Footfall Match
It’s raining litfests this weekend. The Hay Festival in Thiruvananthapuram (November 12-14) is hoping to cash in on the unusually rich literary climate in Kerala. But if last month’s Kovalam litfest is any indication, even shifting the 3-year-old litfest from a five-star hotel in Kovalam to the rambling Kanakakunnu Palace in the city didn’t draw more than 150 people at most. The Hay Festival, on the other hand, is expecting to increase the crowds by three-folds. If participants Vikram Seth, Shashi Tharoor and Simon Schama can’t draw in the Malayalis, the organisers have been wise enough to rope in musicians (Bob Geldof, Asima) and a few Malayalam writers whose books have been translated into English.