“Environment and man are not separate entities, they are one. Man should not see himself away from nature. By protecting nature and preserving the environment, he is preserving himself, saving his life”-opined Poet Rafeeque Ahamed while speaking at the Mathrubhumi International Festival of Letters 2020, in the session “Pachayude Paksham”. Writer Ambikasuthan Mangad and writer Chandramathi were the other speakers. Social critic Mini Prasad was the moderator.
“In Spite of witnessing grievous natural disasters, the people of Kerala have not learnt any lessons. They have turned to a genus who wake up suddenly in times of deluge and become active through WhatsApp groups.Once the issue is settled, they return back to what they did”, noted Ambikasuthan Mangad. He criticised the Keralites for destroying the precious ecology of ‘Kaadu and Kavu’. “We destroy our natural forest and ecology through encroachments and import things like Miyawaki forest from Japan.This is nothing by the hypocrisy of Keralites”, he said. Chandramathi added that her short story “Bonsai” was her concern in this regard.
“Nature writings in Malayalam didn’t go much forward after poet P.Kunhiraman and writer Vaikom Muhammed Basheer”,opined Ambikasuthan Mangad. To this Mini Prasad added her concern that serious literature is being ignored. “A novel like “Adi” by Sarah Joseph was not well received, this is an example of people going away from serious literature”, she added. Ambikasuthan Mangad also criticised the “throw-away” culture of Keralites.
The session concluded on the thought that a solution to this is possible only through awareness among children. Next generation is the only hope, they ended.
