Writer Muzafer Ahamed speaking at a session of Yaanam 2025, Kerala Tourism’s literary festival, in Varkala on Saturday. | Photo credit: Special arrangement
The second day of Yaanam 2025 Travel Literary Festival, organized by Kerala Tourism at Ranga Kala Kendram at Varkala Cliff, got off to a flying start on Saturday with enriching sessions narrating exciting stories and experiences of wanderers.
According to writer V. Muzafer Ahamed, who spoke on “Desert Crossings: Stories of Migration and Travel,” deserts tell stories of sustainability and resilience. “Not all deserts are barren and dead. Their ecology and culture is as sustainable, inclusive and fascinating as that of Kerala, which is known for its greenery and cultural diversity,” he said. Hailing from a verdant environment blessed with 44 rivers and plenty of rain in two monsoon cycles, it is only natural that Keralites have a misconception about deserts, said Mr. Ahamed, who explored the deep Arabian desert and left vivid accounts of his travels in widely read and translated travelogues.
Author of 20 books, including the world-renowned Marubhumiyude Atmakatha (Autobiography of the Desert), Mr. Ahamed said, “It may sound a little ironic that much of Kerala’s current prosperity comes from the Arabian desert, whose hot and arid paths were trodden by the pioneers of the Gulf migration,” he noted. The widespread impression of the desert and life in it is largely shaped by the accounts of Western writers and filmmakers who have often missed or misrepresented the ecosystem’s true life, diversity, culture, sustainability and resilience, he said.
“I was amazed to see during my very first trip to the desert how the reality is starkly different from what we have gathered through these writings. Deserts have their own biodiversity and their human communities have zealously preserved their culture, traditions and resilient ways of survival. When I sat down to write my experience, I decided that I should share what I saw and experienced with the readers conscientiously,” said Mr Aham, a journalist. Like any other ecosystem, the desert faces problems of degradation due to human intervention, he noted.
Mr. Ahamed’s two travel books, Marubhumiyude Atmakatha, which won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award, and Maru Marangal, have also been translated into English.
In the “Over the Mountain, Under the Sea” section, Sri Lankan author and travel writer Andrew Fidel Fernando said there are stories in every corner of India, which is a great destination. According to Mr. Fernando, who is also a well-known cricket writer on the ESPN Cricinfo website, India is a less traveled country. Mr. Fernando was eloquent about the panoramic beauty and surfing of Varkala Beach.
In another session on “The Cross-Culturists,” author and journalist Sudeep Chakravarti said that moving across cultures is a kind of obsession that makes single-pen experiences impossible. As a world traveler who has visited more than 70 countries, Mr. Chakravarti noted that India is too big to explore. While sharing his discoveries across culture, Sri Lankan author and writer Pramudith Rupas said that they absorb culture to share experiences.
Sri Lankan author Shehan Karunathilaka, who described himself as a “slow writer” on “The Time – Traveller”, said that stories find a writer and never leave until they are written. The writer revealed that he had to write four drafts of Maali Almeida’s Seven Months, which won him the Booker Prize in 2022.
Mr. Karunatilaka said that travel writing has immense potential as the genre carries a wide spectrum. “A travelogue can be anything, it can be political, it can be subjective and sometimes it reveals who the author really is rather than the destination,” he said in an interactive session.
Journalist and author Sabin Iqbal, also the director of the festival, said as a writer, he relies heavily on emotions to portray his characters, mostly from his hometown Varkala. According to him, writing is a way of survival.
The festival ends on Sunday.
Published – 18 Oct 2025 20:13 IST
