Kannada writer Vivek Shanbhag has said that writers should have political affiliations but their political philosophy should not influence their works.
He was inaugurating the first Kannur Literary Fest organised by the Kannur Jawaharlal Nehru Public Library and Research Centre here on Monday. Mr. Shanbhag said that writing gets empowered when it is done with a sense of freedom. Political consciousness must be understood in a broad sense. “Writers must be able to transcend narrow political thinking,” he said.
Basheer’s influence
Highlighting his close relationship with Malayalam literature, Mr. Shanbhag said that Vaikom Muhammad Basheer’s writings had influenced him to a great extent.
Mayor T.O Mohanan presided over the function. P. Santhosh Kumar, MP, delivered the keynote address. Jawaharlal Nehru Public Library vice chairman Munderi Gangadharan, Literary Fest coordinator Balakrishnan Koyal, and K.C. Ganesan spoke.
