WRITERS SHOULD ACT AS SOCIAL ACTIVISTS

WRITERS SHOULD ACT AS SOCIAL ACTIVISTS

Writers should campaign for social justice through their writings, veteran Hindi poet Lakshmi Shankar Bajpai has said. He was speaking after inaugurating the 10-day National Book Festival organised by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi here on Monday,2^nd January,2012. “In the turbulent society we live in, writers should assume a more responsible role. They should take up the roles of social activists and reformers,” he said. He stressed the need for literary campaigns to take books to the common man. Books should reach their target audience. Book festivals and literary campaigns helped achieve this, he noted. Mr. Bajpai said integration of regional languages was the need of the hour.“We know much about foreign writers and their books. But very few know about litterateurs in regional languages. Children, who are familiar with Harry Potter, are ignorant about the children's books in regional languages,” he noted.

The akademies have certainly been taking the initiative in translating award-winning books in regional languages, but more needs to be done in this direction, he said.More reading sessions and writers' meets should be organised to popularize books written in regional languages, he added. He recited some of his poems at the function. Akademi president Perumbadavam Sreedharan presided over the function. Therambil Ramakrishnan, MLA, inaugurated various exhibitions organised in connection with the festival. Mayor I.P. Paul, Akademi secretary R. Gopalakrishnan, vice-president Balachandran Vadakkedath and others spoke. More than 60 publishers are displaying their books in the 10-day festival. Various cultural programmes, seminars and meetings are also being held.

                                                                     Prof. John Kurakar