The New Avatar of Malayalam Poetry

The inaugural day of Kerala Literature Fest 2023 witnessed an enthralling participation in the session “Mozhiyum Vazhiyum Marunna Malayala Kavitha,” led by Muse Mary George, Rafeeq Ahamed, M R Renukumar, and Mangad Ratnakaran. The talk looked at the importance of Malayalam poetry and the ways in which the Malayalam language has traversed the borders of the world. Mangad Ratnakaran spoke about the writer Neruda and the poem `Pothumadiseela` by poet Satchidanandan.

The diversification of poetry became the subject matter of the discussion. Muse Mary George explained how poetry like `Andhikallum Pranayashappum` by Sheeja Vakkom shows how females want to have a distinct literature from men. She also talked about her own literature, which is about a woman subjected to ill-treatment. Rafeeq Ahmed spoke about ways of thinking, faults in the popularisation of poetry, and how society developed from cave pictures. Renukumar traced the origin of writing and how writing acts as an expression of thoughts for the author himself.

Poetry became the central axis of the discussion. Poetry is returning with the importance of tones, renovating language profoundly. In conclusion, “it is more important what the content is than how it is sung,” said Muse Mary.