Works and lives of globally-acclaimed Russian literary legends, from poet-novelist Alexander Pushkin to Maxim Gorky and Leo Tolstoy, were celebrated at the Russian Literature Festival that took place in the southern Indian city of Thiruvananthapuram from 12 May till 16 June.
Ratish Nair, the Russian Honorary Consulate and Director of the Russian House in Kerala's capital city, told Russian media that the almost month-long event witnessed a footfall of over 1,500 visitors from various walks of life.
Outlining a summary of the nearly monthlong literature event, Nair said that it involved a number of exhibitions, competitions, readings and recitations, seminars and film screenings.
The Russian Consulate said that the main events of the festival were an opening of an exhibition on "Alexander Pushkin - Life and Work” on 4 June, the recitation of Russian language poems in 23 different languages on the occasion of Russian Language Day on 6 June and another exhibition on the life and works of renowned poetess Anna Akhmatova on the occasion of her 135th birth anniversary on 14 June.
Nair noted that Malayalam language poetess Rosemary and Govind Nair, the former head of the Russian language department at the University of Kerala, were felicitated at the closing ceremony of the festival for their contribution to the cause of popularisation Russian literature in India.
They duo was awarded by Oleg Osipov, the head of the Indian representative office of Rossotrudnichestvo, an organisation focussed on spreading knowledge about Russia in other countries.
Medals were also presented to participants who recited the poems of Pushkin and Akhmatova.
Hailing the success of the literature festival, Nair underscored the role of literature in playing a "significant role" in bolstering friendly ties between Russia and India.
"In the South of India, the works of Pushkin, Gorky, Tolstoy, and other Russian writers are very popular. Literature brings people together, so literary festivals always arouse great interest,” Nair stated.