words of English dramatist George Bernard Shaw, Tharoor said he wrote for the same reason that the cow gave milk. "My text belongs to me when I choose words and ideas of my own liking. The text may contain hidden meanings that I myself would not be aware of. The moment it is published, my text no longer belongs to me. It belongs to the reader who gives meaning to it," he added.

O.N.V. Kurup, one of the greatest living poets and lyricists in India, will inaugurate the festival's National poets" meet on Saturday. Several poets from different Indian languages are likely to present papers and poems at the meet. The fest will conclude with a valedictory session by Minister for Education M.A. Baby on Sunday.