With the Omicron variant spreading fast, several states have been announcing lockdowns and curfews. Thus, keeping safety concerns in mind, the sixth edition of the Kerala Literature Festival, which was to be held in January, has been rescheduled to March 2022. By Anushka Goel
The pandemic has delayed and cancelled many events over the course of two years, and some of them even turned hybrid (or entirely virtual, as the situation demanded). This has now extended into 2022, with the sixth edition of the Kerala Literature Festival, which was scheduled for January 20 to January 23 this year, being rescheduled to March 17 to March 20, the press release states.
Kerala Literature Festival rescheduled
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The festival, organised by the DC Kizhakemuri Foundation, is supported by the Government of Kerala and the Kerala Tourism Board. The important step of rescheduling the festival was made keeping everyone’s safety in mind, including the speakers, participants, audiences, and citizens, the release says. “Taking in view the surge in a number of infections of Omicron variant, we have rescheduled the festival by two months. We have seen a great amount of love and overwhelming public support and participation registrations over the past months for KLF 2022,” Ravi Deecee, Chief Facilitator, Kerala Literature Festival, said. “We are hoping that the coronavirus will recede in time. We are determined on hosting an in-person festival with the active support of our patrons, speakers, and partners”, he added. The theme for this year’s event is “Come Together”, symbolising an on-ground event after a year of virtual existence. The four-day festival, which happens along the shores of the Arabian Sea, will being together artists, actors, celebrities, writers, thinkers, and activists closer to people of different backgrounds and interests.
This year’s lineup of speakers includes Jeffrey Archer, Ada Yonath, Abhijit Banerjee, Arundhati Roy, Remo Fernandes, Sagarika Ghose, Wendy Doniger, Shashi Tharoor, Manu S Pillai, Devdutt Pattanaik, Chris Kraus, Sudhir Kakar, Pawan Varma, Perumal Murugan, Prakash Raj, William Dalrymple, Paula Richman, Anita Nair, M Mukundan, Benyamin, TM Krishna, KR Meera, Sunil Ilayidom, Paul Zacharia and more.
Related: Jaipur Literature Festival Is Back – This Time, In A Hybrid Avatar