 S K Pottekkatt |
Vaikom Muhammad Basheer |
UNESCO named Kozhikode (Calicut) as city of literature, Kozhikode, a city located in the southern Indian state of Kerala was officially designated as a Unesco City of Literature on 31-10-2023. This recognition makes Kozhikode the first city in India to receive this title. Unesco formally conveyed the honour to the Kozhikode Corporation as the city joined the ranks of 55 newly selected creative cities. Kozhikode city have been handpicked to represent seven creative fields — crafts and folk arts, design, film, gastronomy, literature, media arts, and music. Kozhikode was included in the category of literature.
Kozhikode’s literary tradition
The North Kerala city of Kozhikode is home to many promiment personalities of the state’s literary and cultural world. The city, where several leading media houses are headquartered, has hundreds of publishing banners and several libraries enriching its literary tradition.
The first Malayalam novel Kundalatha was born in Kozhikode in 1887. It was authored by Appu Nedungadi. Several illustrious writers like S K Pottekkatt, Vaikom Muhammad Basheer, Uroob, Thikkodiyan, NN Kakkad, P Valsala, Akbar Kakkattil, Punathil Kunjabdulla and MT Vasudevan Nair have brought laurels for Kozhikode. The city has also produced many film and theatre professionals in the last half a century.
The Journey to the City of Literature Title
Kozhikode’s journey to becoming the City of Literature began in 2022 when the Kerala Institute of Local Administration proposed the idea. The Kozhikode Corporation swiftly sprang into action, reaching out to the University of Prague in the Czech Republic for assistance in the preparation process. Prague was the first city to receive the City of Literature title in 2014, making it a valuable resource for Kozhikode’s aspirations.
Ludmila Kolouchova’s Contribution to Kozhikode’s Recognition.
Ludmila Kolouchova, a research student from the University of Prague, played a crucial role in Kozhikode’s quest for this recognition. She visited Kozhikode and conducted a comparative study, drawing parallels between Kozhikode and Prague. Her research revealed that Kozhikode boasted more than 500 libraries and over 70 publishers, providing a solid foundation for its application.
Kozhikode’s UNESCO City of Literature Recognition: A Multifaceted Triumph
Furthermore, Kozhikode’s status as a permanent venue for the annual Kerala Literature Festival and various book fests added value to its claim. The city successfully fulfilled most of the criteria for the City of Literature title, including the presence of numerous institutions dedicated to its literary life, the capability to organize diverse literary events, and a high standard of literary education. This, combined with the city’s impressive quantity, quality, and diversity of literary activities, made it a fitting recipient of the UNESCO recognition.
The background story:
Kozhikode has at least 550 libraries, 70 publishing houses and over 100 bookstores. These are some of the findings in a comprehensive documentation of Kozhikode’s literary resources and assets done by a group of students of the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Calicut. It was this elaborate work that helped Kozhikode earn the tag of City of Literature from UNESCO.
The members of the Department of Architecture and Planning at NIT Calicut began their study in July 2022 and concluded it by January 2023. They submitted their extensive work to UNESCO in June. In fact, it goes back to the 14th century. “The study revealed that Kozhikode city and its peri-urban areas boast of a total of 550 libraries excluding personal collections, which is perhaps the highest in an Indian city,”
Objective of the CCCN
The UNESCO Creative Cities Network allows member cities to recognise creativity as an essential component of urban development, notably through partnerships involving the public and private sectors and civil society. It envisages to develop hubs of creativity and innovation and broaden opportunities for creators and professionals in the cultural sector. These cities have to achieve the UN agenda of sustainable development.
