The fourth edition of Manorama News Conclave, being conducted at the critical 75th year of India's Independence, kicked off at Hyatt Regency, Thrissur, on Saturday.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated the conclave. Malayala Manorama Executive Editor Jayant Mammen Mathew welcomed the gathering. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin joined his Kerala counterpart live from Chennai for the discourse on 'The State of Affairs: Federalism, Freedom and Forward.
Delivering the inaugural lecture, Pinarayi Vijayan said that the country was shrinking into a regressive reality where diversity was being discarded. Vijayan said that freedom would be endangered without diversity and secularism. "In the absence of these two, democracy will cease to be a liveable experience," the Chief Minister said.
The theme for Conclave 2022 is both contemporary and comprehensive: 'India@75, Ideas, Ideals and Action'. New aspirations; New challenges; New frontiers; New avenues'.
Some of the most influential voices in politics, business and the cultural arena will deliberate on the varied possibilities that the theme throws up. The upshot would be a pooling of bright ideas that would shine a path in the onward march of the country.
The Conclave 2022 honoured national film award winners Aparna Balamurali, who won the best actor (female) award for her role in the Tamil film 'Soorari Potru', and Biju Menon, who won the award for supporting actor for his work in the film 'Ayyappanum Koshiyum'.
Kerala Speaker M B Rajesh and Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan will have a conversation on the topic: 'Federalism: Cooperative or Coercive?'
A bit of business will also be thrown into the mix in the first half. There will be a special session with the leaders of two of Kerala's most global brands: M A Yusuffali of the Lulu Group and M P Ahammed of Malabar Group.
The post-lunch session will begin with a tribute to business leaders who have made a mark globally but have their roots in Thrissur, the venue of Conclave 2022. The session is titled: 'Business Sutra: Made in Thrissur'. Actor, caricaturist and stand-up comedian Jayaraj Warrier will chat up Joy Alukkas, the owner of Joyalukkas, T S Pattabhiraman, the chairman and managing director of Kalyan Silks and K Paul Thomas, the founder of ESAF Group.
No cauldron of ideas is complete without the sharp and radical ideas of independent and successful women. Conclave 2022 has lined up three young women from three different fields - cinema, bureaucracy and politics. All three of them are defined by their fearless spirit: actor Navya Nair, Sreedhanya Suresh, the first tribal woman from Kerala to crack the IAS, and Najma Thabsheera whose dignified defiance of the Muslim League leadership during the 'Haritha' controversy had forced even the orthodoxy to sit up and take notice. 'Free Spirit: Let Me Be' will be the topic that will bring the three women together.
This is also a time when political discourse has become disturbingly bitter. Top leaders of the three major fronts in Kerala - union minister and BJP leader V Muraleedharan, opposition leader V D Satheesan and CPI state secretary Kanam Rajendran - will be thrown together to hold forth on the question: 'Political Expression: Viciously Yours?'
Also, any serious conclave cannot ignore the growing intolerance towards art and its makers. Poet Anwar Ali, filmmaker Siddique and writer Unni R discuss the issue 'Cinema: Invisible Scissors'.
The valedictory session will be attended by Admiral R Harikumar, the Chief of Naval Staff.
