The Qatari Forum for Authors hosted a discussion session at its Doha International Book Fair exhibit about translation to and from Arabic and Malayalam. The discussion was led by Dr. Mohammed Mansour Al-Hadwy, instructor of Arabic and Islamic Studies, who explained that translation, by definition, is an activity that involves interpreting the source text and producing a parallel text in the target language. Literary translation, according to Al-Hadwy, contributes significantly to the development of societies and nations because of its role in cross-cultural dialogue. He added that many fiction and non-fiction books have been translated between Arabic and Malayalam. He noted, in particular, the leading efforts of Muhammed Kuttassery in reinvigorating the Arabic-Malayalam literary translation movement in the Indian state of Kerala. For example, Kuttassery translated the classical Arabic novel Prayer of a Nightingale into Malayalam, thus marking a critical point in the translation movement between the two languages. He concluded his remarks by noting that the new generation of Arabic-Malayalam translators are focusing their efforts on literature in particular.