Bhutto family flavour for Kovalam Literary Festival

Thiruvananthapuram: Fatima Bhutto, who prefers prose and poetry to politics, notwithstanding her status as the heir to Pakistan’s most famous political family, will lead a strong posse of eminent writers from home and abroad in the fourth edition of the Kovalam Literary Festival, unfolding here on October 1.
Making her first trip to Kerala, Fatima Bhutto, the granddaughter of former Pakistan Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and niece of Benazir Bhutto, but known more as an accomplished poet and writer, will deliver the sixth annual K C John memorial lecture at the Kovalam Literary Festival (KLM), the biggest celebration of books, writers and book lovers in God’s Own Country.
The literary extravaganza, packed with book readings, sessions with authors, talks, book launches and music concerts will be held at the Kanakakunnu Palace on October 1 and 2. The event will also witness an exhibition of paintings of legendary artist M F Husain, festival organisers said here today.
Apart from Fatima Bhutto, other literary figures at the festival will be Pakistani writer Mohammed Hanif, Israeli literary stalwarts Savyon Liebrecht and Motti Lerner and Sri Lankan author Sheshan Karunatileke. They will be joined by a long list of contemporary Indian writers like David Davidar, Anuradha Roy, Ashwin Sanghi, Rahul Pandita, Suresh Menon, Kanika Dillon, Kishor Singh, Meena Kandaswamy, Palash Mehrotra, and Basharat Peer.