Edinburgh to Kozhikode: how Kerala got onto UNESCO’s City of Literature list Premium

Kozhikode is India's first City of Literature, recognized by UNESCO. It's love for literature is evident at the Kerala Literature Festival, which attracts hundreds of thousands of book lovers. The city has produced some of India's finest writers, poets, scriptwriters, and musicians. It also has a vibrant theatre tradition and is celebrated for its love of music, football, and food. UNESCO's recognition is a testament to the city's passion for the written word.

Over four days in the coming month of January, the Kozhikode beach will witness a sea of people braving the blazing sun to listen to some great minds, from across the country and overseas, speaking mostly on literature.

The seventh edition of the Kerala Literature Festival (KLF) should attract hundreds of thousands of book lovers, as in previous years. It will be the first since UNESCO named Kozhikode a City of Literature, a fortnight ago.

The massive attendance for the KLF — there was a five lakh footfall at the last edition, according to the organisers — has, in fact, become the most visible symbol of Kozhikode’s love for literature. UNESCO’s recognition is richly deserved by this historic city.

Kozhikode is India’s first City of Literature. It was in 2004 that UNESCO launched the Creative Cities Network to promote cooperation among cities that have identified creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable urban development. Edinburgh was the first City of Literature.

Besides literature, the UN agency also recognises cities for their association with other creative fields like film, crafts, folk arts and design. This year, Gwalior has been named a City of Music, an honour that was achieved before by two other Indian cities, Varanasi (2015) and Chennai (2017). A city has to submit a bid explaining why it deserves to be considered.

The Kozhikode Corporation acted, in all seriousness, on a suggestion by the Kerala Institute of Local Administration. A study was conducted by the students of Architecture and Planning at the National Institute of Technology, Calicut (the anglicised name of Kozhikode).

A study by a research scholar from Prague — the Czech city that got UNESCO’s tag in 2014 — also helped. As did the presence of 500-odd libraries, several publishing houses as well as literature festivals like the KLF.