Kerala Tourism recently announced plans to develop a literary tourism circuit this year, a first for India. Museums and memorials for some of the most famous Malayalam writers like Vaikom Muhammad Basheer, Thunchath Ramanujan Ezhuthcahan, M T Vasudevan Nair, Akkitham Achuthan Namboothiri, and O V Vijayan are currently in different stages of construction in the Malabar region, which is known for its rich cultural heritage. The circuit will be spread in the Kozhikode, Malappuram, and Palakkad districts, with the region around the Bharathapuzha River having a lot of potential, according to an official statement.
The concept refers to specific locations related to literature that people can visit. These can include visiting the residences of living and dead authors and literary giants as well as real and mythical places and locations associated with the characters and events in various popular works.
In the post-COVID-19 era, literary tourism can be seen as an alternate niche sector that can attract tourists to offbeat, pristine, and less crowded destinations, thus relieving pressure on the visitor management of popular mass tourism destinations.
Vaikom Muhammad Basheer, also known as Beypore Sulthan, was an Indian independence activist and writer of Malayalam literature. Born in 1908 in the Kottayam district, he participated in the freedom struggle and was imprisoned for it. Translations of his works have won worldwide acclaim, and Basheer was honoured with the Padma Shri in 1982. He bagged the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1970 and the Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award in 1982.
Thunchaththu Ramanujan Ezhuthachan was a Malayalam devotional poet, translator, and linguist in the 16th century, who is often called “the father of modern Malayalam.” On the occasion of Vijayadasami, hundreds of people throng to his village (Thunjan Parambu) with their children to initiate them into the world of letters.
Madath Thekkepaattu Vasudevan Nair, popularly known as M T, was an Indian author, screenplay writer, and film director. Among his contemporaries, he stood out as a multifaceted genius, who secured a special place in the hearts of Keralites and those who love cultural products in Malayalam.
Born in 1926 in the Palakkad district, Akkitham Achuthan Namboothiri was a well-known Malayalam poet, essayist, editor, and a highly decorated literary personality among contemporary Malayalam writers. Fondly known as “Akkitham,” his literary works gained wide attention in the early 1950s. He was the recipient of India’s highest literary honour, the Jnanpith Award, and the Padma Shri, among others.
Lastly, Ottupulackal Velukkuty Vijayan, commonly known as O V Vijayan, was an Indian author and cartoonist who authored many volumes of short stories, ranging from the comic to the philosophical. He was also an editorial cartoonist and political observer and worked for news publications including The Statesman and The Hindu. A memorial to his legacy was built at Thasrak, the legendary village that formed the setting for his magnum opus “Khasakinte Ithihasam.”
The UK has a rich literary tradition stretching back centuries so it’s unsurprising that there are many different tourist circuits around the country that attract lots of travellers. In South West England, there is Hardy’s Cottage where Thomas Hardy spent the first 34 years of his life and where he wrote novels like “Under the Greenwood Tree” and “Far from the Madding Crowd”; the south east of England has the city and university of Oxford, which is associated with writers from C S Lewis to Evelyn Waugh; the north west of England has Howarth, the Pennine village where the Brontë sisters grew up and where “Jane Eyre”, “Agnes Grey,” and “Wuthering Heights” were published; while central England is closely linked to the bard of literature, Shakespeare himself, who was raised in Stratford-upon-Avon.
Furthermore, Scotland’s literary circuits include Leith in Edinburgh, the Loch Katrine of Glasgow, Wigtown in the southern uplands, Inverness in the north east, and Jura Island in the Inner Hebrides. Wales has Laugharne in Carmarthenshire, Hay-on-Wye, and the Black Mountains.
In Colombia, the memory of Gabriel García Márquez, a major figure in Latin American literature, is particularly strong in Aracataca, his birthplace. Between García Márquez’s restored house-museum, the church where he was baptised, his old school, the railway station, the telegrapher’s house (in homage to his father’s profession), and the Remedios la Bella library, visitors can rediscover the inspirations for his novel “One Hundred Years of Solitude.”
Rio de Janeiro is famous not only for its landscapes and carnival, but also for being the birthplace of many iconic writers. From the works of Machado de Assis, who harshly criticises Brazilian society, to the stories of Clarice Lispector, who explores human psychology, it is a rich literary centre for tourists. A visit to the city allows you to explore places such as the National Library, the Portuguese Language Museum, and the Lapa district, where literature and popular culture meet.
In Chile, the legacy of Pablo Neruda can be discovered through his residences, including Isla Negra. Perched on the coast, this house-turned-museum is brimming with the objects he collected and that fed his poetic imagination. Valparaíso, a city the author loved dearly with its hills, steep streets, and port, captures the essence of the poet’s verses.
