Thasrak, the pastoral backyard in the district made popular by writer O.V. Vijayan through his celebrated novel Khasakkinte Ithihasam, will soon have a village exclusively for writers.
It will be the country’s first writers’ village, thanks to the State Tourism Department and the O.V. Vijayan Memorial Committee. “When finished, it will mark an amazingly unique place in the firmament of literature,” said T.K. Narayanadas and T.R. Ajayan, chairman and secretary respectively of the O.V. Vijayan Memorial Committee.
The writers’ village will be the State’s gift to O.V. Vijayan on the occasion of the golden jubilee of his magnum opus Khasakkinte Ithihasam. The novel celebrated its 50th year in 2019.
The State Tourism Department will spend ₹5 crore for setting up the writers’ village on 1.04 acres behind the O.V. Vijayan Memorial campus at Thasrak.
Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran will lay the foundation stone for the village at an online function to be held on Wednesday afternoon. State Administrative Reforms Commission chairman and former Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan, MLA, will preside over the function.
Minister for Welfare of SC, ST and OBC A.K. Balan will lay the foundation for the cottages in the village.
A unifying platform
“No other Indian writer has got such an honour posthumously. We are happy we could give shape to a village where writers from all over the world can come, stay and give life to their creative thoughts by enjoying the pastoral beauty of the village,” said Mr. Ajayan.
The village would have a dormitory, where 50 people could stay. It would be a perfect place to hold literary and cultural camps, and it would have an open stage and lawns, said Mr. Narayanadas. He said the village would start beckoning more visitors to Thasrak from across the country.
Apart from the dormitory, the village will have eight cottages, five tree-top houses, one administrative block, walkways, gardens and toilets.
