Malayalam Publisher Ravi Deecee Conferred France’s Knight of Arts & LettersIn December 2025, Ravi ...

Rojgar4u Team December 25, 2025

Malayalam Publisher Ravi Deecee Conferred France’s Knight of Arts & LettersIn December 2025, Ravi Deecee, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director (MD) of DC Books which is of one of India’s prominent Malayalam literary publishing house, was honoured with Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters), one of France’s highest civilian honours, in recognition of his commitment to multilingualism, literary innovation, and international cultural collaboration.

Deecee formally received the award from Thierry Mathou, French Ambassador to India, at a ceremony held at the Embassy of France in Delhi.

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What? Conferred Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters
Who? Ravi Deccee, MD and CEO of DC Books
Presenter: French Ambassador to India H.E. Thierry Mathou
Conferred by: Ministry of Culture, France
Significance: Recognition for promoting French literature and cultural exchange in India

Reason for French Honour:
Translations of Famous French Works: DC Books has published Malayalam translations of some of the famous French works, including titles by Annie Ernaux, Celine, Johanna Gustawsson, Jean-Paul Sartre, Emmanuel Carrere, David Diop, and Maryse Conde.
Facilitates Platform for International Authors: Apart from publishing, DC Books has played an important role in bringing international authors to Kerala through its Vagamon Writers Residency, which has been part of the Villa Swagatam programme of the French Embassy since its launch.
Kerala Literature Festival (KLF): KLF, founded by Deecee, is held annually in the month of January in Kerala’s Kozhikode.

Since its inception in 2016, the festival has emerged as one of the largest literature festivals in the world.
In January 2025, France was the guest nation at KLF, the festival attracted some of the prominent French writers: 2019 Nobel laureate Esther Duflo.

Other Key Indian Winners:
Previous Publishers: It included Pramod Kapoor, founder of Roli Books and Aditi Maheswari, the CEO of Vani Prakashan Group.
Indian Actors: Some of the prominent Indian actors who have been honoured with the Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters (3rd of the three-category award): Nandita Das, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan.
About Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres:
Overview: Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters, established in 1957 by the French Ministry of Culture, recognises individuals who have made significant contributions to the promotion of arts and culture in France and around the world.
Ranks: It comprises three ranks i.e. Commandeur(Commander), Officier (Officer), and Chevalier (Knight).
Winners: Since 1957, the Order has honored creators, thinkers, visionaries, and cultural ambassadors.

The 1st class, comprised 162 distinguished personalities, including Le Corbusier and Marcel Pagnol, whose work shaped the artistic landscape of the the 20th Century.