Poet K Satchidanandan shared his reflections on art, literature and politics through his personal observations while speaking on the theme Beginnings at the Mathrubhumi International Festival of Letters. He had made it clear that he would speak openly about what he felt, calling right as right and wrong as wrong, without hesitation. He recalled an anecdote in which a tourist returning from Hitler-era Germany, when asked who ruled the country, replied that Germany was ruled by fear. “There is fear in writing, fear in speaking, fear even in posting on Facebook,” he said, adding that his social media accounts had been banned three times. Indian society — and even Kerala society — is often governed by various forms of dominance, including racial dominance, caste dominance, the dominance of a majority religion, patriarchy and technological dominance, often described as technocracy.