Histopedia

In the cultural heart of Kerala, where ancient literary traditions meet a restless modern world, the Mathrubhumi International Festival of Letters has quietly become one of India’s most compelling global conversations. This year, its spotlight veered boldly into the shadowy realms of geopolitics and human experience.

Among the voices that the festival brought to the stage was Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Declan Walsh, a reporter whose life has been shaped by the very forces he has spent decades trying to explain. Once expelled from Pakistan after a decade of frontline reporting, Walsh’s stories peeled back the curtain on the country’s deep state—an intertwining network of intelligence, politics, militancy and unspoken power structures that few outside the region truly understand.

Walsh’s journey wasn’t merely professional; it was personal. Ordered out of the country with only 72 hours’ notice, he left behind not just a bureau but a life and relationships forged in markets, cafes, conflict zones and border towns. His encounters ranged from clerics and human-rights defenders to militants and political insiders. These interactions—fraught with danger, compassion, absurdity and contradiction—have shaped his unique insight into how unseen forces shape nations and their narratives.

At MBIFL, Walsh spoke not just about borders or geopolitics, but about stories—the narratives that define societies and the invisible lines that separate perception from reality. In a world increasingly tempted by simplistic explanations, his reflections reminded his audience that truth is often found in the spaces between certainty and doubt.

But this festival is more than global politics. From poetry and prose to panels on culture and identity, the Mathrubhumi International Festival of Letters continues to be a space where writers, thinkers and readers explore what it means to listen—to history, to each other, and to the unquiet rumblings of the modern world.

At a time when the stories that matter are too often drowned out by noise, this gathering stands as a testament to the enduring power of letters and the courage of those willing to tell hard truths.