On 15 November 2015, the Fifth Festival of Russian Language and Literature in India opened in Trivandrum, the capital city of the south Indian state of Kerala, as part of the Year of Russian Literature. The traditional event was organized by the Russkiy Mir Foundation and the Alexander Pushkin Center of Russian Language in Trivandrum.
In his speech at the opening ceremony, Sergei Kotov, Russia’s Consul General to South India, said that Russian literature was well-known and well-liked in the state of Kerala. This is why the city of Trivandrum was selected as the venue for annual festivals of Russian language and literature. This year’s festival is special, as 2015 was declared the Year of Literature in Russia. Sergei Kotov added that promotion of Russian language and literature helped strengthen the cultural ties between Russia and India.
The festival’s guest of honor Jiji Thomson, Kerala chief secretary, said that residents of Kerala loved the Russian language—the native language of 160 million people in the world, the official language of over 20 countries and one of the 6 official UN languages. Keralites study Russian in schools and universities, and even more of them will have a chance to study Russian language and literature thanks to the opening of a new branch of the Alexander Pushkin Center of Russian Language in the city of Kochi. Malayalis (Kerala’s indigenous community) dominate Russian literary studies in India.
T.P. Sreenivasan, former ambassador of India to the United Nations, said in his welcome speech that Russia was growing stronger in the current geopolitical context. Perumbadavam Sreedharan, outstanding writer and President of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi, and Ratish Nair, Honorary Consul of the Russian Federation and Director of the Russian Cultural Center in Trivandrum, also spoke at the event.
The ceremony was attended by members of the political, scientific, business and cultural elite from the south of India, students and professors of Kerala universities, Russian compatriots and journalists.
The festival in Trivandrum will include Olympiads and contests for students and schoolchildren studying Russian, along with research-and-practice and promotional events—seminars, roundtables, master classes, lectures and video presentations that will bring together famous Indian authors and professors of leading Indian universities.
The festival will conclude on 23 December with the Sergei Yesenin Award ceremony. The award, which was established by the Sergei Yesenin Moscow Museum and the Russian Cultural Center in Trivandrum, is given for contribution to promotion of the Russian literature in India.
