MAM
Mathrubhumi International Festival of Letters to begin from 2 February
Mumbai: The Mathrubhumi International Festival of Letters was started in 2018. After the critically and popularly acclaimed staging of three editions, the pandemic disrupted this signature event in the cultural calendar of India. Now, 2023 will witness a rebirth with renewed vigour and vitality.
The latest version will be held in Thiruvananthapuram from 2 to 5 February. MBIFL’23 will provide a platform where discussions on the arts, gender, history, media, politics, religion, science, sports, technology, and other contemporary issues will lend a spicy tang to four days and nights.
“A galaxy of universally renowned writers and speakers will grace this iteration, including last year’s Nobel laureate Abdul Razak Gurna and Booker Prize winner Shehan Karunathilake, from neighbouring Sri Lanka,” revealed festival curator Sabin Iqbal.
“The theme of ‘Ka’, as it is known locally after the first consonant in our mother tongue Malayalam, is ‘Shadows of history. Lights of the future,’” said festival director Mayura Shreyams Kumar.
“We chose this particular trope, conflating it with our voyage through a century of rendering yeomen service to society,” added Mathrubhumi, director of digital business.
MBIFL chairman M. V. Shreyams Kumar explained the rationale behind the festival of letters: “Being at the forefront of all progressive movements in our state, we deemed it incumbent on us to celebrate the role of letters in contributing to the moral arc of a nation, by conceiving the Mathrubhumi International Festival of Letters.”
Mathrubhumi’s managing director went on to say: “In our centenary year, it is also a tribute to the vision of my late father, the writer M. P. Veerendra Kumar, who guided our corporate fortunes for more than four decades as the chairman and managing director of Mathrubhumi.”
Digital
India leads global adoption of ChatGPT Images 2.0 in first week
From anime avatars to fantasy covers, users turn AI visuals into culture
NEW DELHI: India has emerged as the largest user base for ChatGPT Images 2.0, just a week after its launch by OpenAI, underlining the country’s growing influence on global internet trends.
While the tool was introduced as an advanced image-generation upgrade within ChatGPT, Indian users are quickly reshaping its purpose. Instead of sticking to productivity-led use cases, many are embracing it as a creative playground for self-expression, storytelling and online identity.
From anime-style portraits and cinematic headshots to tarot-inspired visuals and fictional newspaper front pages, the model is being used to create highly stylised, shareable content. Features such as accurate text rendering, multilingual prompts and the ability to generate detailed visuals with minimal input have helped drive rapid adoption.
What sets the latest model apart is its ability to “think” through prompts, generating multiple outputs and adapting to context, including real-time web inputs. But the bigger story lies in how users are engaging with it.
In India, trends are already taking shape. Popular formats include dramatic studio-style lighting edits, LinkedIn-ready headshots, manga-inspired avatars, soft pastel “spring” aesthetics, AI-led fashion moodboards, paparazzi-style visuals and fantasy newspaper covers. Users are also restoring old photographs, creating tarot-style imagery and experimenting with futuristic design concepts.
Local flavour is adding another layer. Prompts such as cinematic portrait collages and Y2K-inspired romantic edits are gaining traction, blending global aesthetics with distinctly Indian internet culture.
The surge reflects a broader shift in how AI tools are being used in the country, moving beyond utility to creativity. As younger users, creators and social media enthusiasts experiment with new visual formats, AI-generated imagery is increasingly becoming part of everyday digital expression.
If early trends hold, ChatGPT Images 2.0 may not just be a tech upgrade but a cultural moment, giving millions a new visual language to play with online.
