Prominent figures converge for book festival in city

T'puram: LSG minister MB Rajesh will engage in discussions with prominent political leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami in the dialogue session of the book festival being organized by the state legislative assembly, which begins on Tuesday.Renowned literary figures, including Sri Lankan writer V V Padmashali, along with talents from various fields, will be guests in the dialogue session. On the opening day, Methil Devika and Sreeja Shyam will kick off the session. V K Sreeraman and T D Ramakrishnan will follow with a discussion on the topic ‘Novel and National History'. On the second day, minister PA Mohamed Riyas and Santosh George Kulangara will participate. M Swaraj and KS Sabarinathan will share their thoughts on the politics of reading on the third day.On the fourth day, Ranju Ranjimar, Anas N S, Shahina K Rafiq, and Priya K Nair will be the guests. Zoya Hasan and Sudhir Devadas will discuss ‘Democracy on Trial: Dominance and Dissent in India', while GR Indugopan and E Santosh Kumar will converse about the art of fiction-making on the fifth day. Ramesh Pisharody and Babu Ramachandran will also be present that day.On the sixth day, Manu S Pillai and NE Sudheer will discuss ‘The Hindu in History', and Ashokan Charuvil and Ashtamoorthy will talk about ‘Expanding Books - Changing Reading'. The concluding day will feature Tarigami and minister Rajesh.At the Sankaranarayanan Thampi Hall, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate the book festival. He will present the legislative assembly award to M Mukundan for his unparalleled contribution to Malayalam creative literature. The festival will feature more than 70 events.