Kochi: A new magazine started by the Jesuits of Kerala aims to encourage free thinking among people of the southern Indian state.
The Malayalam magazine titled, “Ezhuth – Chinthikunna Hridayangal,” (writing for thinking heart) is produced by the Loyola Institute of Peace and International Relations (LIPI, script), the Kerala Jesuits’ new initiative.
Kerala Jesuit provincial Father M.K. George says the magazine, the first project of LIPI, keeps up the great legacy of the Jesuit tradition of fostering literature and culture.
More than 60 Jesuits along with their friends and well wishers witnessed the launch of the new magazine at the Town Hall of Ernakulam on November 1, the 60th birth day of Kerala state.
LIPI director Jesuit Father Binoy Jacob, who welcomed the gathering, said the magazine was the fulfilment of a long-awaited dream of the Kerala Jesuits.
Dignitaries present included Supreme Court judge Justice Kurien Joseph, social activist Daya Bhai, Jesuit writer and thinker Father Abraham Adapur, Malayalam litterateur M K Sanu and Malayalam literary critic Professor M. Thomas Mathew.
Magazine’s chief editor Professor V.G. Thampy said the magazine would play a crucial role in Kerala’s literary and cultural scene.
The launch of new magazine
Teachers and students of the Department of Music, Sri Sankara University, Kalady, sang the opening prayer.
Justice Kurian Joseph, in his opening address, expressed the hope the magazine guided by Jesuits would play a counter-cultural role in promoting peace and justice. This is all the more significant at a time when the current magazines tend to be biased and carried away by vested interests, he added.
Daya Bhai released the magazine by presenting its first copy to Vaikkom Murali, a prominent literary critic.
Father Jacob said they chose Dayabhai to stress that new magazine will resonate the voice of the voiceless. Daya Bai (originally Mercy Mathew) is a social activist from Kerala working for the advancement of tribal people in central India. At present she lives in Barul village of Chhindwara district in Madhya Pradesh.
The Jesuit priest said they have received “overwhelming support” for the venture from various quarters. “However, the sustainability of such a competitive venture in a commercialized world needs vigorous net-working and creative way of promotions,” he acknowledged.