The Kerala Sahitya Academy awards for the year 2007 have been announced. K Reghunandan's Pathiravankara bagged the award for the best novel. Cheriyan K Cheriyan's selected poems bagged the award for best poetry.

Shihabudeen's Poyithumkadavu secured the award for best short story. The award for the best drama goes to Francis T Mavelikkara's Dravidavritham.

It will be a different role for popular Malayalam film actor Mohanlal as he is all set to perform the 'most adventurous and dangerous' magic show on stage on April 27. The event is a precursor to the International magic convention 'Vismayam 2008' slated for May 1 to 4 here.

The most spectacular temple festival, Thrissur Pooram, began here Wednesday morning. More than 500 foreign tourists have arrived to watch the festivities. The Thrissur Pooram, celebrated in the Malayalam month of Medom (April-May), is a grand assembly of gods and goddesses from various villages and towns in and around Thrissur town.

The demand for Indian artefacts continues to soar in London auctions despite a global credit crunch. Bonhams' record sale of Mughal Emperor Shahjahan's khanjar at £ 1.7 million was the last of three in London last week after auctions by Sotheby's and Christie's International. All three sales tested demand for Indian and Islamic art among western buyers.

It might be a decade since Thakazhi Shivashankara Pillai walked off the face of this earth, putting away the mirror that he held up to life through his stories. But the little village of Thakazhi, which was put on the world map by the writer, has not forgotten him.

Kathak dancer Shila Mehta has called for more initiatives to promote classical art forms among youth. She was addressing a press conference held here on Tuesday on the sidelines of 'Poora Nilavu', a dance and music festival to herald Thrissur Pooram. "Classical art forms need support from all quarters to survive the onslaughts of globalisation," she said.

Dilophosaurus, the carnivorous dinosaur from 'Jurrasic Park,' Danny DeVito, the evil Penguin from 'Batman Returns' and a model of the Alien Queen from 'Aliens' will figure among a collection of Hollywood memorabilia that is soon coming to Mumbai.

The Cheliya Kathakali Vidyalayam will conduct the annual Kathakali Padana Sibiram at Cheliya, Koyilandy, here from April 16 to May10. The camp will be organised under the guidance of Guru Chemancherry Kunhiraman Nair.

Eminent Malayalam poet Kadammanitta Ramakrishan died at a private hospital in Pathanamthitta district yesterday, family sources said. He was 73 and survived by wife and two children. Kadammanitta, as he is popularly known, had been undergoing treatment for the last few months.

With volatile markets being the trend and interest rates low on return, art seems to have come back as the safest investment option for many, says leading art curators and investment analysts. "Art is the only commodity other than gold which is constant in giving steady returns from the very beginning.