Prague University student Ludmila Kolouchova's research indicated that Kozhikode has over 70 publishers and over 500 libraries.
Vaikom Muhammed Basheer under his Mangosteen tree.
When the gramophone played, it indicated that the Sultan was at home.
Beyond the gates of Vylalil, the bare-chested Sultan used to recline on his easy chair under a mangosteen tree, the gramophone belting out his favourites, “Soja, Rajakumari, soja…“, being one of them.
A group of literary luminaries, prominent photographers, illustrators, his readers, and ordinary people used to congregate at Vylalil, Vaikom Muhammed Basheer’s house at Beypore on the outskirts of Kozhikode, listening to the Sultan, and perhaps expecting the Sulaimani (black tea made with spices) that was to come soon.
It was a regular scene in the front yard of Vylalil, until Basheer, the Sultan of Beypore passed away on 5 July 1994.
Basheer, who rewrote the grammar of storytelling, was one among several towering literary personalities that have made Kozhikode proud.
Vaikom Muhammad Basheer on a 2009 stamp. (Sikimedia Commons)
And now, Kozhikode has become the first city in India to get Unesco’s City of Literature tag — one among the 55 innovative cities worldwide.
Unesco declared Kozhikode the City of Literature on 31 October, World Cities Day — a day before Kerala began its Formation Day celebrations.
The other creative city on the list from India is Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, which was named the City of Music.
After Kozhikode won this prestigious title, the people credited it to writers and other creative talents, such as Basheer, who broke away from the Sanskritised form of Malayalam and developed a vocabulary that was approachable, relatable, and informal. They made the language less intimidating.
“Born in central Kerala, my father traversed the country like a Sufi for many years before participating in the freedom struggle. He then spent some years in Kochi. He moved to Kozhikode only in the late 1950s after marrying my mother, Fabi, and then started projecting himself as the ideal Kozhikode resident,” Anees Basheer, the renowned writer’s son, recalled.
“He was integral to the city and remained active in its strong literary and cultural traditions,” he told South First.
Another luminary is MT Vasudevan Nair, the literary genius who turned 90 in July this year. He resides at Nadakkavu in the heart of the city.
MT Vasudevan Nair. (Shaju John)
Born in the village of Kudallur in the modern-day Palakkad district, MT arrived in Kozhikode in 1957 to work as a sub-editor for The Mathrubhumi Weekly, a prominent literary publication in Malayalam.
A unique form of coexistence between the writer’s enviable creativity and his preferred city emerged, enabling him to explore his potential as a potent novelist, screenwriter, and editor who shaped subsequent generations of writers in the same genre.
A literary mastermind, MT is arguably the most translated writer in Malayalam; most of his works were published after he decided that Kozhikode was the place he wanted to live.
His works captured the inner struggles of alienated people who were at a crossroads in their lives and didn’t know whether to go forward or backtrack. In the process, he gave the ephemeral dreams and tragedies of disadvantaged souls a limpid form.
Even in the process of creating characters from the distant Uttarakhand town of Nainital, MT saw them through the prism of Kozhikode.
However, what sets the late Sankaran Kutty Pottekkatt, also known as SK Pottekkatt, apart is his background as a traveller, who was born in Kozhikode, and his ability to identify with the common people in the city.
The renowned Malayalam novelist of Oru Deshathinte Kadha (The Story of a Region) and Oru Theruvinte Kadha (The Story of a Street), Pottekkatt was raised at Puthiyara in the city before he went on to become a well-known writer, traveller, and a member of the Lok Sabha.
“I am so eager to visit my Kozhikode again and to explore my Sweet Meat Street (Mitthayi Theruvu in Malayalam) to get new directions for my creative impulses,” Pottekkatt once wrote to a friend in Kozhikode during one of his many travels through Europe.
The oral history of Sweet Meat Street specifically, and the city as a whole, is found in Oru Theruvinte Kadha.
The bust of SK Pottekkatt at the entrance of SM Street in Kozhikode. (Supplied).
Unesco commended Kozhikode for the new status for demonstrating cutting-edge, human-centered urban planning techniques and for its creative, culturally-driven development initiatives.
A large bust of Pottekkatt greets those visiting Sweet Meat Street, now known as SM Street.
Many installations showcasing significant passages from the novel and the literary works of other city-based writers could be found in the bustling shopping district that is home to textile stores and restaurants.
In addition, the city features installations and tributes honouring authors like Basheer.
The majestically positioned multi-storey public library constructed in the traditional Kerala style is the focal point of Mananchira, a historic park around an ancient pond.
The old Kozhikode town hall, which served as a forum for the majority of the city’s literary, political, social, and artistic personalities to engage with their followers, is only a short distance away.
Several significant literary events have taken place at Kozhikode’s Beach, a cultural hub, over the years.
The Kerala Literary Festival now uses it as a permanent location.
The Kozhikode Corporation carefully considered a suggestion from the Kerala Institute of Local Administration and ultimately chose to go forward with its ambition of being the City of Literature in 2022.
Kozhikode beach. Photo: K A Shaji
Since Prague was the first city to receive the tag in 2014, the Kozhikode Corporation acted quickly. It contacted the University of Prague in the Czech Republic for help with the paperwork.
Prague University’s research student Ludmila Kolouchova travelled to Kozhikode and did a comparative study on Prague and Kozhikode.
Her research indicated that Kozhikode has over 70 publishers and over 500 libraries, giving the city a solid operational foundation.
The fact that the city annually hosts the Kerala Literature Festival and other book festivals supported its claim.
The majority of the requirements for the tag were met by the city, including having a sizeable number of businesses dedicated to advancing its literary culture, the capacity and experience to host a variety of literary events, a high standard of literary education, and a sizeable quantity, calibre, and diversity of literary activities.
Kozhikode has the distinction of being the publication hub for literary periodicals in Malayalam.
Literature is given significance by the numerous local newspapers and television networks that are headquartered in the city.
Activist and writer Chelavoor Venu recalled Pottekkatt riding his bike from his house to SM Street.
Installations at S M Street depict scenes from Pottekkatt’s works. (Supplied)
He would stop by each store on the street and strike up a little conversation with the owners and employees.
His friends and associates from all walks of life would welcome him and start a discussion.
The omniscient newspaper vendor “Vishamasthithi” Kurup, his perceptive daughter Radha, the leaf-eating Lasar, also called “Omanchi”, the customs godown clerk by the beach, and Sudhakaran, the anarchist businessman who rose from obscurity to fame, were just a few of the characters that Pottekkatt created with the help of these conversations.
Oru Deshathinte Katha, penned in 1971, tells the tale of the inhabitants of a fictional village. Athiranipadam, outside the Kozhikode city.
NP Muhammad is another native author who immortalised Kozhikode.
Together with MT, he wrote the novel Arabi Ponnu (The Gold of Arabia), which narrated the lives of the Muslims in the city, particularly those who reside in and around Kuttichira.
It was stated that the two authors worked for two weeks to write the novel together in a first-of-its-kind Malayalam experiment in a leased home in the Karuvarakkundu hamlet near Kozhikode.
Muhammed was one of the writers who spearheaded the modernist movement in 1950s Malayalam fiction, along with Kamala Das, OV Vijayan, Kakkanadan, and MT.
Prominent dramatist Thikkodiyan, well-known author Punathil Kunjabdulla, novelist Uroob, poet NN Kakkad, and scholar-poet and editor NV Krishna Warrier were all longtime members of Kozhikode’s cultural and social milieu. They immensely contributed to the city’s reputation as a unique creativity and literary hub.
A national agency ranked Kozhikode as the second-greatest place to live in a few years ago.
The city is well-known for its rich cuisine, culture, and friendliness. This quaint city, previously known as Calicut, has a lot to offer visitors, including parks, wildlife, sculptures, museums, sanctuaries, hills, beaches, and rivers.
The Tali Temple and its environs served as the centre of the former Zamorin dynasty. Many of the royal residences were reportedly located near the temple, which served as the setting for the Vedic academics’ Revathi Pattathanam argument.
The temple pond and its surroundings are currently being renovated by the Tourism Department.
Renovations are also being undertaken in Kuttichira, a distinct area of the city that is home to two medieval mosques, the Mishkal Mosque and the Muchundi Mosque, as well as sizeable matrilineal Muslim ancestral homes.
While it continues to be the hub of the ancient martial art form Kalaripayattu — touted as the mother of all martial arts — Kozhikode is also home to the traditional Muslim art forms, Mappilappattu and Duff Muttu.
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